thx all

it seems that the majorty of people are happy with ebay showing that an auction has finished at a specific time (ie 18:57:06) and the fact that ebay will show that it accepted a bid at the same time (18:57:06), despite the ebay communicating that the auction has ended.

if thats how it works so be it, i just found this very strange.

using the analogy of the auctineers gavel hitting the table at eg 18:57:06 signifying the end of bidding on that item, i find it stange that the auctioneer would then accept a bid a the same time ie18:57:06 ie when the gavel has hit the table. 

imho when the gavel hits the table the auction has ended and any bids made simultaneously are not valid.

this is definitely not my experience in the real world, but it seems the rules ( ie the rules as communicated by ebay and information presented in relation to bidding by ebay) in ebay are unique to themselves and the information provided in the bidding history is insufficent to provided an informed understanding of what actually has taken place,

have a great day everyone