I like sniping for a couple of reasons, one of which is already mentioned, I don't have to be at the computer before the auction ends.
The big reason I like sniping is because it keeps ME under control, so I don't get "auction fever" and get caught up in last minute bidding. There have been a few times I was that bidder who kept bidding more and more until I was the high bidder. I was caught up in the rush of bidding and the competition with another bidder. After the auction I realized I had just overpaid for an item.
With a sniper, I can set my snipe and what I am willing to pay days before the auction ends. That gives me time to think about it, to make sure I really want to pay that much, or even if I want to raise my max bid. I try not to impulse bid, I like to think things over before I make a purchase (which makes my wife happy, she knows I don't impulse buy without thinking it through). With a sniper, if I decide a day or two later I really don't want to bid that much, don't really want the item, think the item is worth more to me or have found another item that I want more, I can cancel, lower or raise my bid.
Without the sniper program, I have to remember the auction end time, be at a computer or place my bid early. And if I place my bid early and decide later I don't want to bid that much, or see something else I want instead, I am SOL because I have already entered into a binding contract.
"Hi, my name is Steve and I am a collecting addict."
