this thread has come far afield from where it started, but fwiw, i use BuyerTools Reminder for sniping. it's a nice graphical, freeware, windows (only?) program which has worked well for me. requires you keep your computer on of course.

features include: grouping bids such that a successful one deactivates all others in the group, adjusting how many seconds before auction end to submit bid, importing your "watched items" list from your ebay acct, etc. highly recommended.