Auction Rules Question

[fallenchaoskitten]

Within the auction rules there are statements involving the end time of an auction that are pretty clear (and good!) that state...

The end time of the auction must be clearly stated and should not be increased or decreased after it has already started.

All bids must be placed before the specified minute of the end time starts. For example, in an auction that ends at 6:00, only posts that display a timestamp of 5:59 or before should be counted. The edit time should be used for bids made on edited posts.

...

The last person to bid on an auction within the scope of its rules and time limits is the winner. Auctioneers cannot choose another winner even if someone else makes a better offer after the auction ends.

However, I know way back (New Leaf days) "snipe savers" were popular and I, too, still utilize them even now. I wonder if these will fall into the portion of special rights or if they would be in conflict with the rules listed in a way that would.

Rules for an auction must be clearly set and followed by both the bidder and auctioneer. If the auctioneer wishes to reserve special rights, they must be stated at the beginning of the auction and must not conflict with the rules listed below.

For those who aren't aware of what a snipe saver is (let's be honest, it is not used as much anymore if at all), this is what I have laid out in one of my threads that explain it with for all participates to see before they bid.

SNIPE SAVER - To prevent someone sniping the auction at last second, some auctions will have a "snipe saver" that can extend the auction end time
--- Example: Snipe Saver: 10mins. End Time: 3:30PM. Someone bids at 2:55PM. New end time is 3:35PM
----- Example Continued: Someone then bids at 3:34PM. New end time is 3:44PM.

Again, it is something stated at the start of the auction as well as explained (direct quote from my thread ^) for all bidders to be made aware before they bid.
Personally, as a bidder I liked the "protection" of not sitting there for 30mins bidding back and forth with someone else just for someone to come in 3secs before the end of the auction to put in a bid that no one else had time to try and top. Even more so if you are not blessed with the ability to have fast/reliable internet. Anyone who is older remembers those good 'ol days of where ebay was one of the very few online purchasing places this pain...

TL;DR Seeking an answer from a Mod or Admin on if a 'snipe saver' is a special rights or if it would not be allowed because it conflicts with the rules.

 

[Mairmalade]

We brought this up for internal discussion and wanted to give everyone a chance to share their thoughts.

We understand that ‘snipe guards’ or ‘snipe savers’ are sometimes used as protection for bidders against last-second bids. These last second bids are typically not made with malicious intent and are instead made strategically to win the auction at a lower price point. It’s completely fair game to snipe in an auction and members should not attacked for doing so.

Some of us agree that snipe savers should be removed as they interrupt the natural flow of auctions and can cause an auction to continue indefinitely beyond the end-time. However, others have mentioned that they should remain within an auctioneer’s rights. Essentially, it comes down to a matter of preference.

In the current auction guidelines as of this post’s date, adding a snipe guard would not be a violation of them if they are clearly set.

There may be modifications in the future as we continue to observe auctions to ensure their format is fair for both buyers and sellers.

 

[fallenchaoskitten]

Thank you for the clarification!

I can definitely see where it could be abused by the seller to extort more out of potential buyers and would need to be watched. Personally, anything over 10mins seems like it would fall into the "seller is just trying to get more money."