In this scenario, the bid wouldn't be valid since was acknowledged after the end point.
Yes, we can still say it. You are not seeing our side, which is understandable - nobody has clarified this for you. It's quite easy to explain.
In-game timestamps are based on your device's clock. Meaning it's very easily manipulated. There is nothing that guarantees me that you didn't receive the bid at [02:16:01] and took less than a minute to post it.
This is one of the reasons why in-game mishandled auctions don't have their outcomes reversed/corrected. There isn't data to determine with 100% certainty who won.
If the in-game timestamps would follow a server-based time (meaning would be universal for every player), then it would gain strength to be considered. But even then, auctions could be extended by those acknowledgement delays, which is also not the goal.
What you (players) need to understand is that forum auctions are handled in the forum thread. You can advertise it in-game, accept in-game bids, but they only count when they are acknowledged (turned public) on the platform the auction is taking place. A [02:14:59] bid received in-game is not a [02:14:59] received in the forum thread. Hence why it's important for bidders to be in control of their own fate in the last 15 minutes of an auction, and it's a good practise to bid in the auction thread rather than private messaging the auctioneer in-game or through the forum. This way, they are not risking their bid not being considered if the auctioneer is slow on bringing onto the thread, or is simply unavailable to do so - you are not robots and are entitled to have a bathroom emergency for example.
Recognise also that staff aren't robots and are limited in some aspects, like the game itself if it had a functional Auction House we wouldn't be here having this conversation. We work the best we can with what we got. If you have better suggestions on how to moderate auctions, would love to hear them in the Suggestions sub-forum. The current way is a culmination of several years of experience and generations of Trade Moderators that go from even before I joined the team, but we should always remain open to improvement and criticism.
Let me if anything was unclear and if I can help you further in this subject.
Looking forward to your reply.