I use mybidder (snipe software for android phone), as people have said sometimes you win , sometimes you lose, prime example I was away competing this weekend so set snipe on 2 items due to finish over weekend, won one for 1/2 my max bid (big surprise ) lost the other by £30, I put my max bid in and forget about it, some you win some you lose but snipe software means you can put your max bid on and get on with your life, simple really if you put a high enough bid in you'll win it without ramping the price up early, if you don't put a high enough bid in you lose (using snipe software or doing it manually at the last few seconds), that's how an auction works as far as I know, highest bidder wins.
Matthew