I know it's legal; they say "All is fair in love and war" and bidding on Ebay. But I say it's intrinsically wrong to skulk in the bushes, and either using a program, or your own sneaky nature, and putting in a bid at the last 5 seconds of an auction, thereby winning the item, and frustrating the @#%^@$ out of the honest bidders!  I know there are Ebayers out there who get a perverse sense of triumph when they snipe others. There are probably others who see nothing wrong in this practice, and make this their policy. Call me old fashioned, but I feel sniping is dishonest, and should be banned! Unless you inadvertantly spot something you need in the last minute before an auction ends, the honest Ebayer makes his/her intentions known right at the beginning of an auction, by putting in a bid, and raising bids in increments until either the auction goes above what he/she believes the item is worth, or wins the item. Yes, I'll watch an item for a couple of days to see how bidding is going, but I'll make my initial bid at least an hour before the end of auction, and let the chips fall where they may.  As a buyer I can usually defeat the unscrupulous sniper by making my bid the MAXIMUM for what I think the item is worth. This usually frustrates the sniper, as the sniper will try to sneak in just enough to beat you in the last second. Ebay's system is pretty good, in that it won't reveal your maximum, and bids in increments for you, so that if the bid is at $100., and you feel the item is worth $180. to you, you can bid $180., and the next increment is $102, so that's where bidding will be. Someone else bids $120. or $130, and ebay will automatically keep you on top at that price. Now, the sniper makes his move at the last second, sees that the bid is 130, and snipes $135 let's say. Since you bid your maximum, the sniper is out of luck, and YOU WIN the item for $136, even though your maximum was $180!   As a seller, I have such a distaste for snipers, that on some of my descriptions I will state that if someone snipes at the end of auction, I reserve the right to cancel his bid, and award the item to the next highest (honest) bidder. I don't know if this meets Ebay's "legaleeze", but it sure works for me.  I hope this helps the little guy. Please vote this guide helpful; I'd like to know that I was of some help to someone. If you have any comments, please let me know. My ebay seller ID is ambulancedork1985

  God bless. Larry