I have used Auction Sniper for the past several years with no problems. About 3 months ago I started experiencing what you have experienced, and just as randomly and intermittently.
Several calls to ebay and Auction Sniper got the same response as the rest of you, sometimes with an added comment from ebay that "OK, I've fixed it so you won't experience it again" - and then it happens again.
I think ebay is trying to put "auction sniping" services out of business - and the way they're doing it is to randomly reject bids by "third parties" (bid services) under the guise of "requiring account verification"...do this enough times, and the disgusted-at-poor-service-ebay bidder will cease to use these services.
I can think of no other reason...
Some of the prior replies show how angry we get when "something stupid" - like "Ebay Required Account Verification" - stops us from being the successful winner of an auction WE REALLY WANT TO WIN.
The reason I think ebay is after bidding services is that I have been on the phone 9 times with ebay about this (it started about 3 months back), and they say everything is OK with my account, tell me it's the auction service's fault - and then push me not to deal with a bidding service, but to use ebay "proxy bid" instead.
Yes, it's stupid. Maybe, with enough complaints, it'll get fixed.
It seems to happen most with the items you want most...Smiley Sad
Sellers need to be made aware when this happens - this cost them money. In one case I bid $100 more than the winning bidder - which means the seller potentially lost $100 on the auction - all because this 16-years-on-ebay-veteran's "account required verification". Give me a break!
Because of the "talking points" from ebay customer service which I now know by heart, and which, summed up, is "we're not going to fix the problem:, I have taken to letting buyers know what my bid would have been, when this stuff happens, and the item goes for less than I bid. Maybe enough sellers complaining might get it fixed - they are the ones really losing the money.