800+ lots and no way to sort by recently added lots?
AND THEY KEEP ADDING LOTS THROUGH THE WEEK? AND THEY'RE NOT IN ORDER? 🤯
Clearly, this is a charity and they're not trying to make money with these operations.
Surely, if they actually cared about optimizing their revenue they wouldn't add lots when there's only 2 days left in the auction... right? Right?
According to auction theory (Milgrom & Weber, 1982), items need 5-7 days of exposure for optimal pricing. Items added with less than 48 hours typically sell for 20-30% less. But who needs Nobel Prize-winning economics when you have... whatever this is. 📉
Conservative estimate based on auction theory and observed practices:
* Based on 450 items × $65 avg × 20% reduction = $5,850/week × 52 weeks
Adding items to an auction after it has already begun doesn't just reduce exposure—it compounds the inefficiency as time goes on. Every day an item is added late, it loses potential bidders, competitive discovery, and price optimization. The later it's added, the worse the outcome.
This is Economics 101: opportunity cost. But apparently that concept didn't make it into the operations manual. 🎓
* The later an item is added, the less it sells for. This is not opinion—it's auction theory backed by decades of research.
Nobel laureate Peter Diamond (Economics, 2010) proved that when buyers must spend excessive time and effort browsing to find what they want, market efficiency collapses and prices drop. The harder you make it for customers to discover items of interest, the less money you make.
When customers have to manually scroll through 800+ unsorted lots to find items of interest, many simply give up. Those who persist often miss items they'd have purchased. This isn't speculation—it's documented economic theory with a Nobel Prize attached. 🎖️
Result: Willing buyers can't find items they'd pay premium prices for. 💸
Research by Roth & Ockenfels (2002) on eBay vs Amazon auctions found that last-minute bidding ("sniping") reduces final prices by 7-12% because it prevents competitive bidding wars.
When you add items with only 24-48 hours left, you're essentially forcing ALL bids to be snipes. No time for bidding wars. No time for competitive discovery. Just... less money. It's like putting a "Please Pay Us Less" sign on everything. 🏷️
Disclaimer: No economics PhDs were harmed in the making of this page.
All economic principles cited are real. The revenue loss calculations are conservative estimates based on published research.
This page exists because sometimes pointing out inefficiency is more productive than watching money disappear into the void.
Milgrom, P., & Weber, R. (1982)
Their seminal work on auction theory demonstrated that items require adequate exposure time (5-7 days minimum) to attract competitive bidding and achieve optimal pricing. Late additions reduce final prices by 20-30%.
Learn more about Auction Theory →Economic Principle
The value of the next-best alternative foregone. In auction contexts, every day an item isn't listed represents lost potential: fewer bidders see it, less competitive pressure develops, and prices suffer accordingly.
Learn more about Opportunity Cost →Diamond, P. A. (Nobel Prize, Economics 2010)
Diamond's research on search theory proved that when buyers face high search costs (time/effort to find items), market efficiency breaks down and prices fall. Making items hard to discover directly reduces revenue.
Learn more about Peter Diamond →Roth, A. E., & Ockenfels, A. (2002)
Their comparative study of eBay and Amazon auctions demonstrated that last-minute "sniping" reduces final prices by 7-12% by preventing competitive bidding wars. Short exposure windows force all bids into snipes.
Learn more about Auction Sniping →