I learned a long time ago about ebay sniping when a guy kept beating me out on parts for late '70s DT400s at, like 9 seconds to go. I called him once and he told me about the programs he uses. The problem is that he has seemingly unlimited funds and buys EVERYTHING NOS that comes up, in some kind of wild scheme to capture the future market for all these parts or something. He puts up an unreal max bid and always wins. His feedback count is in the billions, I think. I've talked with a couple of other regular guys and every once in a while, we bid high, knowing that Mr. Jerk will end up winning that gasket for $100 or something as equally stupid. However, sometimes we overbid and end up winning (D'oh!)
This guy makes it a real pain if a part comes along that you REALLY need. I ended up paying a small fortune (I could have bought several bikes!) for some NOS tanks and fenders just to beat him out.
You should all consider yourselves lucky you don't have any zealot like that for your stuff.
I like to do the manual snipe, too. Best record = 4 seconds. See you on e-bay.