is the Audiogon auction clock accurate?


I made a few bids on an item and with 2 minutes 45 seconds left on the clock the auction was suddenly over although my computer clock seemed to match. I suspect the member pulled the listing because it would have been a very good deal but since I’m new here I’m not familiar with how the locals roll. (On Ebay the action is usually all in the last five minutes). Is that behaviour allowed on Audiogon or would you suspect a technical issue?
Thanks from a Noob
controlcentral

Showing 3 responses by controlcentral

Something went haywire somewhere. I had the winning bid for a few days and was only outbid in the last few minutes. I wanted to increase mine but it was too late as the auction suddenly ended "early". Today I saw that I had received an automated email from Audiogon that the auction had ended at 6:02 but I was still trying to bid at approximately 6:20 and that's after having refreshed my browser multiple times to make sure the countdown clock was accurate. So, it would seem that as far as bidding, it's more of a gentleman's club over here which is fine. But it also seems that the Audiogon auction system is less than robust, and a bit more opaque which is disheartening. Thanks for the reply and Happy New Year.
You misunderstand my post. I totally understand sniping and am not complaining that I was outbid, I was just explaining the circumstances surrounding the situation, perhaps you hadn’t read down that far. I don’t need an atomic clock, but one that is in the same time zone should be provided by the auction site. The system is clearly broken. But I have no ax to grind.. My post as a new member was to try and ascertain what may have happened that could reconcile with my personal experience. Two longstanding members  basically confirmed what happened so I’m taking that at face value, confirmation bias or no. Thanks to everyone for the feedback.
The high bidder did ostensibly win the auction. it just wasn’t me. Fail for the seller: s/he would have gotten a higher price if the system had worked ( I was pretty determined to get this piece of gear). Fail for the buyer: If I don’t know when the gavel comes down, who the winner is, or how much was paid, it’s more of a carny game than an auction. That said, I’m not hating on Audiogon. I didn’t get ripped-off or lose any money. I’m just a newbie who asked for a reality check from current members, which I received- one member who concedes the system is sub-optimal but it worked in his favor, ( and it honestly might have worked in mine if i had handled my bidding differently) and one who has washed his hands of it. I appreciate them taking time to share their experiences Maybe I’m an outlier, but as a first-time experience it has left a bad impression. But now that I "know the deal" I can draw my own conclusions and act accordingly.
But yes, it’s a disservice to both buyers and sellers.