I've noticed lately that emails from this system come very late (2 to 4 hours), and in some cases after the item has ended. It would be nice to get these notices much sooner so that I can adjust my snipes accordingly and in time.

Is anyone else noticing this?

It's been reported before on this forum. Seems like about the only thing is to not have too much faith in them. Also, outbid emails tend to be slower in being sent the longer the time before ending of the auction. As always, this is your best source for help:
http://support.auctionsniper.com/