quote:Originally posted by Rick:
It doesn’t make any difference. If AS thinks it doesn’t have enough time due to ebay's current response time, it will place the snipe earlier. 3 seconds is as good as 8, and 8 is as good as 12. It’s nothing scientific. Just a personal preference. In the old days, AS didn’t do as good of a job placing snipes in time, which caused a (high) number of complaints about the snipes being too late, which is the same as not-at-all. One of the original forum members locked onto 8 seconds (it could have been 7 or 9 seconds just as well), and the one or two other old timers then imprinted on 8 seconds, and have never stopped to rethink their tradition. Trust me – IT MAKES NO DIFFERENCE!
So wait a second. I can see where AS might place snipes earlier if it thinks EB's response time is lagging, but what about situations when there is no delay in response time? If, as you're saying, AS automatically compensates for network traffic issues, wouldn't you still want to specify the shortest lead time you're comfortable with so that AS would place the bid as close to auction ending time as possible...response time permitting?