I usually find decent parts deals on GB and AA but it takes a lot of true hunting and dective work to weed out the bad sellers and shills. I find the firearm prices by far to be over stuffed, if it is popular, they are high, if they have not sold they are high. I laugh at the quantity of "The Judge" pieces on there not moving at all and the one or two with real bids are bid so far up, they would have been better off on a BIN and bite the bullet.
I personally do not like the 15 minute rule. Especially when I have bid maybe just a little high to get a part and then still at the last minute someone bumps the price up (usually a shill) and if I really need the part I have to stand by and watch the damn auction to make sure I get the part. It is the Shill Buyers that cause the most harm. Shill buyers are friends of dealers or people on there that bid the price up on things, most sellers have them (some part time, some full time) and if a shill wins, the bidder (shill) and the seller just electronically shakes hands and gives each other good feed back and the item is re-photo'd (sometimes not even re-photo'd) and placed back in the auctions. If someone beats me in an honest auction, so be it, but far too many times I have been beaten by a shill as and hour later I will see the same item back up for auction, even though I have a pre auction comms stating it was their only one. The 15 minute rule just allows a shill to keep dragging out an auction.
I have turned some suspected shills in but nothing happens, especially now that GB is fairly much automated for all things to include customer service. The one shill, I know got suspended, but also know they had 3 other member names to play their games with. All it takes is a $19.00 pay as you go cell phone and the address of Wriggley Stadium and an ongoing (non free) email address, where people can add or delete names to their account.
Without the shills and the 15 minute rule, GB would be a decent site. I would say 1 in 25 items I look for are not shilled, over priced or a waiting game on GB or AA, you just have to troll through what you want and be stead fast on your price.
GB and AA expects me to be their police force and once I got burned after turning in a shill just to see them back on, I just do not bother to turn them in, nor do I participate in feedback, nobody really looks at it and even if they do, the seller or buyer responds with bull in it is always the other persons fault.
I agree the reserve price of things is way over used, especially when they say the reserve price in the description and it is 20% over retail . I do have odd tastes in firearms, so I am relegated to buying from an auction site because reg shops around me are too lazy to order what I want or do not / will not carry it at all.
What I have seen is, if it is a perfect gang banger type or style piece, then the price will be hugely high but will sell, usually to someone wanting to be hip and cool, even though they have 20-40% more money into it. If it looks good shooting sideways or upside down, it sells.