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ARGH!!!! DID NOT PLACE BID!!!

G geoffreyMember
I am so pissed off! What happened???

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3581447169

The final price was $29.01 and my Auction Snipe was set for $36. I just went to check My Snipes again and now it is gone! What is freaking going on with your servers and service?

I AM SO MAD!!!!

~ Geoffrey
Original Post

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G geoffreyMember
The default was 5 seconds. I checked My Snipes just minutes after the auction closed and this site said the snipe was placed, but it is nowhere in the the bid list.

Also ... just got this e-mail ...

Status Summary: Ready
Your snipe did not win because of the reason above

Frick ... nice ...

[This message was edited by Geoffrey on January 25, 2004 at 05:28 PM.]
Last edited {1}
S snipersarabAuctionSniper Support
Next comes the part where you ask us why we dont tell you this.

Then I tell you that we dont tell you because we already do it for you mostly, and it's been listed in about a billion discussions here.

In this case your snipe was placed with a 32 second lead time. And eBay still didnt handle it in time.

Most of the time our adjustments work. But in some cases they dont.

I believe we did the best we could with your snipe, giving you the best chance possible of winning.
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G geoffreyMember
Thanks for the reply and looking into it. I had no idea about the auto lead time built into your system. When I tried to get into my snipes yesterday and could not, I visited your forums for the first time. I even visited the forums today to make sure there were no outages that would affect my snipes today. Whatever warnings were given here I did not get. No matter ... if everything worked how it should have ... I guess there is nothing more to do. I am amazed a 36 second lead time did not get the job done.

Well I just watched another snipe NOT get placed. I guess I will cancel the rest since this service cannot get the job done today. Wow is this frusrating. So you are saying that everything is working exactly how it should?

~ Geoffrey
S snipersarabAuctionSniper Support
We really are in a lose lose situation here as I've always said. If we snipe early and it makes it early people arent happy. If we snipe early and they win, they still arent happy, if we snipe early and they still lose they arent happy. So far 0 for 3 on the happy scale. Then if we bid at 5 seconds and they lose because it got in late they arent happy. That's 0 or 4. And lastly if we bid on time and the win, they are happy. So I suppose 1 in 5 they are happy.
G geoffreyMember
That's a good read. Thanks for the referral. The statement regarding the "1 in 20" sure rings true when it happens to a person. I just wish I learned it in another way and sooner than now. I just figured it was a "snipe and forget" situaition when I used this service. The contents of that thread should be incorporated into the FAQ. I cannot find anything about auto-lead times or changing the timelimit to 30 seconds during peak times in the FAQ. A few seconds, but not 30.

This should be proactivly stated somewhere more promently than it is. I would still use the service, but I would know in advance that this is a possibility and and what I could do to avoid it.

Then again ... I may still not have noticed it ... I don't know. I guess I am just frustrated with eBay sometimes. Today is one of those days.

Thanks again!

~ Geoffrey
G geoffreyMember
Sara ~

I have been happy with this service. I do not know about any of the advice you have given to date. This is my first experience with the forum and my first lost snipes. Frankly, I would have rather reported this more privately, but since I had other auctions pending, and I had no idea if there were support people around to help me. I wanted to know if this was a glitch, others were experiencing at this moment.

I guess I just wish I knew about these scenarios before today. The home page says "Place your bid exactly when you want … seconds before the auction closes!" and I just trusted it. Place an asterisk there saying "except during peak times" with a hyperlink to a section in the FAQ that clarifies these scenarios. I did not read the FAQ "fine print" or the forums. Yes, that is my fault. Perhaps this is a win-win situation if such a link were present. I do not know. Back in the day, I have screwed up my own manual snipes due to clumsy error. In any case it is just frustrating and sometimes unforgettable (I still hate my mistake in one situation).

Please remember not everyone, including myself, has read your wisdom in these forums. IMHO ... the "Next comes the part ..." and "Then I tell you that ..." was unnecessary. I do believe you when you said, "we did the best we could with your snipe, giving you the best chance possible of winning."

I appreciate your assistance in this matter. I am now wiser for the next time. I live and learn still. =)

~ Geoffrey
S shirleyMember
In the three weeks or so that I've been reading these forums, it seems the two most common complaints from new users are:

"My 5-second-lead snipe for an auction ending exactly at 7:30 on Sunday evening didn't get placed"

and

"My bid was .12 more than the winning bid, why didn't I win?"

Finding answers to those questions can be frustrating, if you DON'T come to the forums. But how many new users really come to the forums and read all the posts BEFORE they have a gripe? And why should they be expected to?

The second question is actually addressed pretty well in the FAQ, and it’s an eBay issue anyway. But the first one is really only hinted at in the FAQ, and not covered in the tutorial at all. (See FAQ questions #10 and #64 -- Sorry, I haven’t figured out yet how to do the neato little Click Here link that the super-posters use.) It could be addressed with a bit more detail, and maybe a little easier to find.

Don’t get me wrong; I think AS is doing its best to meet the needs of the users. For the most part, they offer a terrific service that generally seems to be extremely reliable (this weekend being an extreme exception). They know there’s an issue here and they’re dealing with it the best way they can, by extending the lead times for you according to the data that their servers get (which is WAY more than I could do on my own!). And the friendly helpful people in the forums are good at heading off the few complaints that come through.

And since (as I said the other day in another topic) most people don’t bother to read all the carefully written instructions, FAQ’s, and disclaimers anyway, I guess there’s only so much they can do…

Welcome to AS Forums!
region2region2Member
Put a link to a set of FAQs on the email that is sent out to people when they lose. The FAQs could cover all the possible scenarios (Sunday night lead times, re-usuing bid groups etc etc) and thus go some way towards explaining what happened.

Thus, a frustrated loser (I know that sounds bad, but you know what I mean!) will immediately have something to read that might remove the necessity to vent their spleen on this forum. AS might even keep them on-side!

R2

E evissamMember
I went to the gym w/ the confidence that when I returned, I would be the new owner of a pair of Like New Rockford Fosgate car speakers. When I got home, they belonged to someone else for $10 less than I would have paid. Auctionsniper said Bid too Late? What's up? Will my other 4 snipes work tomorrow? Do I get a free snipe or 2 as compensation?
P plonglMember
Seeing as there is all too much negativity in this thread, here comes the balance...

After losing a few and hearing about your software, then winning on my first snipe I was amazed.
And I continue to be amazed, I don't know how much money AS has saved me but it has far outweighed the subscriptions.

Having been sniping for a little while, I've only just discovered the forums.
I can usually see where my snipes have failed ($0.49 or late bids), this time I discovered the difference of real and perceived time lag.
I should have read the fine print before getting carried away in a snipe session, but it costs nothing if I lose, just a little emotion, which should not be in an auction anyway.

Ultimately, when I consider what AS can do, I'm pretty happy.

Cheers n beers.
C chatterMember
quote:
Originally posted by Shirley:

Finding answers to those questions can be frustrating, if you DON'T come to the forums. But how many new users really come to the forums and read all the posts BEFORE they have a gripe? And why should they be expected to?

[snip]

And since (as I said the other day in another topic) most people don’t bother to read all the carefully written instructions, FAQ’s, and disclaimers anyway, I guess there’s only so much they can do…

Welcome to AS Forums!


I agree, Shirley. My difficulty here comes not with the fact that people do not always read forums or FAQ's first (that is quite natural), but with the fact that, as newbies with a gripe (even a legitimite gripe against AS), some come in here loaded and ready to fire. I am not just talking about angry face icons, mind you, but with "damn it," "I'm pissed off," and cries of "What is wrong with this freaking service?", etc.

If I were new somewhere, and even if I thought I was wronged, I would not come in with such cries, if for no other reason but the chance that I might have been the one who messed up. Whether it were my fault or someone else's would remain to be seen, but at least allowing for it would bid me to be a bit more polite the first time around. I mean--how can anyone come in screaming the first tme anywhere? Confused

I do appreciate the mending of the fences by a new member here. Thanks. Smile
puppyraiserpuppyraiserMember
quote:
how can anyone come in screaming the first tme anywhere?
Unfortunately, it's the 'distance' that make people more aggressive. If everyone would 'act' and speak as if they were face to face, most conversations would stay more on topic. Problems could be addressed by a civil exchange of needs and information.

If I have a problem with my car and a mechanic, I would want to discuss my problem, and not get sidetracked by a hissing contest because of my attitude.

C chatterMember
quote:
Originally posted by Mrs.M:
Chatter, I agree with you. I get a little frustrated with people that jump in without checking the water first! I fail to understand their reasoning. If they just would expend that much energy into a little research. Wink


I'd even settle for their expending that energy on courtesy! I would not even mind that they had not researched first, but came in a little more politely. For example:

Last night I had a snipe set for $45.45 and the item sold for $25. My snipe was apparently never sent. Can someone please explain to me what occurred? Did I set something wrong, or perhaps AS did not function as it was supposed to? Please check and let me know, thanks.

Then the answer may be given. Why must people parachute in here, all angry and pissed about something they know little about? Some of these people are also new at eBay, which means they do not even understand how that works.

Please--how about a little courtesy from those with questions? Thanks. Wink
bartelbybartelbyMember
quote:
Notice how drivers are usually more courteous to each other when they actually get in a car accident then they are when they have a near miss, or even a far miss?


Over here its the "guilty" party that seem to be courteous coz the person they hit is usually screaming "you dumb where did you get your license from...a weetie box? "

But maybe thats just us.

Lexie
S shirleyMember
It's kind of sad and kind of funny, sometimes, to hear someone come in to the forums screaming curses because they didn't win their widget and it's "OBVIOUSLY" AS's fault... only to have four or five of the pros point out to them that it was actually their own mistake. And even if it's not, "you catch more flies with honey..."

But I have to say, I've seen more than one rather tetchy response from support, when a simple "I'm sorry this didn't work out the way you expected, this is why that happened, please let us know if we can help make the process clearer" might have soothed frayed nerves. Customer Service 101 says that sometimes you've got to accept unjustified criticism with a smile on your face and an apology on your lips.

I guess the question is whether this is a gathering of friends, or a customer support function. Or maybe a customer support function that has turned into a gathering of friends? The Customer Service side can't be ignored, even when there's only one customer in a room full of friends.

Nevertheless, I still say that AS is doing a great job, and I appreciate the difficult position that Support sometimes is placed in.
J jabbergahMember
Funny how this thread was wandered into this topic.

Just a couple weeks ago, I was a victim of "road rage" myself. I was tooling down a 4-lane commercial stretch of road in my area. I think the speed limit was about 40 mph along that stretch of road. I have no idea how fast (or slow) I was going at the time, but I wasn't in a hurry. I was in the right lane & a tractor trailer truck was in the left. When the truck merged over into a center turning lane, an old Jeep Wrangler that was behind me jerks into the passing lane, roars past me, cuts over in front of me bearly missing my front fender, and skids to a STOP in front of me! Eek I bearly got stopped myself! What the heck?!? Mad We were dead stopped in the right lane of a 4 lane road in between traffic lights. I quick looked in my rear view mirror because I was concerned I might get rear ended since we stopped so quick. There was a truck behind me that got stopped with plenty of distance.

Out of this jeep jumps a fairly young (I'd guess 20's) bearded guy with a Indiana Jones style hat and leather jacket who comes stomping back toward my car yelling and screaming and carrying on! I thought he was nuts! I locked the doors and made sure the window was up. I was so rattled, I forgot how to turn the volume of my radio down, and 'til I did, he was done yelling and stomping back to his jeep. I still haven't a clue what he was yelling at me about!?! Confused

Dang thing about it, I followed the guy into town. The whole time there was 1,2,or 3 cars in between his & mine. He never drove fast like he was in a hurry, so I assumed he didn't think I was going too slow. The whole time >I< was stoking a pretty good batch of rage myself!! Mad I didn't really want to hurt the guy -- well not badly. I was just mentally reviewing a menu of nasties I wanted to do to his old jeep -- everything ranging from lighting a gas soaked rag stuck in his gas tank to slashing his tires to unscrewing the valve stem guts out of at least 2 of his tires, putting them in a plastic sandwich baggie, and leaving the bag under his windshield wiper along with a "Have a nice day!! Smile" note!

Well, I managed to refrain from doing anything rash, and managed to cool off, though I've rehearsed in my mind what I might of done differently. I kinda like the dozen road flares bundled with duct tape with a length of cannon fuse sticking out of it! When somebody forces me to stop, I jump out the same time as them, lighting the fuse and yelling in my best hick accent, "I GOT som'em fur YOU!!!"

Oh well. The incident DID give me an interesting story to tell! Wink

Jabbergah                                                    
bartelbybartelbyMember
WOW Jabber!!!

The most agressive road rage we have around here is a bit of bird flipping and some nasty words (which I am hoping tyler doesnt pick up Eek )

I have had some guy abuse me for the way I was parked and I was very proud of myself for pointing out that the dork in front of me had created the domino effect to why I was not parked in the lines correctly. Batting your eyelashes doesnt seem to make matters any worse either - although I dont think that particular act would work for you quite as well Razz

I am a fairly patient driver, but I do have a foul mouth when it comes to idiots - just pays to keep the windows up.

I can understand why you were rattled though - he does sound a bit nutso Confused

Lexie
S shirleyMember
Thanks for the story -- it's nice to know we're not the only ones who have close-calls with crazies once in a while... Or who spend the rest of the day dreaming of what we MIGHT have done or said!

My closest "close call" was kind of similar, but with a much more satisfying outcome. I was on my lunch break one day, driving down a one-lane-each-direction road, carefully obeying the speed limit but otherwise minding my own business. After a while, I noticed that the guy behind me was swerving all over the road. Watching him in my rear-view mirror, I realized he was swerving to get my attention, and making all sorts of rude gestures, tailgating, and generally doing whatever he could to protest my lawfullness. Finally he pulled over onto the shoulder, and roared past me, nearly taking off my bumper in the process. What he didn't know, and I did, was that Austin's Finest had set up a speed trap around the next curve... By the time I got there, they already had him stopped. I laughed all the way back to work!
S shirleyMember
quote:
Originally posted by Bartelby:

Couldnt agree more Shirley Smile You have such a wonderful way with words.

Lexie


Thanks, Lexie, I needed that after the day I just had. And you have such a wonderful way with smilies!



quote:
Originally posted by Rick:
Would Customer Service apply in the case of an employee? Since the employer is purchasing the employee's time, would the employer be the customer?


Actually, Rick, there's a whole system of management that's used in several of the companies I've worked in (in the last ten years or so) where service providers are concerned with "internal" and "external" customers. External customers would be the ones who actually buy your final product, but internal customers would be, say, your coworkers who are down the line in your process. Whoever depends on you to do your job before they can do theirs. They set up service contracts between departments ("service level agreements") and everything. Great idea but, unfortunately, the only company where I've seen anyone do more than lip service to it was an IBM subsidiary. No surprise there!

Customer service is one of my hot-button issues!
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rickrickMember
quote:
Originally posted by Shirley:
Customer service is one of my hot-button issues!

Do YOU provide the same level of customer service for your employer (the customer) as you expect your employer to provide to their customers?

Another question - do you think the customer is always right? If yes, is your employer (the customer) always right?

Not trying to offend. Just exploring.
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J jabbergahMember
Shirley posted:
quote:
And isn't it nice that you had a forum to unload that on, Jabber?

Actually, yes! Wink

Another true story comparable to delicious moment you experienced:

Let me get the relationship correct -- it was my cousin-in-law's sister -- going to work one of the snowy mornings within the last few weeks (seems like we have had quite a few of those lately in Pennsylvania!). Was tailgated by a fellow in a SUV. She ignored him and drove the speed at which she felt safe on the slippery roads. Both of them pulled into a gas station and ended up on opposite sides of the gas pump. "Is that all the faster you can drive?", the SUV guy sneered at the gal. She simply ignored the guy and continued refueling her car. SUV guy finishes first, and roars on down the road. The gal finishes up, and continues traveling down the road herself. Less than a mile down the road, around a bend, Mr. SUV is spinning all wheels trying in vain to get out of the ditch into which he had just slid off the road! As the lady drives by, she just taps her horn a couple times, smiles broadly, and gives a "friendly" wave! It was a divine moment that can put one in a great mood for days on end! Big Grin Razz

Jabbergah                                                    

[This message was edited by Jabbergah on January 26, 2004 at 06:50 PM.]
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S shirleyMember
I try. But it's easy to forget on a day-to-day basis that those people you're working with every day (and eating lunch with, and gossiping with, and going to happy-hour with after work) are actually your Customers. Until you're the one who's been "wronged"... Like I said, it's easy to forget about the customer service function when you're among a gathering of friends.

As for whether the customer is always right, the answer is "It depends." (Consultant's Bible, Rule #1: The most appropriate answer to any question is "It Depends".) I don't believe that the customer is ALWAYS right, but then again, in Service, "Who is Right?" isn't the question. If you tell the customer they're right when they're not, you may be teaching them bad habits that hurt both of us in the long run. A true customer service professional will educate their customers on the "right" way of doing business, while still keeping them happy. Sometimes this means saying "You're right, and I'll make sure our mistake doesn't happen again". Sometimes you have to say "I'm sorry if I wasn't clear when I explained to you what we need from you -- here's a credit to compensate you for your trouble, and would you please do it this way in the future?" Sometimes you have to say "I understand your concern, I'll do what I can to address it, meanwhile, here's how you might handle this situation in the future".

The customer isn't always right, and a service-provider doesn't really have to pretend they are. However, a service provider DOES have to remember who pays the bills, and do everything they can to keep the customer happy.

As for the Employer... I'm a consultant, and I work for placement companies. Which often means that *I* am the customer of my employer. But I have to keep in mind that my employer's OTHER customer is the Client, and THEY are the ones we have to keep happy. The client is my customer as well, but at the same time, the project manager that I work for has to give me what I need to get my job done. So I am THEIR customer at the same time that they are MY customer. It's a triangle that makes for some interesting dynamics...
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T tommy-tom-tomMember
Hi all,
I too signed up for the forum during the last outage to try and find out what was going on. First let me say that I have had a few bids dropped, and was shocked to see one bid placed almost 2 minutes before auction end allowing another bidder to win the item. But...Auction Sniper is 150% better at placing late bids than I AM. This service has given me my life and marriage a whole new dynamic. Before I began using this service I was glued to the puter with my back to my wife, and trying to balance 6 or 8 explorer screens open at once with preloaded bids. The prices I am paying for wins, and the fantastic snipes I have pulled off are worth way more than the price of this service.
I look at it like a stock portfolio, if 7 are going up, and 3 are going down...I am still making money!
I had road rage twice, and was ashamed both times, I used to have this beat up old Jeep 6 cylinder ( because of the divorce..) and I live on a steep hill. So when I looked both ways and pulled out it took 100 yards to get up to speed. Of course others rushing to work come flying around the bend, up on my tail. Here is the kicker, 300 yards up the road I have to make a turn, on comes the signal, and that's when they hit the horn. BEEEEEEEP. Twice I slammed on the brakes and left my car to confront the evil doer. Neither time did I have control, the expression "seeing red" is a truism..been there done that. When I am on the receiving end of road rage, I figure the guy just got another registered letter from his wifes lawyer...

Tonight I am not getting any e-mail from Auctionsniper, and they owe me 6 or 8. I figure they will get that fixed eventually. One of the telling me I won an $85 Westmoreland Glass cut crystal sandwich plate for $15.00...Ya complain? I think NOT.
J jabbergahMember
Shirley posted:
quote:
As for whether the customer is always right, the answer is "It depends." (Consultant's Bible, Rule #1: The most appropriate answer to any question is "It Depends".)


Reminds me of the usual answer you get when you ask an "old geezer" the question: "Boxers or briefs?"

Answer: "Depends!"
Wink

Jabbergah                                                    
rickrickMember
quote:
Originally posted by Jabbergah:
Reminds me of the usual answer you get when you ask an "old geezer" the question: "Boxers or briefs?"

Can't remember what Clinton said he was - "Boxers or briefs"?


"Of course America had often been discovered before Columbus, but it had always been hushed up." Oscar Wilde
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