"What is the difference between bidding during the 1st 10 seconds or the last 10 seconds of an auction?

The BIG difference is that there is NO "last ten seconds of a "real" auction. In a live auction, the bidding is concluded after the auctioneer does not receive any more bids and says, "going once, twice, SOLD!" Ebay shuts out all those who wish to bid again after being topped at the end.... resulting in less money for the seller ... and not a valid measure of what a particular lot is worth in many cases.

To those who say that one should bid the maximum amount they wish to pay .... is not a good strategy in my opinion. Pay retail if one wants to go that route. Apply that logic to a "live" auction and the suggestion is that everybody should be submitting their highest bid as soon as the auctioneer put a lot up for bid and would not have to drag additional bids out of the attendees.

In all auctions, ebay or otherwise, most folks want to pay the least amount of money possible for an item up for bid... not the max. I think that bidding should be open for at least ten to twenty seconds after the last (previous) bid. That would eliminate the ebay sniping and sellers would realize a truer measure of what their ebay items are truly worth ... and not just because the clock ran out.