I had a winning snipe amount submitted in advance, my snipe was reportedly sent, and per my BidSlammer page it says I won! However ebay seems to have no record of my bid, and does NOT show me as the winning bidder!?!

What is the truth? Help!

Hello Scott,

The item had export restrictions that required an approval. Unfortunately we aren't allowed to accept the disclaimer on behalf of customers. We placed your snipes as you indicated, but eBay returned an error below. Sorry you did not win and good luck on your next attempt.

"It appears this item is restricted for export by the U.S. Department of State (DOS) under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (22 CFR, Parts 120-130) or the Department of Commerce under the Bureau of Industry (BIS) and Security Export Administration Regulations, EAR (15 CFR, Parts 730-774). ITAR restricted items require an export license granted from the DOS Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) prior to export. EAR restricted items may or may not require a license, depending on the end user and the ultimate country of destination.

Directing the seller to export without complying with the regulatory licensing and documentation requirements is a violation of United States law. Please consult DDTC’S website at ww.pmddtc.state.gov and BIS’S website at www.bis.doc.gov for more guidance. Also, please refer to eBay’s Military Items Policy for additional information."

Ok, I definitely need some clarification here then.

I was bidding on an American listing, paying with and American credit card, and shipping to an American address.

I got charged a $5 win fee, for something I really wanted, and lost a lot more money by not winning an item that is seldom ever seen on ebay, and which costs much more if found elsewhere. For sure I should not be charged for a win fee on something that I did not win! Let alone the consequential losses.

The fact that I was outside the country at the time I placed the bid via Bid Slammer was irrelevant to the entire process. Did something in your bid trigger this?

Sincerely,
Scott

Hello Scott,

You weren't charged. Our policy is always to credit those. Actually I did credit the item but forgot to mention it.

You didn't do anything incorrectly. The seller configured that listing to offer a legal dialog that you have to agree to before you can buy the item. We really have no way of knowing that is there, all we can do is place the snipe and see what happens. We are not allowed to accept the terms on your behalf, unfortunately.

We hope this won't change your opinion of sniping in general.

Please let us know if we can help further.