Posted By:
VincentFirst, let me say that I also manually snipe. And I'd guess my success rate is 50% or so. I'm not going to get goofy bidding on an item. If it's something I want badly, or need for my personal collection, then I'll bid agressively. Otherwise . . .
I've always been amazed at the old, but true auction method used by autograph dealer/collector Jack Smalling, with regards to his mail-bid auctions. Bidders submit their high bid before the end date, and the highest bidder wins the lot, at 4% over the second highest bid. No open limit bids are accepted, and no one knows what the highest bids are until after the auction ends. And every so often, two bidders try to get around the open limit bid by submitting unrealistically high bids, and one of them gets burned. It may be unethical of me to silently cheer when that occurs, but for a brief moment, it helps lessen the sting of having been overbid on an item desired.
Seems to me that this method wouldn't be too hard to implement. But I don't know if it would be as financially rewarding to sellers.
Just my two cents worth.