Don't confuse problems of society with those of eBay the corporation. You'll find the same people there as you will everywhere else. Some of the suggestions, like random end times would be detrimental to sellers. And yes, a lot of people make a living form eBay. Honest livings. eBay has turned into an enormous global marketplace. It is not just a place to hock surplus or used items. Having a business of any size that dealt with commercial product, I would definitely have a corproate eBay account. If for nothing else than for the convenience of a few consumers - but certainly to get rid of refurbished goods returned from the channel, etc. HP does this, DELL does this, etc...

The last time I heard, the biggest money-maker on eBay was bringing in USD$100 MILLION *NET* per year. Has anyone looked at eBay's financials to find out how much they were making?

I believe auction extensions would be a good way to make things "fair" in light of sniping. I think a 2 minute extension would be fine. As a seller, this would be welcomed because it might lead to slightly higher bids. As a buyer... Well, I like to snipe a last minute bid to minimize the amount I'm spending. The key to buying on eBay is to only bid the maximum you're willing to pay. If you get the item, then congratulations. If not, then you didn't want it as badly as someone else - better luck next time.

Bruno