Sniping on eBay

Dear Old People,

I appreciate your wisdom, and value your contribution to society. I recognise you as a beloved creation of God, of inherent worth and deserving of honour. Also, I value your efforts in attempting to keep up with technological advances by familiarising yourself with the internet and websites such as eBay. Thank you especially for learning to google a question you have before asking your children over the phone, who will simply google it themselves and then read whatever they find back over the line to you.

However, a small gripe if I may. When using eBay, why do you insist on constantly trying to outbid one another long before an auction has finished? I know, you want to see your name there as the higgest bidder, but chances are bidding will just continue to rise and rise long before the auction ends and you have unnecessarily raised the price. It feels good, doesn't it? To see your name there as highest bidder. To be asked if you'd like to raise your maximum bid, which of course you don't. I mean why would you? You're already winning. But oh, that's right, check back again that night and someone else has outbid you - so you might as well make sure you get back on top. And so it continues.

Please stop it.

This is how it's supposed to work. No one bids anything until at least 30 seconds to go. Then, you simply put in the highest amount you're willing to pay and everyone else does the same and voila - Robert's your mother's brother. If no one else is online, you get it for the cheapest price. Or if someone else is online and snipes you, you haven't gone over your maximum, and you haven't artificially raised the price with all of those pointless bids.


Thanks again,


Izaac.