Lost on another item!!!

From the Help pages:

quote:

Help > FAQ > Snipes FAQ

Snipes

When can I modify snipes that I’ve entered?

How come when I click on "Snipe It Now!" nothing happens?

What is a "Max Bid"?

Why isn't the price on My Snipes current?

Why was my snipe 30 minutes early (Friday AM maintenance)?

How long do I have to use my free snipes?


Snipes

When can I modify snipes that I’ve entered?

You cannot add, modify, or cancel a snipe if there is less than 5 minutes left until the auction ends. When the auction is about to end, you may notice that a lock will replace the Cancel and Modify links. In the event that you have not refreshed the page, and the Cancel and Modify links still exist for a snipe that is ending in less than 5 minutes, any changes made will not adhere. For reliability and performance, our bidding system prepares your snipes in advance, so you must make your changes before this time.

In fairness it would be good if AS gave you an error message when you tried to change your snipe (may be it did - did it?).

Let's take a step back. You are angry with AS because it is "unreliable". Your idea of unreliable is that you failed to bid your maximum and decided to up your snipe very near to the close. As AS had already set up its servers to place your snipe it was too late to make the change. You also failed to place a manual bid and the item was lost.

So, it would appear that AS could be improved by warning you that it cannot take modifications with only two minutes to go. However, I really don't think that this makes it unreliable. I suggest you contact Support via the Help tab and ask them about the missing message.

Then, do some research so that your snipes are set to a more realistic level - if you're monitoring the auction so close to the end then you might as well bid manualy and save the AS fees. Remember that AS just prevents bidding wars and allows you to bid near the end when you're away from your PC - it doesn't guarantee a win.

R2

I had placed a snipe in well before the last few minutes and even at that lower price I may have still have won the auction (my initial bid was 20% more than the final sale price).

Yes I think if you can't make changes that close to the end of the auction - then don't let the system let you make the change. Pretty simple really.

I don't expect AS to be the end all answer to winning auctions - all I expect it to do is bid what I ask it to (ie at least it could have put in my initial bid which may have still won me the auction).

In future, if I am near the computer I won't use AS. Lesson learnt unfortunately!

I see, so you're actually saying that AS appeared to let you change the snipe but then didn't place any snipe for you.

Whereas you appear to have given up on AS, I'd speak to AS Support and try to establish what happened. Maybe they have an explanation that would allay your fears...

R2

quote:

Originally posted by region2:
speak to AS Support

http://support.auctionsniper.com/

OK, I just had the same experience. I'm upset too, but I'm not blaming the system, I discovered to my misfortune I was locked out of changing my bid.

OK, tell me how to get around it. Can I place another snipe? If there is not a work around I see this as a fatal flaw in AS. My experience is as follows: Item at $2.50 for 4 days, I bid $25 max. Changed my mind and went to $33 just in case. 20 minutes left to bid price is $4.75. 10 minutes price is up to $11.50. I raised my max to $42 to be safe. Item stays at $11.50 until 2 minutes to go and jumps to $33. At this point I want to raise my bid but can't. I wanted to go to $50 but was locked out and item sold for $48.

So what am I supposed to do? I usually use AS when I'm not around to watch the auction, I find this a shortcoming.

What you need to do is decide on a price--your absolute I-won't-pay-a penny-more-max-bid--set it with AS and then walk away.

You are attempting to use AS to nibble. Sniping is about placing one fell swoop bid at the very end, not continually changing one's mind, like an indecisive, nibbling wienie. Those are the types that snipers try NOT to emulate.

Valid point. I normally do that but in this case I was online live watching it, not happy about the outcome. I still believe there should be another option for these situations, I had no idea why I was locked out until I went to investigate why.

Perhaps I need to find another program to use as a backup to AS. Out of curiosity what is the latest I can place a bid with AS?

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I still believe there should be another option for these situations

Since you were online watching the auction yourself, what was stopping you from bidding on the item yourself???

Hmmm, you are right! I did not think of it that way, mentally I thought I placed my bid and it was locked, but there really wasn't anything stopping me from biding.

I'll remember that for future reference.

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Out of curiosity what is the latest I can place a bid with AS?

http://www.auctionsniper.com/faqsnipes.aspx#faq_1a_lbl

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mentally I thought I placed my bid and it was locked, but there really wasn't anything stopping me from biding.

You will be billed if your AS snipe didn't win but your manual bid did: http://www.auctionsniper.com/faqbasics.aspx#faq_15a_lbl