Puppy,
I think it's great you want to win at any cost. I want to win at all costs sometimes too. However, when I pay to use AS, I want to win within the guidelines that AS has presented in its sales pitch: Last second, lowest price, without a bid war. Their undocumented tweaking of bid times adds a new level of risk on the sniper and also is directly against what is stated in the terms of their service.
Also, from your previous post, I believe you're confused about my issues with AS. I've made no complaints about down time not being posted. I knew it was posted. I was just suggesting that they include some time zone information so the international bidders that AS supports can get a quicker idea of when AS downtime is—no biggie.
What I WAS complaining about (and what I take serious issue to) is that AS makes NO mention that your bids will be placed upward to two hours early if you schedule a “snipe” within their scheduled downtime window. If I were AS I would just make a notice to snipers that this period of time is high risk and bids probably wont go through. Interestingly enough, it is stated as much in the FAQ—so why the heck aren’t they doing what they explicitly state they are doing? Also, AS makes NO reference to placing bids early due to forecasts of internet traffic. This traffic, incidentally, may or may not even be affecting the ebay auction you are involved with. These are the problems with the AS service I take issue with. To fix these problems all AS has to do is 1) Fix their literature or 2) do what they explicitly state they are doing, placing bids no matter what lead-time you give at the lead-time you give!
Puppy, I appreciate the help you give in these forums and the sheer amount of time you’ve spent in the community and the tools you graciously donate to us. I know you’re well meaning. However, to suggest to anyone that they should go somewhere else if they see a problem in a service they paid for is asinine. It is also detrimental to the quality of the service—believe it or not, I’m really trying to help AS here. I’ve not made rash or inflammatory statements. I’ve only stated the facts with my opinion of those facts. The fact is AS/Auctiva has a problem with how they are representing the operation of their service (i.e. they way the say it works isn’t the way it really works). This is also known as lying.
I don’t really know whether or not their motive for adjusting bid lead-times is to ensure they get paid during times when the risk of not being paid is high. Although I assume it is given they aren’t properly disclosing that they do adjust times and they have not responded to my assertions. If you don’t see a company making changes in their service that directly affects how their customers’ money is spent WITHOUT telling their customers as a bad thing, then keep on supporting this kind of behavior in Auctiva. If you do see a problem with it I think your voice on the matter might help. After they disclose this properly, anything else (like giving the user a choice whether or not to let AS tweak bid-times) is icing on the cake. I’m not asking you to give up winning at all costs, I’m asking AS to openly state that their service is directed at making the purchase and getting your bid out there at all costs.
PB