Auction - Anti-Snipe Time

Anti-Snipe Feature

The current setting is shown in the table on each bidding page.

The anti-snipe time prevents a bidder from trying to place a high bid at the last second, to "beat the clock". If a bid is placed within the anti-snipe time period before the listed closing the closing is extended by the anti-snipe time. Any further bids reset the clock again with this amount remaining. (The "Closes" column on the listing page does not update but continues to say "less than a minute" from the scheduled closing until all anti-snipe extensions are expired.)

Continued bidding resets the closing time so final moment bidding wars can sometimes go on for a while.

On our auctions it has usually been set to 120 minutes, or 2 hours. So if somebody bids 90 minutes prior to the listed closing time the closing will be extended by 30 minutes (120 minutes from the bid). In order to be fair to east coast bidders during the annual fundraising event we reserve the right to alter this time as bidding goes into the evening, and in rare cases to even lengthen it into the following day, if we notice a need for it. During the annual fundraiser we generally pay close attention, especially at closing times. The rest of the year we are much less likely to alter the anti-snipe time. Please pay attention to the item page and your e-mail notifications during the final hours and minutes of bidding!

In order to keep bidding during this final period we recommend you monitor either the webpage with the bidding or your e-mail (for notices that you have been outbid). Or both.

Why have an Anti-Snipe Feature?

The "big boys" of the auction world like e-bay don't have this feature. So why do we? Simply put, our auction has been primarily used as a fundraiser for our non-profit organization so we want to raise as much as possible. Aside from that it's a matter of preference and fairness, and in our opinion if somebody still wants to bid more they should be given the chance.

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