It does not matter if it is against the clock or not. And it is exactly the same as absentee bidding.
For anyone or entity to conduct an auction in Australia, they must hold an Auctioneers licence, and laws apply.
All online auctions have a stated end time, some extend time to deter sniping, some like ebay do not, and it is up to you to place your maximum bid before the auction closes. Ebay auctions run for a minimum of 24hrs, so you have plenty of time to bid. How and when you bid is entirely up to you, but obviously your method is not winning.
Uhmm, the fact you can not even get to the highest bidder, means you have been outbid, the fact you were outbid by an earlier maximum bid, does not matter.
