Ending the auction early to avoid final listing fees has been becoming more and more common on eBay the past few years. eBay discourages this practice but they could never enforce it. As a buyer, you will often get a better deal this way, because eBay, and auctions in general, online or otherwise, if well attended by the right buyers almost always benefit the seller. By asking the seller to end the auction early you are nullifying the auction process and buying at a fixed price, which has a better chance of working to the buyer's advantage.
Of course, as a seller, you have to weigh the risk of taking the short money now or waiting for auction close for most likely a higher price. It depends on the item and what it's worth to you.
Re: no bids till the end:
That usually means you either have an item that's not in popular demand or you priced it right.
Re: slow seasons:
While seasonal items may have seasonal highs and lulls, I'm not from the camp that believes strongly in eBay "slow seasons" and waiting for them to pass before listing. There are many other market factors at play here, such as the economy, supply and demand, collectible value, depreciation, and obsolescence. If you have something priced right that someone wants, it will sell at any time of the year. Some hours are better than others, some days, some weeks, some months. eBay continues to grow despite this and this growth can counteract "slow" seasons.
