I had a similar experience with a virus I was sent. Avast didn't detect it, but it was obviously a virus so I didn't let it run. I checked it at Virus Total to find most AV's detecting it as a virus, but not Avast. I submitted it to Avast about 2 weeks ago with no joy. Not detected still. Like you I feel a little let down.
Overall, my brain tells me this is a numbers game. Avast has good detection rates, better than many alternatives. But my heart tells me that there is a virus I encountered that I wasn't protected from, by my AV anyway. Realisticaly the only important detection for any individual is the last one you encounter yourself. If your AV misses that virus ... well... then it was useless for you. That's how it feels anyway. While I'm sure the burdon of submissions may be very high, this is mostly from users who want to help with a product they use & depend upon. It would be nice to see some form of acknowlegement of submitted suspious files.
