What is the “time buffer” parameter used for?
A3: The value of “time buffer” is the number of seconds left in the auction when your bid is submitted to eBay. For example, if time buffer is set to 12, then your bid will be submitted to eBay 12 seconds before the auction ends. The recommened setting is 12, but some users like to snipe closer to the auction ending time. The minimum time buffer is 3 seconds, which is very close to the auction ending time. There are dangers with submitting bids too close to the end: Delays caused by the Internet or overloaded eBay servers may cause your bid to arrive too late (after the auction ends). Note, when our servers have too many bids to enter at the same time, it may spread out the bids to even the load. So, you may see some bids that are submitted a few seconds earlier than your time buffer setting (this is to improve reliability for you and other users). Change your default time buffer setting with the “set time buffer” link on your home page.
