Seatfrog - does it actually work?

[Journeyman]

I'm going from Edinburgh to King's Cross tomorrow, on the 0730 train. I got a reasonably-priced standard class advance on it, paid for by a company I'm doing some work with, but I thought I'd see if I could get it upgraded to first by using Seatfrog.

I downloaded the app, got it set up, and entered the train. I put in a bid of £31, which I thought was (a) a price I'd be happy to pay and (b) might be high enough for success, and waited.

The auction for that train ended early, saying there were no seats available, but also said there was a winning bid of £17. I'm not sure I get this - does this mean someone got the available upgrade(s) for less than I bid, or did they just withdraw the train because there weren't enough seats available? It's an HST, so it has less first class seats than a Mk4 or Azuma, and it's a pretty busy service.

Finally, is Seatfrog actually worth bothering with? Does it actually work properly or predictably, and does anyone have any hints and tips on how to win upgrades? I suspect it's more a stupid gimmick than anything else.

 

[E759]

I'm going from Edinburgh to King's Cross tomorrow, on the 0730 train. I got a reasonably-priced standard class advance on it, paid for by a company I'm doing some work with, but I thought I'd see if I could get it upgraded to first by using Seatfrog.

I downloaded the app, got it set up, and entered the train. I put in a bid of £31, which I thought was (a) a price I'd be happy to pay and (b) might be high enough for success, and waited.

The auction for that train ended early, saying there were no seats available, but also said there was a winning bid of £17. I'm not sure I get this - does this mean someone got the available upgrade(s) for less than I bid, or did they just withdraw the train because there weren't enough seats available? It's an HST, so it has less first class seats than a Mk4 or Azuma, and it's a pretty busy service.

Finally, is Seatfrog actually worth bothering with? Does it actually work properly or predictably, and does anyone have any hints and tips on how to win upgrades? I suspect it's more a stupid gimmick than anything else.

Seatfrog works. It is not “a stupid gimmick”.

Services do have Seatfrog suspended, a common one being network disruption after a PHBAT, but I’ve not had one yet myself.

I’ve, perhaps foolishly, published my own auction tactics elsewhere on this forum. I regularly use Seatfrog successfully on the WCML and ECML.

Seatfrog have a Twitter team. Best to ask them about your specific service.

 

[Hadders]

I’ve used it successfully for a weekday early evening upgrade from Glasgow to Euston. Cost me £22 iirc.

 

[BlueFox]

Is this just another way to rip off gullible travellers?

Yesterday I looked at the price for upgrading on a trip I'm making from Carlisle to Preston this morning on Virgin.
The bid at the time was just 50p less than available first class advance tickets for the same service. It also offered an instant upgrade for £70. I had an email from seatfrog this morning, offering an upgrade for £70.
But the anytime first class single for the same journey is £44.20.
Is it legal to overcharge for train tickets in this way?

 

[island]

First class fares are not regulated so they can legally charge whatever they like.