Sniping - The online auction bidding strategy of waiting until the last seconds of an auction before placing your bid on an item in the hope that your bid will win the auction and that no other bidder will be able to bid higher. If you have a desirable item up for auction on eBay, or if you are bidding on such an item, it is best to assume that other bidders will snipe.

Say that you see a PC, or a coin, or a book, or anything bidding below its fair new/used market value. Inevitably, this item will be sniped. After monitoring thousands of eBay auction items (and other online auction items, as well) over the last ten years, more than 95% of these "below book" desirable items were sniped at their conclusion. Adjust your selling/bidding strategy accordingly.