eBay has been testing ways to extend the Buy It Now (BIN) period on auction listings and is introducing the concept on one international site. Auction-with-BIN is a hybrid format in which sellers offer a Buy It Now price on auctions to give shoppers a choice of bidding on an item or buying it outright at the BIN price. On Monday, eBay Australia announced a change in which the BIN option would remain available on auction listings until bidding reaches 50% of the BIN amount. Normally the BIN price disappears once a shopper bids on the listing.

In June, eBay began testing the BIN extension in the Parts & Accessories category on eBay Motors, and in July, it extended the test to the Tickets category on eBay.com.

eBay said at the time, "Over the years, we've routinely been asked why the Buy It Now option disappears from a listing when the first bid is placed. Our reason has been concern that it would create a confusing experience for a buyer, who could place a bid on an item, but then have someone Buy It Now (BIN) out from under them before the end of the auction. That said, we've done some extensive research that suggests keeping the BIN option available on a listing longer will increase the chance that buyers win the item and that it will close at a higher price for the seller. As a result, we're looking at ways to change how BIN works that balance both buyer and seller needs."

The company tested a number of variations of the rules for how long the BIN option would stay available on a listing before Monday's announcement.

http://www2.ebay.com/aw/au/200710151756402.html

http://forums.ebay.com/db1/thread.jspa?threadID=1000509583