Ethics of last minute auction "poaching"

Bidding at live auctions is an art. Professional buyers, and yes they are skilled, NEVER bid while the general audience is bidding. In effect, the general bidding is part of the auctioneers show. The auctioneer knows the audience will exhaust their bids and then the real buyer steps in to scoop up the item without competition. The same process applies in cyberspace. The fact that Megasams' "poacher" bid within the last 60 seconds indicates that he is in fact an amateur (the poacher). A real pro will time their bid
to within a few seconds of the auction end to prevent the possibility of a counterbid or overbid by a competitor.
Auctioneering 101.

Msnloeth, BLBloom and Going Once all hit it on the head with various points. Why telegraph your moves to "the enemy" that your competing against ? It makes no sense if your competing for the same item and there are only so many to go around. There are two types of people that end up with expensive or rare items. Those that can afford to outright buy it and pay face value for it or those that know how to manipulate the best possible deals that bring it down to their price range. Auctions are the same way. You either have to walk over the top of everyone else with a monster bid or do you best to camoflauge your attack and try to sneak in when nobody is expecting it. I will say that Audiogon's auction process is much closer to that of a real live auction, as those don't end at a specified time. As long as there is bidding going on, the auction is still open. Sean
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Actually, it is called sniping.

Yes, it is called sniping....I agree, this is just how auctions work megasam, live with it! But, I also agree that the audiogon policy of continuing to extend the auction deadline as long as new bids keep coming in should end, and go with a hard "endtime" just like eBay does. Of course, by having this moving endtime, on average it will lead to higher sale prices, and since audiogon is structured to benefit sellers (and not buyers), well, now you can see why auctions are structured here the way they are.

I believe these people also are the ones who "cut in lines"
so they don't have to wait. When everyone else waited...
Fair? Hardly.