@jacobsen - Purely as a matter of interest, which other company are you using now? (If you reply and AS decide to delete the post, I can provide you with a direct email address instead)
Thanks
IIRC, some or all of the eBay replies to the problem are saying something to the effect that eBay is trying to block UNAUTHORIZED users on their site. Well, bingo, AS is not considered an authorized user, they are not a bona-fide eBay account holder, and they are using your and other members' info to log in. Sure it is according to your ( our ) wishes, but eBay obviously does not want that, and they have finally decided to hamper sniping. It's their site to control the way they decide, and I only wonder why they have waited for so long, but guess it is because they were not sure whether it was in their best interests. Now they have decided it is best not to allow sniping. Again, I suggest that sniping is actually alot like the action of sealed-bid auctions, which are common online, but just are not eBay's model.
Having used AS for more years than I can count. I am angry and saddened to have lost an auction because of this ridiculous Ebay Requires Account Verification nonsense.
What are AS doing about it?
I will stop using the service if this is not fixed. AS will lose their business entirely if they do not resolve this.
What are AS doing about it?
I will stop using the service if this is not fixed. AS will lose their business entirely if they do not resolve this.
The only solution at this time is make an app that we can run on our local PCs that'll work with AS and place the bids from our own machines.
Ebay doesn't care about the lost business, they might even be trying to kill auctions completely and go to BIN. Ebay has never cared about what the users want.
Ebay doesn't care about the lost business, they might even be trying to kill auctions completely and go to BIN. Ebay has never cared about what the users want.
So, what we need is an app, or program that will place snipe bids from our own machines .... 'doesn't need to be an AS application, or anything else but a program that could run on our computers.
Hello All,
Thanks for taking the time to let us know what you think.
I have forwarded the suggestion of a desktop application along to our product management team for their consideration and will reply back to this thread should more information regarding such an app become available.
Thanks again for sharing your thoughts with us!
- Craig
Thanks for taking the time to let us know what you think.
I have forwarded the suggestion of a desktop application along to our product management team for their consideration and will reply back to this thread should more information regarding such an app become available.
Thanks again for sharing your thoughts with us!
- Craig
The problem is not really with the sniper service it is with eBay itself. They want us to place a bid in the open early so that any margin can be used up by on line bidders testing limits.
I stopped selling on eBay after they terminated the Coin Watch Committee and all other expert volunteers that helped to stop fraud.
EBay makes the most money by stopping snipers and encouraging fraud. It is eBay that is the real rip off in this situation.
I stopped selling on eBay after they terminated the Coin Watch Committee and all other expert volunteers that helped to stop fraud.
EBay makes the most money by stopping snipers and encouraging fraud. It is eBay that is the real rip off in this situation.
Sunday, June 21, 18:47:44, for the first time in many years as a user, bid blocked, lost item.
Same day, same seller, different item, 18:48:28, bid entered, but lost item because bid too low.
June 24-July 17, bids OK.
Sunday, July 19, bid blocked, lost item at 12:44:34.
Same day, same seller, different item, bid entered, won item at 12:56:15.
Don't know what all of this implies about the system, except that it's erratic and very, very annoying.
Same day, same seller, different item, 18:48:28, bid entered, but lost item because bid too low.
June 24-July 17, bids OK.
Sunday, July 19, bid blocked, lost item at 12:44:34.
Same day, same seller, different item, bid entered, won item at 12:56:15.
Don't know what all of this implies about the system, except that it's erratic and very, very annoying.
We all know why we snipe. We've probably all been burned by some newbie who doesn't understand proxy bidding and overbids himself as soon as he gets outbid. What I don't understand is why eBay wants to eliminate it? How can they benefit from eliminating sniping? For me, the alternative to sniping is to not bid at all. Are their analysts stupid enough to think we're all going to revert to manual sniping? And if they really want to eliminate sniping, the solution is very easy, and is what many other auction sites do: any bid made within ten minutes of auction end automatically extends the auction ten minutes. They don't need to pull this verification crap and pretend it has nothing to do with sniping. Between eBay's "who gives a damn about our users" and AS's sticking their fingers in their ears and going "la-la-la," I think I need to find a new sandbox to play in.
I had this problem back in April. Seemed to "get fixed" now it is happening again! I don't care who's FAULT it is, I WANT IT FIXED or I will stop shopping ebay and not use auction sniper...then they will both lose....I could probably use to save the $$ anyway! Been using both since the 1990s....
Typical...they blame each other...sick of it!
Hello, I am so angry at this moment. Two Ebay auctions I have been patiently waiting for just ended and I should have won and instead it says EBAY requires account verification. BS - I have been using this service a long time. In reviewing the messages here, it seems no one cares whatsoever. The first time it happened was a little over a month ago. I did sent a message to CS and have never had any reply whatsoever. The first time it failed, I was bidding on two items with the same vendor at approximately the same time. Tonite, same thing. I am absolutely frustrated with this service. I was loving it and it is costing me items I want and it is costing EBAY vendors - or which I am one money. Is there no accountability for this rubbish?
I just don't get it. I bid $100 over what the auction closed for. Ebay just doesn't want the extra money. Just plain dumb. Ebay shoots itself in the foot again. They have such huge opportunities that they just squander. I'm sure the seller would have rather sold for $166 instead of $66...but they will never know how badly ebay ripped them off. Just SOP for that loser site. Again....
I have used Auction Sniper for the past several years with no problems. About 3 months ago I started experiencing what you have experienced, and just as randomly and intermittently.
Several calls to ebay and Auction Sniper got the same response as the rest of you, sometimes with an added comment from ebay that "OK, I've fixed it so you won't experience it again" - and then it happens again.
I think ebay is trying to put "auction sniping" services out of business - and the way they're doing it is to randomly reject bids by "third parties" (bid services) under the guise of "requiring account verification"...do this enough times, and the disgusted-at-poor-service-ebay bidder will cease to use these services.
I can think of no other reason...
Some of the prior replies show how angry we get when "something stupid" - like "Ebay Required Account Verification" - stops us from being the successful winner of an auction WE REALLY WANT TO WIN.
The reason I think ebay is after bidding services is that I have been on the phone 9 times with ebay about this (it started about 3 months back), and they say everything is OK with my account, tell me it's the auction service's fault - and then push me not to deal with a bidding service, but to use ebay "proxy bid" instead.
Yes, it's stupid. Maybe, with enough complaints, it'll get fixed.
It seems to happen most with the items you want most...Smiley Sad
Sellers need to be made aware when this happens - this cost them money. In one case I bid $100 more than the winning bidder - which means the seller potentially lost $100 on the auction - all because this 16-years-on-ebay-veteran's "account required verification". Give me a break!
Because of the "talking points" from ebay customer service which I now know by heart, and which, summed up, is "we're not going to fix the problem:, I have taken to letting buyers know what my bid would have been, when this stuff happens, and the item goes for less than I bid. Maybe enough sellers complaining might get it fixed - they are the ones really losing the money.
Several calls to ebay and Auction Sniper got the same response as the rest of you, sometimes with an added comment from ebay that "OK, I've fixed it so you won't experience it again" - and then it happens again.
I think ebay is trying to put "auction sniping" services out of business - and the way they're doing it is to randomly reject bids by "third parties" (bid services) under the guise of "requiring account verification"...do this enough times, and the disgusted-at-poor-service-ebay bidder will cease to use these services.
I can think of no other reason...
Some of the prior replies show how angry we get when "something stupid" - like "Ebay Required Account Verification" - stops us from being the successful winner of an auction WE REALLY WANT TO WIN.
The reason I think ebay is after bidding services is that I have been on the phone 9 times with ebay about this (it started about 3 months back), and they say everything is OK with my account, tell me it's the auction service's fault - and then push me not to deal with a bidding service, but to use ebay "proxy bid" instead.
Yes, it's stupid. Maybe, with enough complaints, it'll get fixed.
It seems to happen most with the items you want most...Smiley Sad
Sellers need to be made aware when this happens - this cost them money. In one case I bid $100 more than the winning bidder - which means the seller potentially lost $100 on the auction - all because this 16-years-on-ebay-veteran's "account required verification". Give me a break!
Because of the "talking points" from ebay customer service which I now know by heart, and which, summed up, is "we're not going to fix the problem:, I have taken to letting buyers know what my bid would have been, when this stuff happens, and the item goes for less than I bid. Maybe enough sellers complaining might get it fixed - they are the ones really losing the money.
All of you!
I am using a different sniping company now and this does not happen with them!!!
You need to change
I am using a different sniping company now and this does not happen with them!!!
You need to change
@Jacobsen
You have written that before, but did not say which company. I am not sure how we can rely on any third party bidder avoiding this problem, unless they have negotiated an arrangement with Ebay. Otherwise they are just in a tech race with Ebay.
This seems to be an intermittent problem. I had a series of bids blocked by a captcha filter a few months ago. This time it has been the more intrusive email/telephone mechanism. The solution seems to be for me to leave my computer on overnight and rely on a local app. Belt and braces would be to set both methods. Use a third party bidder as well as a local timed bid. Like disgustedrifleman I intend to inform sellers about bids blocked by Ebay.
You have written that before, but did not say which company. I am not sure how we can rely on any third party bidder avoiding this problem, unless they have negotiated an arrangement with Ebay. Otherwise they are just in a tech race with Ebay.
This seems to be an intermittent problem. I had a series of bids blocked by a captcha filter a few months ago. This time it has been the more intrusive email/telephone mechanism. The solution seems to be for me to leave my computer on overnight and rely on a local app. Belt and braces would be to set both methods. Use a third party bidder as well as a local timed bid. Like disgustedrifleman I intend to inform sellers about bids blocked by Ebay.
quote:Originally posted by Kenzan:
@Jacobsen
You have written that before, but did not say which company. I am not sure how we can rely on any third party bidder avoiding this problem, unless they have negotiated an arrangement with Ebay. Otherwise they are just in a tech race with Ebay.
This seems to be an intermittent problem. I had a series of bids blocked by a captcha filter a few months ago. This time it has been the more intrusive email/telephone mechanism. The solution seems to be for me to leave my computer on overnight and rely on a local app. Belt and braces would be to set both methods. Use a third party bidder as well as a local timed bid. Like disgustedrifleman I intend to inform sellers about bids blocked by Ebay.
No one can reply because any references to another service will either be blocked or removed.
From Google searches it seems that AS is a PRIMARY target of eBay. all anyone can do is TRY another service and see, or worse yet, set both to something we consider important possibly resulting in higher sniping fees.
Until many many sellers complain, nothing will change.
Unfortunately there is no real competition to eBay, so they can do what they please. The only way anything will change is with a HUGE reduction in sales.
I have been telling sellers each and every time it happens. I also tell them just how much they have lost. I figured if the sellers started complaining perhaps eBay might listen.
However, I also started an experiment. I found 75 items all ending in 7 days - all similar and of similar values under $50 each - all starting at under $1. I picked a snipe value that I would typically place and bid on 65 of the items using eBay (bidding in the open) on the last 10 I placed snipe bids. With one day to go the bids I placed in the open have been exceeded on 61 of 65 items. All 10 of the snipe bids are still viable. By placing the bids early I was setting a market price and allowing others to try to disclose my price. In nearly every case - my maximum has been exceeded by very little. The 4 where I am still high bidder within ONE BID INCREMENT.
So I guess I have proven that eBay may be correct - they want to expose the maximum bids as early as possible to allow them to be chipped away or raised. It is good business for both eBay and sellers to discourage sniping.
So it appears WE snipers are standing alone in this fight.
I intend to keep sniping and where possible to live snipe. They can not stop that if we use our own normal PCs.
However, I also started an experiment. I found 75 items all ending in 7 days - all similar and of similar values under $50 each - all starting at under $1. I picked a snipe value that I would typically place and bid on 65 of the items using eBay (bidding in the open) on the last 10 I placed snipe bids. With one day to go the bids I placed in the open have been exceeded on 61 of 65 items. All 10 of the snipe bids are still viable. By placing the bids early I was setting a market price and allowing others to try to disclose my price. In nearly every case - my maximum has been exceeded by very little. The 4 where I am still high bidder within ONE BID INCREMENT.
So I guess I have proven that eBay may be correct - they want to expose the maximum bids as early as possible to allow them to be chipped away or raised. It is good business for both eBay and sellers to discourage sniping.
So it appears WE snipers are standing alone in this fight.
I intend to keep sniping and where possible to live snipe. They can not stop that if we use our own normal PCs.
Snipers: I think we are just talking to,ourselves or each other. Neither AS or ebay seem to listen to the Customer....what ever happened to the customer is right philosophy? Ebay is already losing lots of money because sellers are not selling like they used to...and there are limited buyers and watchers....out of listing 175 items I have sold only 2....I have read posts of sellers complaining how sales are so down or non existent or if an item sells it is for far less than the worth/value or price they paid for it....selling just to sell....others complain because of the lack of sales their ratings have suffered at ebay's hand. I would think that ebay would be happy if an item sells sniped or not....both companies lose out when they do this to snipers....it all sucks!
Forgive me for this long post but I just wanted to share my experience with Auctionsniper.com's customer 'support' after an 'Ebay verification' captcha error occurred to me yesterday (26/07/15)
This is a widespread and persistent problem, yet auctionsniper's report staff have admitted that they are unwilling to notify their customers because 'it affects a small percentage of our customers'. As this thread and others have shown, this is simply untrue and it's certainly not a small problem! Here is a transcript of my conversation with their support staff, perhaps it can be used as a warning to others trying to find answers via this channel- you will simply get a copy and pasted reply that won't answer your question. Absolutely farsical behaviour!
"Category: General Question Case Topic: 'Ebay Requires Verification' Error
m***********7@gmail.com
Customer
Posted Sunday, 7/26/2015 1:23 PM
To whom it may concern,
While attempting to place a snipe for item number 3**********6 on Ebay my snipe was unable to be placed due to an 'Ebay Requires Verification' error which prevented the bid.
After much research I have discovered that this is an ongoing problem faced by auction sniper.com, yet I was not made aware that this might be an issue. I fulfilled all the necessary steps required to place the snipe, and even double checked that my auction sniper account verified my ebay username and password, yet the snipe was still not placed. If I had been informed by auction sniper that this could potentially be an issue, especially on Sunday evenings that I have now learnt severely increases the chances of this error, I would have bypassed this website's processes entirely and placed the bid manually.
Both my auction sniper account, and my eBay account were in perfect order, yet the bid did not take place.
I am extremely frustrated and disappointed, and feel that auction sniper has breached it's contractual obligation towards me since I have handed over money for this specific service. Going forward I will no longer be using auction sniper.com, as I cannot even be sure that this senseless and unpreventable error will not occur in the future.
Sincerely,
Martin
Operating System: MacOS
Browser: Safari
Involved eBayItemNumbers: ***********
Kenneth Support
Posted Sunday, 7/26/2015 2:08 PM
Hello Martin,
Thank you for contacting us regarding this matter and I am sorry to hear the trouble you are facing. I certainly understand your point of view, however, while reviewing your account I found that snipe for the provided item number is showing up status message ‘Ebay Requires Account Verification’. The 'View Confirmation' (an eye shaped icon) located at the right of the snipe is displaying following message:
“Enter a verification code to continue
To keep eBay a safe place to buy and sell, we will occasionally ask you to enter a verification code. This helps us to block unauthorized users from entering our site. Please enter the verification code in the image below and click on the "Continue" button to enter our site. Learn more about our security policies.- opens in a new window or tab
Enter the verification code
Change the image | Listen to the numbers
Continue”
The "View Confirmation" page is not an actual eBay page, but a snap shot/record of eBay's request when Sniper attempted to access your account to place the bid. You will not be able to access/verify your eBay account via this page.
As we are unrelated to eBay, we have no control over what eBay may present at log in and eBay may present such a request at any time for any account. Sadly, our service is unable to complete such a re-quest or otherwise work around it when eBay presents it, and so in those cases, Auction Sniper is unable to place your bid. I am not aware of any similar service that can work around such a request. Typically, this situation resolves itself in a period of time and snipes are then set normally
If you have any other questions or encounter further difficulties, please don't hesitate to ask!
Sincerely,
Auction Sniper Support
m***********7@gmail.com
Customer
Posted Sunday, 7/26/2015 2:25 PM
Thank-you for this information. If I understand you correctly, you are not able to solve this problem. In that case why wasn't I made aware of this issue before I purchased the services of this website? It is clear to me that this issue undermines your services completely, and yet this was not communicated to me until after the fact? Why is this?
Sincerely,
Martin
Kenneth Support
Posted Sunday, 7/26/2015 3:13 PM
Hello,
Thank you for getting back to us regarding this matter and I certainly understand your point of view. I would like to inform you that Auction Sniper is an automated tool that places your snipes as per the max bid amount and lead time that you set. Once your snipe is placed on eBay it indicates that our system has performed its task.
However, the verification steps are RANDOMLY presented by eBay; in this situation there is no way we can inform you that this is going to occur for your future snipes or not. Typically such requests cease within a day or so and sniping resumes normally thereafter.
We apologize for any inconvenience caused and appreciate your understanding regarding the same. Please let me know if I can be of any further assistance to you.
Sincerely,
Auction Sniper Support
Customer
Posted Sunday, 7/26/2015 4:49 PM
Many thanks Kenneth for your apologies, however I still haven't received an answer to my original question of why this issue was not made clear to me BEFORE it became a problem, rather than after. If I had been appropriately warned by this website, I wouldn't have signed up and paid money for a service that might work 'RANDOMLY'. I was not told by auction sniper at any point during my purchase that this 'RANDOM' ebay error might occur.
Martin
Kenneth Support
Posted Sunday, 7/26/2015 5:13 PM
Hello,
You're very welcome!
As informed in my initial message, we are unrelated to eBay, we have no control over what eBay may present at log in and eBay may present such a request at any time for any account. Sadly, our service is unable to complete such a re-quest or otherwise work around it when eBay presents it, and so in those cases, Auction Sniper is unable to place your bid.
Also, there is no way we can inform you that this is going to occur for your already placed/future snipes or not. Typically such requests cease within a day or so and sniping resumes normally thereafter.
Please let me know if I can be of any further assistance to you.
Sincerely,
Auction Sniper Support
m***********7@gmail.com
Customer
Posted Sunday, 7/26/2015 6:15 PM
Dear Kenneth,
Thank-you for evading my question for the third time. Without copying and pasting the same reply could you please listen to my question and answer it:
Why wasn't I warned beforehand by auction sniper.com that an 'Ebay Requires Account Verification' problem could occur?
If you are unable to answer my question could you please put me in contact with someone who can.
Many thanks,
Martin.
Alexis Support
Posted Sunday, 7/26/2015 7:15 PM
Hello Martin,
Sorry for the inconvenience caused.
Please note that we cannot inform users beforehand because it is not clear whether captcha will be presented for you or not. That verification page is only presented when systems tries to place your bid on eBay.
So, there is no way we can inform our users for verification code.
I hope you will find this response to be helpful.
Sincerely,
Auction Sniper Support
m***********7@gmail.com
Customer
Posted Sunday, 7/26/2015 7:24 PM
Hi Alexis,
Thank-you for you reply, however you are misunderstanding my question- I fully understand that you are not able to predict when a captcha will be presented, but that was not my question.
I'll try and ask my question for the fourth time:
Why wasn't I warned beforehand that this error even existed?
I did everything correctly yet my snipe was not placed.
Not once was I warned that there is a chance this could occur. Why?
Many thanks,
Martin
Alexis Support
Posted Sunday, 7/26/2015 9:21 PM
Hello Martin,
Thanks for following up with us. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Please note that this verification step is recently introduced by eBay to make eBay more secure. Earlier also this message was used to be presented but frequency was very low. Currently eBay is presenting this captcha randomly for random accounts and for a period some period of time.
I hope that you will find this response to be helpful. Please do let me know if I can be of any further assistance.
Sincerely,
Auction Sniper Support
m***********7@gmail.com
Customer
Posted Sunday, 7/26/2015 9:47 PM
Hi Alexis,
Thanks for your reply but you've just repeated yourself again. I must admit my patience is beginning to wear thin.
I fully understand the problem. Please stop repeating the problem back to me. Please stop explaining ebay's security captcha protocol, it is now fully understood, and does not need repeating.
I've now had five replies from auctionsniper's customer service and not once has my question been answered.
For the fifth and hopefully last time I ask:
Why wasn't I warned about this potential problem?
You said yourself that this issue has been occuring for some time now.
Why didn't an auctionsniper.com representative send out an email notification to warn its users about this potential issue?
If I had been told about it I would have taken extra steps to safeguard my bid, but I wasn't. I have been left in the dark and now it's too late to do anything about it.
Please answer my question or forward me to someone who is willing to.
Many thanks,
Martin.
Michelle Support
Posted Sunday, 7/26/2015 11:56 PM
Hello,
Please accept my deep apologies for the inconvenience caused you due to this.
We are trying our best to support you. You have not been informed about this because it is not 100% sure that you will get this captcha verification while placing your bid on eBay. We have hundreds of thousands of customers and they all are not facing this issue. So, we cannot just generalize this issue for everyone.
However, I can understand if there would be anyway to determine it beforehand, it would be very useful for our users.
Once again I apologies for the difficulties you are facing. Please note that our engineers are trying to resolve this issue as soon as possible.
Thanks for your patience on this matter.
Sincerely,
-Auction Sniper Support
m***********7@gmail.com
Customer
Posted Monday, 7/27/2015 4:54 AM
Auctionsniper.com and its support staff have shown themselves to be negligent in the extreme, and unwilling to inform its customers of potential problems that could severely and catastrophically effect their service simply because 'it affects a small percentage of our customers'. This is unacceptable and frankly borders on negligence. The conversations and actions of this company will be forwarded to the UK's trading standards, and I hope others in my position do the same. You cannot keep your customers in the dark like this. Utterly disgraceful.
Status: Closed "
This is a widespread and persistent problem, yet auctionsniper's report staff have admitted that they are unwilling to notify their customers because 'it affects a small percentage of our customers'. As this thread and others have shown, this is simply untrue and it's certainly not a small problem! Here is a transcript of my conversation with their support staff, perhaps it can be used as a warning to others trying to find answers via this channel- you will simply get a copy and pasted reply that won't answer your question. Absolutely farsical behaviour!
"Category: General Question Case Topic: 'Ebay Requires Verification' Error
m***********7@gmail.com
Customer
Posted Sunday, 7/26/2015 1:23 PM
To whom it may concern,
While attempting to place a snipe for item number 3**********6 on Ebay my snipe was unable to be placed due to an 'Ebay Requires Verification' error which prevented the bid.
After much research I have discovered that this is an ongoing problem faced by auction sniper.com, yet I was not made aware that this might be an issue. I fulfilled all the necessary steps required to place the snipe, and even double checked that my auction sniper account verified my ebay username and password, yet the snipe was still not placed. If I had been informed by auction sniper that this could potentially be an issue, especially on Sunday evenings that I have now learnt severely increases the chances of this error, I would have bypassed this website's processes entirely and placed the bid manually.
Both my auction sniper account, and my eBay account were in perfect order, yet the bid did not take place.
I am extremely frustrated and disappointed, and feel that auction sniper has breached it's contractual obligation towards me since I have handed over money for this specific service. Going forward I will no longer be using auction sniper.com, as I cannot even be sure that this senseless and unpreventable error will not occur in the future.
Sincerely,
Martin
Operating System: MacOS
Browser: Safari
Involved eBayItemNumbers: ***********
Kenneth Support
Posted Sunday, 7/26/2015 2:08 PM
Hello Martin,
Thank you for contacting us regarding this matter and I am sorry to hear the trouble you are facing. I certainly understand your point of view, however, while reviewing your account I found that snipe for the provided item number is showing up status message ‘Ebay Requires Account Verification’. The 'View Confirmation' (an eye shaped icon) located at the right of the snipe is displaying following message:
“Enter a verification code to continue
To keep eBay a safe place to buy and sell, we will occasionally ask you to enter a verification code. This helps us to block unauthorized users from entering our site. Please enter the verification code in the image below and click on the "Continue" button to enter our site. Learn more about our security policies.- opens in a new window or tab
Enter the verification code
Change the image | Listen to the numbers
Continue”
The "View Confirmation" page is not an actual eBay page, but a snap shot/record of eBay's request when Sniper attempted to access your account to place the bid. You will not be able to access/verify your eBay account via this page.
As we are unrelated to eBay, we have no control over what eBay may present at log in and eBay may present such a request at any time for any account. Sadly, our service is unable to complete such a re-quest or otherwise work around it when eBay presents it, and so in those cases, Auction Sniper is unable to place your bid. I am not aware of any similar service that can work around such a request. Typically, this situation resolves itself in a period of time and snipes are then set normally
If you have any other questions or encounter further difficulties, please don't hesitate to ask!
Sincerely,
Auction Sniper Support
m***********7@gmail.com
Customer
Posted Sunday, 7/26/2015 2:25 PM
Thank-you for this information. If I understand you correctly, you are not able to solve this problem. In that case why wasn't I made aware of this issue before I purchased the services of this website? It is clear to me that this issue undermines your services completely, and yet this was not communicated to me until after the fact? Why is this?
Sincerely,
Martin
Kenneth Support
Posted Sunday, 7/26/2015 3:13 PM
Hello,
Thank you for getting back to us regarding this matter and I certainly understand your point of view. I would like to inform you that Auction Sniper is an automated tool that places your snipes as per the max bid amount and lead time that you set. Once your snipe is placed on eBay it indicates that our system has performed its task.
However, the verification steps are RANDOMLY presented by eBay; in this situation there is no way we can inform you that this is going to occur for your future snipes or not. Typically such requests cease within a day or so and sniping resumes normally thereafter.
We apologize for any inconvenience caused and appreciate your understanding regarding the same. Please let me know if I can be of any further assistance to you.
Sincerely,
Auction Sniper Support
Customer
Posted Sunday, 7/26/2015 4:49 PM
Many thanks Kenneth for your apologies, however I still haven't received an answer to my original question of why this issue was not made clear to me BEFORE it became a problem, rather than after. If I had been appropriately warned by this website, I wouldn't have signed up and paid money for a service that might work 'RANDOMLY'. I was not told by auction sniper at any point during my purchase that this 'RANDOM' ebay error might occur.
Martin
Kenneth Support
Posted Sunday, 7/26/2015 5:13 PM
Hello,
You're very welcome!
As informed in my initial message, we are unrelated to eBay, we have no control over what eBay may present at log in and eBay may present such a request at any time for any account. Sadly, our service is unable to complete such a re-quest or otherwise work around it when eBay presents it, and so in those cases, Auction Sniper is unable to place your bid.
Also, there is no way we can inform you that this is going to occur for your already placed/future snipes or not. Typically such requests cease within a day or so and sniping resumes normally thereafter.
Please let me know if I can be of any further assistance to you.
Sincerely,
Auction Sniper Support
m***********7@gmail.com
Customer
Posted Sunday, 7/26/2015 6:15 PM
Dear Kenneth,
Thank-you for evading my question for the third time. Without copying and pasting the same reply could you please listen to my question and answer it:
Why wasn't I warned beforehand by auction sniper.com that an 'Ebay Requires Account Verification' problem could occur?
If you are unable to answer my question could you please put me in contact with someone who can.
Many thanks,
Martin.
Alexis Support
Posted Sunday, 7/26/2015 7:15 PM
Hello Martin,
Sorry for the inconvenience caused.
Please note that we cannot inform users beforehand because it is not clear whether captcha will be presented for you or not. That verification page is only presented when systems tries to place your bid on eBay.
So, there is no way we can inform our users for verification code.
I hope you will find this response to be helpful.
Sincerely,
Auction Sniper Support
m***********7@gmail.com
Customer
Posted Sunday, 7/26/2015 7:24 PM
Hi Alexis,
Thank-you for you reply, however you are misunderstanding my question- I fully understand that you are not able to predict when a captcha will be presented, but that was not my question.
I'll try and ask my question for the fourth time:
Why wasn't I warned beforehand that this error even existed?
I did everything correctly yet my snipe was not placed.
Not once was I warned that there is a chance this could occur. Why?
Many thanks,
Martin
Alexis Support
Posted Sunday, 7/26/2015 9:21 PM
Hello Martin,
Thanks for following up with us. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Please note that this verification step is recently introduced by eBay to make eBay more secure. Earlier also this message was used to be presented but frequency was very low. Currently eBay is presenting this captcha randomly for random accounts and for a period some period of time.
I hope that you will find this response to be helpful. Please do let me know if I can be of any further assistance.
Sincerely,
Auction Sniper Support
m***********7@gmail.com
Customer
Posted Sunday, 7/26/2015 9:47 PM
Hi Alexis,
Thanks for your reply but you've just repeated yourself again. I must admit my patience is beginning to wear thin.
I fully understand the problem. Please stop repeating the problem back to me. Please stop explaining ebay's security captcha protocol, it is now fully understood, and does not need repeating.
I've now had five replies from auctionsniper's customer service and not once has my question been answered.
For the fifth and hopefully last time I ask:
Why wasn't I warned about this potential problem?
You said yourself that this issue has been occuring for some time now.
Why didn't an auctionsniper.com representative send out an email notification to warn its users about this potential issue?
If I had been told about it I would have taken extra steps to safeguard my bid, but I wasn't. I have been left in the dark and now it's too late to do anything about it.
Please answer my question or forward me to someone who is willing to.
Many thanks,
Martin.
Michelle Support
Posted Sunday, 7/26/2015 11:56 PM
Hello,
Please accept my deep apologies for the inconvenience caused you due to this.
We are trying our best to support you. You have not been informed about this because it is not 100% sure that you will get this captcha verification while placing your bid on eBay. We have hundreds of thousands of customers and they all are not facing this issue. So, we cannot just generalize this issue for everyone.
However, I can understand if there would be anyway to determine it beforehand, it would be very useful for our users.
Once again I apologies for the difficulties you are facing. Please note that our engineers are trying to resolve this issue as soon as possible.
Thanks for your patience on this matter.
Sincerely,
-Auction Sniper Support
m***********7@gmail.com
Customer
Posted Monday, 7/27/2015 4:54 AM
Auctionsniper.com and its support staff have shown themselves to be negligent in the extreme, and unwilling to inform its customers of potential problems that could severely and catastrophically effect their service simply because 'it affects a small percentage of our customers'. This is unacceptable and frankly borders on negligence. The conversations and actions of this company will be forwarded to the UK's trading standards, and I hope others in my position do the same. You cannot keep your customers in the dark like this. Utterly disgraceful.
Status: Closed "