Hi and WELCOME!!
This is JUST me.
Let's say that I find an item for a widget. Evrybody likes that term!
I put in a proxy bid for $15. eBay will continue to up my bid until it reaches my max of $15. Somebody comes along and bids, my price goes up, their price goes up, and on and on and on. Eventually you can have a bidding war and if you don't catch yourself, instead of paying $15 for that widget, you can wind up paying $30. Buyer's remorse can set in. I really didn't mean to pay that much!
Now for AS. I put in my snipe for $15. Nobody knows that I will bid 5 seconds before the end of the auction. The widget is at $3, my snipe max is $15. Five seconds before the end - boom - AS bids for me! I win the auction for $3.25!
Some people can get caught up in the heat of the auction and don't see what they are bidding until it's all over. AS makes ONE bid at the last second. If you win with your max )or under your max,) chances are that you will have paid less than what you thought you could get it for. The only problem with AS is that you have to make sure that you bid your max - you only get one shot!
Also, if I'm bidding on a widget and then decide that I really don't want it. It then takes an act of Congress to get the bid retracted and it's marked on your record. With AS, you decide that you really don't want something, you just cancel the snipe. Nobody knows that you even wanted the widget. I think you can cancel up to one minute before the close of the auction, but I'm not sure. Somebody will come along and correct me.
Personally, I love AS. I have won more auctions for less money than if I had bid through proxies.
Hope this helps.
Crafty
Six inches Lord, that's all I need!