Hi Jim; I tend to disagree with your blanket statement that there are no steals on ebay. Quite the contrary. For the very reasons you have cited, many top-notch collectors who would pay more don't have the time to view all the items that are offered on ebay.

Furthermore, as an example in my own situation, many ebay items where the bidding is scheduled to end on a weekend when I'm in A.C., I don't have access to a computer to track the bidding as the clock winds down.... nor do I want a computer in my "retreat" home away from home that I look forward to each weekend to get away from what I'm exposed to all week. As a result, I place my bids on ebay items I'm interested in early in the game .... which usually gets wiped out by the snipers during the end game.

On the other hand, I've gotten some good bids on a few items I've placed for bid on ebay.... more bids well over my regular asking price that collectors normally shun. Some folks think they got a good deal simply because they outbid their competitors.... when in reality they could have gotten the item cheaper via a retail purchase. Even in live auctions, such as the club auction, how many times have you seen an item bid up and up and up only so that the "other guy" didn't get it? How many times have you observed the mentality that if Joe Shmoe is bidding on that item, it must be worth more.... so I'll bump him up .... only to see the "successful bidder" purchasing an overpriced lot that he/she initially had no interest in... but was glad that "Harry or Harriet" didn't get it?