quote:AS monitors, in real time, web traffic and calculates (with a little guess work thrown in using historical data) how much time it should take to enter and get a response to a bid. Some days and times it will take much longer than others... like Sunday evenings on an exact quarter hour. Some of us choose to add even more lead time manually to be doubly sure. That's where the 15-18 seconds comes from during busy times.
What happened?
AS determined your 5 second lead time was too short, and your bid would not have made it to eBay before the end of auction.
That's why your bid was placed early.
I would rather my bid be placed early than not at all. Some strongly disagree, but it really is the lesser of two evils. If your bid is placed early, you still have a chance to win (maybe less of a chance but still a chance). If your bid had been sent at 5 seconds it would not have made it in time, giving you zero chance to win.
One final note... bids placed this late in an auction are usually planned well in advance (like yours was) and would have been placed no matter when, or even if, yours went in. You may simply have lost anyway to a higher bid.
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