Definition: An auction's closing time (or closing date) is the time at which the high bidder in the auction will be declared the auction's winner, and after which no further bids will be accepted. eBay is unlike traditional auctions in that there is a fixed time (the closing time or date) at which the auction closes, with bids being accepted right up to that moment.
This format can lead at times to auction sniping, a controversial practice designed to win auctions by timing and psychology rather than by absolute price that is used by many eBay bidders and despised by many others. Many in the community have suggested that eBay modify its auction format so that auctions never close until a fixed amount of time (10 minutes being the usual suggestion) after the last bid has been received. To date, eBay has not adopted such a suggestion.
