Heh, 'auction sniping' is a topic that always makes me grit my teeth. It's one of the main reasons I avoid eBay unless I can't find what I'm looking for elsewhere.

While I wouldn't go so far as to say sniping is unethical, I do think it's a bit dirty-handed (or at least, it feels dirty-handed when it's done to me, and I can't bring myself to do it to someone else). It's not what I would consider gentlemanly behavior. It's like cutting in front of somebody in traffic: not really illegal, but at the same time not very nice. Sniping software takes advantage of technology and timing to snatch a win out from under the noses of the other bidders. Sadly, such is the nature of auctions with a fixed date/time to end.

And it works to the disadvantage of the sellers, too. Oftentimes, their wares could have sold for much more (i.e. a fairer price at its true market value) if the other bidders had time to respond to the bid.

Some auction sites have an automatic 20- or 30-minute time extension after every bid. This effectively kills such sniping. I prefer that, but it's too bad eBay doesn't do it. I'm actually surprised that the seller community on eBay hasn't pushed for that. They would gain, and eBay would gain too.

It's also why I like "buy now" pricing. Saves me the aggravation of being sniped out of something I really want.

As others have mentioned, the only real way to combat it is to just set your max bid as high as you're willing to pay, and be done with it. It sucks all the fun out of the auction process, though, by making it feel more cutthroat.