Taking Aim At Online Auctions

There's nothing like the simple joys of finding something on eBay, putting in a bid, watching the auction clock tick down, and having someone snipe the item out from under the rest of the bidders. The longtime drawback to auctions online, like eBay's and Yahoo's, has been their refusal to do anything about sniping. With auctions ending at a set time, sellers and buyers alike lose out when sniping, or last-second bids usually conducted with software, take place to win the item. Since the online auctioneers don't seem interested in making a sensible adjustment, like extending the closing time by a few minutes when a snipe takes place, users have no choice but to resort to fee-based software and Web-based tools to have a legitimate shot at winning auctions. The Wall Street Journal here. Add to document.write("Del.icio.us") | Yahoo My Web Technorati David Utter is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business.