I have been using AS for a year very successfully. I usually don't bother with proxy anymore just rely on AS.
The other day I noticed an item stuck at $2.00 with no bids. Since I was worried the seller might pull the auction prior to its regular end, I decided to place a bid at $ 2.00 (did not want to enter a higher proxy) and kept watching. I never really knew what would happen if I also used AS as a backup if other buyers joined the bidding later.
As I wanted this item, I used AS for a "security snipe" with a much higher bid.
No further bids were entered and I won the item based on the original ebay bid. While AS has charged me for the win, I am happy that my ebay bid was not increased. So while I prefer to use only AS instead of doubling up, I am happy to know that I can use this procedure to make pulling an auction more difficult without necessary increasing the price.
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