Problems that sniping creates

Delay at your ISP

Sniping works because eBay usually handles your bid within a few seconds after you enter it. Occasionally a bid is delayed, and the auction may close before the bid is accepted.

If your ISP is handling unusually heavily traffic at the moment an auction ends, it may take much longer than usual to transmit your bid over the Internet. The same thing can happen if your ISP's capacity is reduced because one of its servers is out of commission, or its overall capacity is impaired by something like a computer virus infection.

eSnipe's ISPs specialize in providing very high quality service to a small number of large customers. Thus its chances of suffering such a delay are typically less than those of an individual user.