Ebay's auction model includes a strict time limit that doesn't adjust for bidding. That is, if someone bids in the last few seconds of an auction, there's no increase in time as there would be in a traditional physical-space auction to allow others an opportunity to bid higher if they're interested. This leads to the whole phenomenon of auction sniping, which is pretty silly when you realize it's all the result of what's arguably a design flaw.
Imagine an auctioneer in real life implements this policy. "Going once for x. Going twice...." They begin mouthing the word "sold" when a competing bidder jumps in at x+1. The auctioneer proceeds as though nothing happened ("Sold!") except that the sniper wins ("For x+1...").
They don't, and I agree that it is flawed. But perhaps flawed is too strong of a word, and it's just that ebay auctions don't tend to mimic real-life auctions (and maybe there is a reason for the discrete time limits, ie sellers need to know exactly when items are ending; buyers are often time limited sometimes as well: 7 days often seems like an eternity anyways). Many of the up-and-coming penny auction sites include this feature, as it is much more necessary to their business model.
I think Ebay realized at some point that marketplaces are more profitable than auctions and adjusted their model accordingly. Now they're in this limbo between an auction site and a marketplace site but not great at either. They can afford this of course because they're a monopoly, but if I really want the experience of one or the other I'll use a service with clearer focus.
Shameless plug, I have a love/hate relationship with Missed Connections, and as a result created http://www.MissedConnections.com to improve on the good work Craigslist started.
ebay: auctions suck, bidding on stuff isn't my idea of fun. There is too much of negative press surrounding fraud etc, so you have to go out of your way to portray yourself as not being a criminal.
craigslist: people are cheap, it is handled face to face, if you are selling something large, usually random strangers come into your house.
So that really has nothing to do with coding, but those are my gripes with each.
Craigslist spam is a huge problem, but they don't do enough to take care of it. Right now I'm really annoyed by the way every single time I want to look at the job listings, it makes me click again after a page explaining what affiliate marketing is and how it's scammed.
Imagine an auctioneer in real life implements this policy. "Going once for x. Going twice...." They begin mouthing the word "sold" when a competing bidder jumps in at x+1. The auctioneer proceeds as though nothing happened ("Sold!") except that the sniper wins ("For x+1...").