Forgot to mention something, from a different 
perspective, as a seller it is highly 
discouraging if your auction has been up for over 
five days –out of a typical seven- and no one has 
even placed a single bid. No one likes to pay 
auction fees, especially when your auction closes 
unsuccessfully! Yes, evilbay lets you relist the 
second time if your first auction does sell, but 
who cares. The fact is, if the auction item was 
in demand someone would’ve placed a bid, even if 
it’s not high, at least someone is showing 
interest. 

Also, consider this, if you got a proposition to 
close the auction for a reasonable price –heck it 
might even be higher than what you expected-, why 
shouldn’t you close the auction? The worse is, 
the person turns out to be a deadbeat and fails 
to pay. But, if the buyer does keep their word, 
you as the seller have just saved numerous 
auction costs, considerably moreso than if you 
sold it through the auction and had to pay the 
listing, extra features, and final auction fee. 
As a seller it -does make sense- to occasionally 
close the auction early, if it is worthwhile.