I think there are two different types of bidders - those who know how much they are willing to bid in advance and folks like me, who don't figure it out until they've been outbid. The snipers have no impact of the first group but they prevent the second group from bidding as much as they might be willing to. How many auctions have you seen where the same bidder enters several bids. These guys sneak up on you if you bid early but they can't do that against a sniper. I am firmly convinced that sniping costs the seller money - not every time but frequently enough that I feel it is a bad model for an auction. You certainly never see a live auction that uses the "time certain" method to close auctions. I think the snipers know it too - otherwise they wouldn't be willing to pay the fees to use a sniping service.