Transaction Blocked?????

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Originally posted by silentsniper:
Does anyone know what this "transaction blocked" garbage is? I was set to win an auction-excuse me, I did win an auction-only for some reason the bid never went through. The otheer thread on this forum concerning this subject was no help and even though there are apparently other posts on the matter, I have no idea what they say since the search function STILL isn't workiing. Has AS finally outlived its usefulness?

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Wow, talk about jumping to a conclusion!

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I have no idea what they say since the search function STILL isn't workiing.

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Here it is... > Click <

Just a guess, but think your problem has nothing to do with AS.
It's the seller that has a problem with you.

I tend to agree with Puppy. Best thing to do is ask the seller!

I'm relatively new to AS. I have just started using it and have been quite happy with the results I have obtained. I've won a few and lost a few but was most happy that I did not have to be around when the auction was ending to place my bid.

Until yesterday. I had a snipe scheduled to be placed 12 seconds before the auction ended. The reply I got was "Item Not Won".

No bids were placed on this item. Not even the snipe bid I had scheduled. Digging further into the explanation I came up with "transaction not allowed".

Now I know it was not because I was using a Bid Group. I just place my bids from the single entry window that shows when you bring up your snipe account.

Luckily it was not an expensive or hard to come by item. I have already made arrangements directly with the seller to purchase this item. The biggest deal is that AS did not place my bid. How am I supposed to feel confident using this service???

If there was something truly in place with the seller that was able to block my AS bid, I would like to know the circumstances. Can anyone explain?

This is just an opinion but it seems kind of odd that there are several instances surfacing all at once with the same symptoms. To me, this indicates that AS goofed up somehow. Any response, AS?

Mike O.

Hardly. What you see here in the forums is any number of longtime members, such as Yours Truly, who have used AS for a long period of time, because we believe in it. (AS has won 909 auctions for me, over a nearly three-year period.) There are far more posts here, even from new users, praising AS as a product and service, than complaints. Of course there are occasional problems, but with thousands of snipes going in every day, AS seems to be doing a great job at it. That is why we have so many regular posters in here, who represent but a small fraction of the AS users' community, most of whom never come in here.

As for the purported problem, if it were I with the problem, I would refrain from comment until I had checked with the seller, to see if my name had been blocked, intentionally or otherwise, because the error message in question indicates that the transaction was blocked from the seller's end. And the post does not not need to be placed in two separate threads; one suffices.

Hiya *not-so* Silent Sniper ,
It appears there may be a glitch or something going on, as Sue mentioned in the other thread, that she HASNT actually been blocked by the seller.

I would file a support case using http://support.auctionsniper.com/ , or maybe Sara may pop in and tell us otherwise.

Well, at least the post got a few replies.
Just to clarify, I've never dealt with this seller before and I have NO NEGATIVE FEEDBACK on Ebay. There is no reason for this seller to have a problem with me. Until now, I've been a satisfied AS user. The fact that others are having this problem means something is going on and pointing out how you've been using the service for years and had "thousands" of transactions close without incident doesn't negate the point I just made.
I do wish someone from AS would pop in the forum and take this up. I purchased the item from another seller but I will file a support case in due course just to see if I can find out what's going on. I will post the results here when I have them for those that are interested.

Oh, and one other thing, the reason I started a new thread and posted it in this forum rather than continuing the other is because I felt-and still do-that this is an AS support issue and not one for the Q&A forum.

This isn't just an AS issue it seems to be an occasional glitch - I had the same message on a manual bid 4 times - including after a reboot and then everything went fine (and I won)

There have been some occasions when pages are also unavailable and links from the watch list don't work etc. - also odd routing when trying to place items on watch...

My best guess is that there is some 'noise' corrupting some of the data on EbayUK... any other thoughts?

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The fact that others are having this problem means something is going on and pointing out how you've been using the service for years and had "thousands" of transactions close without incident doesn't negate the point I just made.

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Couldnt agree with you more!

I also see that it may not be an AS fault, but an ebay glitch.

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I do wish someone from AS would pop in the forum and take this up.

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Your best bet is to file a support case and then you will definately get an answer from AS direct, rather than us *do-gooders* with too much time on our hands

As promised in a previous post, here are the results of the AS support ticket I filed:

MY POST-

I placed a high bid to launch through AS and it failed to go through. No reason was given apart from "Transaction Blocked". It was not part of a bid group, I had no previous dealings with this seller, and I have no negative or neutral feedback. I‘ve been ebaying and sniping for over two years so I‘m not exactly a novice.
Here is some more pertinent information-

Auction Sniper Snipe Status Report
eBay Item: THIEF - Deadly Shadows - PC/NEW - FREE SHIPPING
(Item # 8130187420)
Seller: twk_atx
Your Max Bid: US $20.00
Current Item Price: US $15.01

Your help is greatly appreciated as this has me both puzzled and concerned. Many thanks.

Sincerely,
Mark Lackey


Related URL:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=8130187420

AS REPLY-

First, find your snipe by clicking on : Snipes I‘ve Won (or Snipes I‘ve Lost), above and to the right of your first Ready snipe (right after you‘ve logged in).
Also note the lead time to your snipe and the time of day of the auction. It will show either Did Not Win, Snipe Placed, or Not In Time.
Please click on the confirmation link to the right of your snipe to see eBay‘s message (or 0-byte message) .

Almost all Did Not Win and Not In Time messages are due to lead time . The default lead time is 5 seconds , while adequate for most weekday situations, just isn‘t enough for evenings and weekends.

We snipe from an atomic clock which calibrates our servers. We snipe every auction not once but 3 times--from 3 different servers and locations. 2 of them snipe exactly on time, and one server tries to adjust for eBay server lag according to how long their average server is taking.

Also please remember that it‘s in our interests for you to win: if you don‘t win, we don‘t get paid---so we do our best to see that you do indeed win!

You should increase your lead time to 7-12 seconds on auctions that close 4-11 p.m. PST, and on weekends, when eBay traffic is heavier.There are risks to sniping. No service or software guarantees your wins. Here‘s the link to our page on this:

http://www.auctionsniper.com/risks.aspx

Even though the vast majority of these are due to not enough lead time, eBay server lag or heavier than usual internet traffic, you can redeem free snipes for Did Not Win or Not In Time messages at:

http://www.auctionsniper.com/freeSnipes.aspx

Sorry you missed your snipe.

Regards,
-Michelle S.


I appreciate the free snipes but I'm still a little uneasy in my mind about sniping auctions now and I never used to worry about it. Anyone else have any thoughts about the matter?

I snipe at 8 seconds normally and never have had auction that was not placed. During busy times , I add a little time. I find AS very reliable!

I have had 3 snipes not go through, they were *not in time* or *did not win*, which I was told was due to no response from ebay.

That said, I still find AS reliable (I use 8 seconds) and not being from the States - dont have the *heavy* traffic problem, so never adjust my lead times.

I am SURE you will get an abundance of snipers come in a give you all *their* success stories and how many snipes etc, but that doesnt change the fact that you have been bitten.

What I did when I had my doubts about AS reliability was to weigh up my other options.

I'll admit I went to the competition (and still use them as back up), the only other thing I could do was sit at my PC and snipe manually.

My strategy now - low priority auctions that are a dime a dozen, I use AS to snipe as I know another will be along shortly if something happens (havent had that *something* scenario alot).

Medium priority auctions, snipe and manual bid.

MUST HAVE auctions, 1 snipe set at 15 seconds and another at 8 seconds...sit at my PC nervously waiting to place a Manual snipe.

The last option is my least favorite obivously.