Look guys, clearly eBay is trying to defeat Snipe sites. This is a new reality. They probably developed some sort of rule-based code routine that checks IPs, time to auction end, and other fingerprints that differentiate a human user from a third party program. I believe a major parameter is a user's session length compared to when they place the snipe bid. Meaning that in that split second after the AS program logs in, it places a bid. Also the lead time for the bid may be being detected too. 4-5 seconds before auction end is clearly a marker for a Snipe bot so that also may trigger the verification. Maybe the user's history of bidding at the last minute is a factor.
I suppose eBay wants us all in front of the screen in the last 10 minutes of an auction to maximize the hammer price and consequently their profits. I know that automatic snipers and that whole are really not part of their business model, meaning they want to maximize eyes on the screen, also to drive up ad revenue, no. of clicks, add-on buys, etc. They've got teams of developers and analysts whose only purpose is to defeat Snipe sites and increase human clicks and page views. Most if not all online retailers or other sites that deal with the customer to get their online $ hate third-party automatic programs and bots which take the place of a human interaction with their site. The only good bot is *their* bot, as to what is allowed. eBay makes their money from humans who spend time on their site. Maximizing the time a customer is on eBay is not what a third party agent does so that's why now, as Snipe sites get a bigger share of the winning bids, they've declared war on us. And your bottom dollar that eBay has made sure that verification is never triggered when a human user bids, even at the last minute. So the assertion from AS that eBay does this from time to time is a lame excuse. I'd like to be treated a little more intelligently by AS Support, thank you.
So here's the deal. Auction Sniper knows very well this is an anti-snipe weapon. The fact is that it could be a business killer for them and it has been happening for some time tells me that they're either clueless or powerless to do something about it. By now they would have reasonably developed a counter fix to the verification check. I'm getting really fed up with the AS support, being unfriendly, clueless, and ineffective. This may well be their final straw.
Here's what I'm going to do in the short term.
For auctions of items that I definitely want to win no matter what, I will bid manually.
I have increased the lead time on one of my upcoming snipes up to 8 or 10 seconds, just to test if that makes a difference.
I am also going to log in and stay logged in to eBay within 15 minutes (min avg cookie session time) of auction end.
I am also going to start sniping with another AS account just to see if eBay is going after the hard core habitual offenders.
In the long term or sooner, if eBay continues this BS and AS doesn't find a fix, if the above ideas don't work, I'll drop AS like a ton of bricks and walk.
I'll let you know.
In any case the best solution hands down is a downloaded snipe program that we can install on our own PCs which snipes for us from the IP with which we logged in and stay logged through auction end. Letting a third party do this for us always was never a guarantee of getting the winning bid, thus with a high degree of risk because we're delegating to a third party agent. Now it seems that those chickens have come to roost.
This reminds me of those heady days of the Wild West Web of the mid to late 90s when search engines were constantly fighting web coders that modified web site pages to get higher search result placement. Most of you weren't even born yet (joke). It became so bad that search sites were even blocking the worst offending web sites and even server IPs from displayed results. There were young men and women "hired guns" ("search engine gurus") who represented that they had cracked the search engine's code and could achieve amazing results for web site business owners. Major money was spent, many late night hours burned. Some of the more astute guys even got sued by the search sites. No, really.
Anyway.., AS needs to fess up and come clean to their customers about what they know and don't know. Everything. I surmise that might not be very much and that's why they're playing the same old unprofessional, lame broken record to us: "It's eBay's fault".
This situation could very well completely change the AS business model to one that may fail the company unless they develop a solution quickly. Folks are not going to keep losing items with AS. Very soon we'll walk.
Thoughts?
-FU
I used to use AS all the time, but now i'm scared to use it for anything I want as I have lost 2 many things
The MOST annoying thing is that AS still won't acknowledge that this is a problem, they are still denying it and pretending it is some new ebay security and not a way of ebay cracking down on snipes.
GUYS - admit it and write some new code as suggested by Fed Up
By the way _ I always leave my computer on but this does not help in any way
The MOST annoying thing is that AS still won't acknowledge that this is a problem, they are still denying it and pretending it is some new ebay security and not a way of ebay cracking down on snipes.
GUYS - admit it and write some new code as suggested by Fed Up
By the way _ I always leave my computer on but this does not help in any way
AS removed my reply to Jacobsen AND my follow-up to my original post:
" Sniper Mike D.
posted June 02, 2015 10:11 AM
Hello FedUp,
This message is to inform you that we have removed one or more of your recent posts for mentioning competing sniping services, which is not allowed on our Community Forum.
Please consider this message a warning that similar posting in the future could compromise your ability to make use of our forum.
Thank you for your consideration in this matter,
Auction Sniper Forum Administrator "
This speak for itself. This is AS today. AS is clueless about keeping customers. Suppose they'll be working off of churn.
Screw this. I'm history.
-FU
" Sniper Mike D.
posted June 02, 2015 10:11 AM
Hello FedUp,
This message is to inform you that we have removed one or more of your recent posts for mentioning competing sniping services, which is not allowed on our Community Forum.
Please consider this message a warning that similar posting in the future could compromise your ability to make use of our forum.
Thank you for your consideration in this matter,
Auction Sniper Forum Administrator "
This speak for itself. This is AS today. AS is clueless about keeping customers. Suppose they'll be working off of churn.
Screw this. I'm history.
-FU
Update: I just won an item with AS, without the verification holdup, but with the fol changes:
1. I upped my bid lead time to 11s.
2. I logged into eBay with my acct within 15 mins. of auction end.
3. I interacted with links on the listing up until hammer time.
Not sure what made the difference.
1. I upped my bid lead time to 11s.
2. I logged into eBay with my acct within 15 mins. of auction end.
3. I interacted with links on the listing up until hammer time.
Not sure what made the difference.
hmmn
Maybe just lucky?? I won one with AS last weekend, but then lost the next one….
something has come up that I really want now. It feels safer to me to write to the ebayer privately and try to get it for a fixed price. I have done this twice now and it has worked
Maybe just lucky?? I won one with AS last weekend, but then lost the next one….
something has come up that I really want now. It feels safer to me to write to the ebayer privately and try to get it for a fixed price. I have done this twice now and it has worked
Well, it won't work anymore to trust just setting the snipe and leave it to finish the auction any more ....ok ... understood the severity of the problem, is there any way for us to help AS work around the new eBay environment ?
What if the bidder also makes an initial bid, early on, just to establish their place in the bid process for the particular item ?
and what if they are logged into eBay at the time of the auction end ?
Would these two conditions ensure that eBay not defend against the bid placed by AuctionSniper at the end ?
What if the bidder also makes an initial bid, early on, just to establish their place in the bid process for the particular item ?
and what if they are logged into eBay at the time of the auction end ?
Would these two conditions ensure that eBay not defend against the bid placed by AuctionSniper at the end ?
Alx
I did that to one of my items, left an early bid through ebay, and then left my final bid with AS for £180
I item sold for £99
I had left my computer on and logged in to ebay -
I got the ebay requires verification blurb… so, no, that does not work, not if you really want something
I did that to one of my items, left an early bid through ebay, and then left my final bid with AS for £180
I item sold for £99
I had left my computer on and logged in to ebay -
I got the ebay requires verification blurb… so, no, that does not work, not if you really want something
ok, thanks for info ...
really nothing to do except proxy-bid thru eBay, planning if possible to be onsite near the end of the auction.
One thing to realize ... if other users of AS are becoming wary, there may not be any, or many, snipes from other bidders to worry about anymore ...
really nothing to do except proxy-bid thru eBay, planning if possible to be onsite near the end of the auction.
One thing to realize ... if other users of AS are becoming wary, there may not be any, or many, snipes from other bidders to worry about anymore ...
"Sniper in Training" huh ..... ok, we realize that if you have fewer than x posts in the message boards, you get this description - but really, after about 15 years and a thousand snipes, .....
Here is an idea I saw on a different thread in this board .... has it been explored yet ?
If you have a phone app that is logged into eBay all the time, as they are typically doing, and then AuctionSniper logs in to place your snipe, perhaps eBay's security measures are triggered by the double log-in situation.
Has this already been investigated ?
If you have a phone app that is logged into eBay all the time, as they are typically doing, and then AuctionSniper logs in to place your snipe, perhaps eBay's security measures are triggered by the double log-in situation.
Has this already been investigated ?
This problem has happened to me several times, too. It's very frustrating. I called eBay. They said all was fine with my account; verification was not required.
I've reset my passwords on both eBay and Auction Sniper. I deleted and reentered my credit card info on Auction Sniper. I went to my Auction Sniper account and clicked "Check Status," and got the following message:
Verified eBay login information
Your account has been verified and all snipes will be properly placed.
Still my snipes aren't recording!
Here's the communication thread with Auction Sniper:
Your Previous Comment: (submitted [Sunday, 6/7/2015 8:02 PM PDT])
My snipes are not recording. This has happened several times. I received the following email message after today's most recent snipe fail:
"Ebay Requires Account Verification
Your snipe did not win because of the reason above
Click here to see eBay's response to your snipe"
When I click the link, I get this 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 Click for help"
A six-digit number is displayed. When I enter the number, another six-digit number is displayed. This goes on and on. I tried listening to the number using several different browsers, but the audio does not play in any of the browsers.
I need your help to verify my account with eBay so that my snipes record.
Thank you for your help.
Reply (submitted [Sunday, 6/7/2015 8:24 PM PDT])
Hello,
Thanks for contacting us regarding this matter and I am sorry to hear the trouble you are facing.
I've reviewed your account and found that snipe for provided item # 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 the message you received through the email.
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. Please do not enter the number again and again on 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 request 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. Please be informed that our engineers make every effort to make adjustments on our end to reduce the likelihood of such occurring.
If you have any other questions or encounter further difficulties, please don't hesitate to ask!
Sincerely,
Auction Sniper Support
I've reset my passwords on both eBay and Auction Sniper. I deleted and reentered my credit card info on Auction Sniper. I went to my Auction Sniper account and clicked "Check Status," and got the following message:
Verified eBay login information
Your account has been verified and all snipes will be properly placed.
Still my snipes aren't recording!
Here's the communication thread with Auction Sniper:
Your Previous Comment: (submitted [Sunday, 6/7/2015 8:02 PM PDT])
My snipes are not recording. This has happened several times. I received the following email message after today's most recent snipe fail:
"Ebay Requires Account Verification
Your snipe did not win because of the reason above
Click here to see eBay's response to your snipe"
When I click the link, I get this 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 Click for help"
A six-digit number is displayed. When I enter the number, another six-digit number is displayed. This goes on and on. I tried listening to the number using several different browsers, but the audio does not play in any of the browsers.
I need your help to verify my account with eBay so that my snipes record.
Thank you for your help.
Reply (submitted [Sunday, 6/7/2015 8:24 PM PDT])
Hello,
Thanks for contacting us regarding this matter and I am sorry to hear the trouble you are facing.
I've reviewed your account and found that snipe for provided item # 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 the message you received through the email.
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. Please do not enter the number again and again on 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 request 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. Please be informed that our engineers make every effort to make adjustments on our end to reduce the likelihood of such occurring.
If you have any other questions or encounter further difficulties, please don't hesitate to ask!
Sincerely,
Auction Sniper Support
Basically, unreliable ....
Look, .... if eBay was not opposed to the sniping of auctions, they could easily provide their own sniping feature, just as well as the proxy bidding system. It would probably entirely replace regular proxy bidding, because once understood by their buying customers, who would want to have their bids appear before the end of the auction ? At least it might foster a different style of auction, like a sealed-bid auction. The snipe-able auction would be at the choice of the seller.
For now, eBay seems to have effectively undermined the reliability of sniping services, such that only those bidders who are not end-users would care to risk snipe bidding. Anyone who really wants that item, who is invested in getting it for themselves, should just use the eBay auction system as it is normally operated - with proxy bidding, or be present at the auction end with a manually-placed "snipe" bid.
For now, eBay seems to have effectively undermined the reliability of sniping services, such that only those bidders who are not end-users would care to risk snipe bidding. Anyone who really wants that item, who is invested in getting it for themselves, should just use the eBay auction system as it is normally operated - with proxy bidding, or be present at the auction end with a manually-placed "snipe" bid.
This problem is not only happening here but the same problem is happening over at -- as well. I was told by ebay support that this is happening because ebay is tightening up security when auto bidding takes place. -- and -- seem to be working ok. and i have not tried my -- account yet. So good lick everybody i think times are changing.
I have been having this same problem with Auctionsniper for weeks. At first they tried to push it off on Ebay but Ebay states they have nothing to do with it. This is a glitch with Auctionsniper which they either cannot fix or refuse to acknowledge. Yesterday I confirmed my Ebay information on Auctionsniper one hour before an important auction was going to end and my snipe was still not placed. Dennis Nedry did not screw up the systems in Jurassic Park as bad as Auctionsniper is screwed up. They clearly did some sort of recent system upgrade which has corrupted the system. My complaint to Auctionsniper has not even been acknowledged so I have ended my snipes and switched to another system as I cannot depend on this site any more.
I lost 4 auctions tonight!!! Same response eBay requires account verification. I can**NOT** find anything on eBay on how to stop this. ASniper gives me **no** answer either. Same old canned response.. Not their fault. I can place bids manually with no trouble. I have to find another service this is getting ridiculous. I **********CAN'T***** always be at the PC to place bids. I work for a living and do sleep sometimes, so I am not 24/7 at the pc to place manual bids. I am soooo mad.
What is sad is that sellers are losing money too! Their items would have sold for more.
I lost an auction that I would have won, but for this problem - I've tried the AS "check my login" link which has previously been a reassuring double-check, even it says "we are unable to check" or words to the effect.
I have a support request with AS, but until that is answered - as many others have commented, I don't see as I can rely on AS currently.
Whether it's eBay or AS' problem is almost immaterial, as an end user I don't seem to have any choice but to vote with my feet after many years of good service. The next auction I am watching, is 4 days time.
I have a support request with AS, but until that is answered - as many others have commented, I don't see as I can rely on AS currently.
Whether it's eBay or AS' problem is almost immaterial, as an end user I don't seem to have any choice but to vote with my feet after many years of good service. The next auction I am watching, is 4 days time.
I also lost a snipe due to Acct Verification problem. I have contacted the seller and told him he lost a lot of money because my high bid was much higher than what he actually got in the bidding process due to my bid being blocked. In some cases, he may lose the entire sale if the Acct Verification "feature" blocks the one and only actual bidder who happens to be using AS. I think the pressure has to come from the sellers.
I advise you to go somewhere else. I am using another company now and it is working just fine.
I asked, like all of you, to no avail, for help fixing this problem.
seems they don't mind losing all their customers
I asked, like all of you, to no avail, for help fixing this problem.
seems they don't mind losing all their customers
@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
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 "