I've posted a "Help" question and have gotten my first reply there. In my case the snipe was set for 5 seconds and the snipe went in over a minute before the auction ended. This allowed a manual sniper to bid just over mine and yes, it was a new bidder, so it was not a previously placed bid unless it too was an auto snip from here or another co.
The reply that I received "Sorry you missed it.
We do this if eBay servers are running slow. We monitor how long it is taking them to accept bids. If they are running slowly we put in the bids that much in advance. If their servers then speed back up your bid goes in early."
Well this rather refutes the FAQ advise:
"#64. What is the ideal lead time to use for a snipe?
Lead time is the number of seconds from the end of an auction that you would like AuctionSniper to bid for you. We recommend lead times between 5 and 10 seconds, although we've seen times as low as 2 and 3 seconds work just fine. Currently, Auction Sniper successfully places 99.9% of all snipes with 5 second lead times.
We don't recommend anything less than 5 seconds Although we send the snipe on time, during peak times an eBay server may not process it in time. This is not the fault of eBay or us; internet traffic is just heavier at certain times. And during peak periods, you might consider adding 2-4
seconds more since their servers seem to be taking quite a hit during that time (5-10 p.m. PST), and on weekends. "
Well adding seconds seems redundant if the system is going to add a minute or more without one knowing it! Is the 99% track record based on such unannounced adjustments? It leaves one with no standard of just "how" to operate.
I've certainly had many wins in the short time I've been using AuctionSniper and like not getting all worked up doing the manual sniping, but if something is really important, I no longer feel that I can trust "the system" either and that perhaps when possible I need to do both if it's important.
Other observations, experiences or advise would be welcomed.
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