In the three weeks or so that I've been reading these forums, it seems the two most common complaints from new users are:
"My 5-second-lead snipe for an auction ending exactly at 7:30 on Sunday evening didn't get placed"
and
"My bid was .12 more than the winning bid, why didn't I win?"
Finding answers to those questions can be frustrating, if you DON'T come to the forums. But how many new users really come to the forums and read all the posts BEFORE they have a gripe? And why should they be expected to?
The second question is actually addressed pretty well in the FAQ, and it’s an eBay issue anyway. But the first one is really only hinted at in the FAQ, and not covered in the tutorial at all. (See FAQ questions #10 and #64 -- Sorry, I haven’t figured out yet how to do the neato little Click Here link that the super-posters use.) It could be addressed with a bit more detail, and maybe a little easier to find.
Don’t get me wrong; I think AS is doing its best to meet the needs of the users. For the most part, they offer a terrific service that generally seems to be extremely reliable (this weekend being an extreme exception). They know there’s an issue here and they’re dealing with it the best way they can, by extending the lead times for you according to the data that their servers get (which is WAY more than I could do on my own!). And the friendly helpful people in the forums are good at heading off the few complaints that come through.
And since (as I said the other day in another topic) most people don’t bother to read all the carefully written instructions, FAQ’s, and disclaimers anyway, I guess there’s only so much they can do…
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