Rob Case considers that the use of a snipe bidding programme is what
causes buyers to pay too much for items on eBay.  I think that actually
the opposite applies.

Snipe programmes do not just place a bid with an amount necessary
to top the last bid -- no matter what it takes, that is done by people
bidding as in a live auction in the manner that Rob approves of.

In this way people get caught up in a bidding war and keep placing
bids just to top the other guy's bid rather than what they really want
to pay for the item, losing sight of the "value" of the item.  Snipe
bidders have to do precisely what Rob approves of, i.e., nominate the
top price, in advance, that they are willing to pay for that item.
The snipe program will not place a bid in excess of that predetermined
amount.

I sometimes use such a bidding programme since eBay auctions frequently
end at a time like 4 A.M. when those of us, like me, residing "Down
Under" are sound asleep, since an eBay auction, unlike a live auction,
finishes at a predetermined time.  Others not living in the antipodes
could be away from access to a computer and have similar issues.

Yours from Melbourne, Australia,
Bob Klepner