When I set up my snipe on the first one a week ago the counter had 39 "hits." By yesterday there was only one bid on the item but the counter read "79." So I upped my snipe bid a couple of increments and waited. An hour before closing the counter showed 98 "hits." I thought it prudent to increase my snipe bid by another increment. Ten minutes before closing the count was 112, but there was still only the one bid. I thought, "somebody besides me, perhaps several somebodies, is lurking in the weeds setting up a snipe." So I increased my snipe amount to the full retail value of the item, which I had determined by visiting the manufacturer'd web site. The outcome: there were two other snipes besides mine, both placed before mine (which went in at 9 seconds). My first bid, the one I originally set, would have been plenty enough to overcome either of them. I needn't have bothered to increase my snipe amount.
On the other item, the counter registered a dramatically lower count (5, I think). I set up my snipe with my max bid and held firm while I watched the "hit" count rise to 13. There were no bids on the item. At the end, I was the only bidder and got the item for the initial asking price.
Conclusion: counters are no predictor of the number of bidders or the bid amount, although I concede that they are probably of use to sellers.
