Posted By:
DaveI almost always snipe when I bid. I don't use a service though, just hit the confirm button when there are less than 10 seconds left. I have high speed, and this will get in on time. I also open two IE windows, one to place the bid, and the other to refresh on my card of interest.
I synchronize my PC clock with NISTIME, available at http://tf.nist.gov/service/its.htm. This makes my PC time accurate within a small fraction of a second to actual, which matches ebay. So, I can watch the countdown clock on my own machine.
Someone asked why not just put in a high bid up front? That gives the other buyers a chance to decide that they really can affort another $10 or $20. By sniping, it changes the auction to one where everyone opens their envelope at the end, and the high bid wins.