I know the reserve which has not been met?

"... then letting AS bid what I feel is the maximum I would pay?" - Why place a proxy bid? If you have a maximum that you are willing to pay, then what difference does the reserve amount make? Are you saying if the reserve amount is more than the "maximum I would pay", that you are willing to increase your "maximum"? If that's the case, than it's not called a "maximum I would pay". You could say, "the maximum I would pay, unless the seller wants more than my maximum, then I'll let the seller tell me what my maximum is".

I'm not trying to be picky nor give you a hard time.

I agree with Rick. Putting in a manual bid just alerts other bidders that you've entered the ring. Just set your AS snipe for that maximum bid and let it go.

And Good Luck!

"Luck is the residue of design." - Branch Rickey (Jackie Robinson's manager)