Lead Time is the time difference (in seconds) between the submission of your bid and the end of the auction. For example, if an auction ends at 08:15:30, and you choose a lead time of 5 seconds, then we will place the snipe at 08:15:25 (from three locations).
When you choose your lead time, remember that the high snipe always wins, as long as you meet the minimum bid increment. This means that there can be a tie situation. And in tie situations, you want your bid to come in first.
Rule of Thumb: If an item is over 1,000 (in any currency), and there are a lot of bidders, use a longer snipe time of at least 5 seconds. That is because you want your bid to come in earlier, but still avoid emotional escalation from other bidders.
At low-dollar values, the minimum bid increment (MBI) doesn't matter much. But at higher-dollar items over 1,000 (in any currency), you always want your bid to be first. Yes, that is right... you want the bid to be earlier!
So, the lead time is only relevant when there is a tie situation (or close to a tie). In this case, you actually want your bid to come in earlier.
There is a good example of this situation posted on our minimum bid increment help page.
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