The Psychology of Bidding.......

[barrysloate]

Dave and Pete,
Keep in mind that auction houses all have extended bidding. Under the current system, most end between two and four in the morning. The one thing that would make them even longer is smaller bidding increments, because it would take more bids for lots to reach their max. If you want to have 5% increases across the board, expect the larger auctions to end sometime in the middle of the next day. It's not practical.

That said, not all use the 10% increment. REA is one of them. The increases range anywhere from 4% to 10%, depending on where you are in the bidding. It's a balancing act to find what increments work the best. And please keep in mind when we have threads about the best ways to end auctions, there is absolutely no consensus of opinion. So there is simply no way to make everyone happy.