I agree completely with your comments. I use a sniping program...when I see am item that I am interested in, I decide on the amount I am willing to pay, put in a snipe bid and then forget about it. If I win, great....if I lose, then
someone was willing to pay more and deserves the item. Additionally, for many auctions I could be bidding against someone I know...now comes the problem...do I want to bid against a friend. By putting in a snipe bid early, I am not confronted with checking on the bidder and worrying about bidding against a friend...who ever wanted the item more, gets it.