At the Japanese Yahoo auctions, the seller has the option of having his auction extended if there us a bid within the last minute or few minutes (can't remember). It is often good for the seller as the price gets driven up higher by enthusiastic late bidders. If one is looking for items at the least possible expense, it is not to your benefit, but does allow you to respond to a snipe.
Dennis Young Hotaka, Japan
>>
>> I have to agree with Paul.....and also agree with the sentiments of Charles
>> in a later post. I don't think its off-topic because the existence of ebay
>> brings a lot of us vintage parts that were otherwise economically
>> unavailable. Ebay is like so many other things in life in that there is no
>> such thing as a free lunch. I have been burned but more often than not, i
>> get fair (or in some cases more than fair) value for my dollars. People
>> list items to sell them. Having had stuff 'sold from under me', I always
>> assume that something could be sold off ebay. In fact its a seller's option
>> to delist something as 'no longer for sale'. Thus, if its something i
>> really really want, and the item is unbid, I always ask a buyer what they
>> are looking for and sometimes pay it. I don't think it unethical for
>> either of us to do so. Sniping too is part of the game and it would be
>> nice if auctions could be extended....