By not being a auction marketplace. EBay saw quickly that most customers did not want to wait seven days to be outbid. The 21st century customer wants to know what is the price ? what is my shipping price (preferably free)? and when will it be delivered? Today and for more than a decade, 85% of eBay transactions are Fixed Price. About half of sellers use Free Shipping, which just means that their shipping cost is built into the asking price. The 15% or less of listings that are Auction also may have a Buy It Now price that ends the auction if a customer opts for it. A surprisingly high number do. EBay also allows the option of Best Offer on Auctions, where customers tell the seller their top price and if the seller accepts, the auction ends. Most auctions are in the vintage/antiqur/collectible categories where prices are more volatile than in the categories where One Of A Kind items are unusual and the market already has a set price.