What do you guys make of these online auction sites?

[JD Martin]

I'm sure most of you are familiar with Hubzu, auction.com and a few other auction sites. My question goes more to what you may or may not see in your own markets. 

Lately - say the past 6-12 months - I have noticed a lot of the foreclosures are listed in the MLS and on the auction site. Many times the wording is such that they won't even bother accepting offers except through the auction site, wherein the buyer has to pay a bunch of fees outside of the auction bid to participate and usually waives all contingencies (inspection, etc). 99% of these end up not selling at all around here until they make it to the MLS for good outside of the auction site, because the reserve and/or opening bid are ridiculous for the property.

My gripe is twofold:

• First, that the property even ends up on the MLS. If I want to visit an auction site I know how to do it.
• Second, that the properties move freely between the two, continually changing terms.

The last point is the one that really chagrins me. Two of the last three properties that were listed through the MLS that I put an offer in on, during the live offer the foreclosure company moved the listing to the auction site and refused to take offers outside the auction, even though it was live on the MLS and not on the auction site when I put the offer in. Why waste my time?

What I don't get is why the agencies even bother to agree to list these properties. The terms usually undercut the realtor pretty severely while simultaneously charging the buyer 2-5% of the bid price plus a "technology fee" and some other crap. I get that the auction sites are trying to outmaneuver the real estate agencies, and the foreclosure groups like the thought of pocketing another 5% and cutting out the agent besides, but it's not working in my market - all it is doing is pissing off investors like myself who don't like playing games. 

What are your thoughts in your markets?