Posted By:
Rob D.No, it is not a true auction. In a true auction, sniping would not even be a topic, because there is always the opportunity to top the current high bid. eBay doesn't afford that chance. Again, eBay sets the rules; sniping is merely one of the tools to attempt to play successfully by those rules.
As an aside, before eBay moved in the direction of wanting to host more straight sales than auctions, I never understood why the company didn't implement a 2-minute (or pick a time) extension on the end of auctions. If a bid was placed in the last 15 seconds, the auction is extended 2 minutes. That would make sniping a moot point.