eBay certainly has a lot of problems--the shill bidding, the last second sniping, the one-sided nature in the way ebay rules over disputes, just how big of a cut ebay and paypal take, plus a dozen other things that I'm sure many of us dislike.

The general idea would be to do many of the good things people like about auctions and cut out a lot of the problematic stuff that has developed over the years. The benefit of hindsight as well as looking at other collector-focused auction platforms.

First and foremost, it would be the seller's choice as to how they want to list items for sale. With a firm price, OBO, trade, or in an auction format.

But yes, there would be a bunch of details and guidelines to hash out. There are a lot of smart people here...I'm sure we can all come up with some good ideas that would make it a good, fair, and a reasonable option for some situations.

Personally, I've wanted to throw lots of stuff up for auction, but ebay just isn't where I prefer to turn to. I also like participating in auctions on occasion, but again, ebay doesn't thrill me.

So if you want auctions...your choice is basically eBay, or secret one-sided auctions by PM or email. I don't like those options. I'd like to see a viable third option.

For in-person auctions, auction houses, and auctioneers, yes, that is certainly the case. However, for online auctions, there are very few regulations and laws in place. From what I understand, online auctions fall into the area of contract law for the most part.