I do not think an initial 5 extra seconds would solve the issue of ‘scrambling’, because no amount of extra time at the top would fully solve that issue and there are many ways to make 15s more than enough time if you plan ahead.
I do not agree that subsequent bids deserve less time, because ultimately live bidding is about much more than scanning a name in a spreadsheet and entering a price, and ‘research’ is on-going throughout the auction process.
I’m also very opposed to having an inconsistent timer instead of being able to be certain about 15 seconds.
For all these reasons I’m not really interested in this change upon first review.
On the podcast we all agree that the draft is a hectic and fun experience and requires planning ahead to minimize as much scrambling as possible. Building out your watchlist so you get the special sound when someone on your watchlist is nominated, having everything in front of you so you don’t need to flip through browser tabs or a notebook every time someone is nominated, etc. Ultimately if you and your league find the auction draft to be too hectic, the two-way integration with Couchmanagers is probably the right way to proceed, rather than adding 5 seconds to every nomination.