Pardon me for saying it, bisbill, but if you were outbid by someone else then either you didn't bid your maximum amount with your snipe or someone else was willing to pay more for the item than you were. If you didn't bid your max, which is incorporating the proxy bidder mentality into the art of sniping, then you have to accept some of the blame no matter when your bid was placed. If your bid was the most you were willing to pay, well, you were simply outbid. Another item will come along at your price sooner or later.
Turning to your bid being placed a hundred seconds or more before auction close, I am not aware of any case in which AS's attempt to compensate for eBay slowness has extended that far. This is not to say it didn't happen; I just think there must have been additional factors as well. If not, then I certainly agree with you that you should be compensated with one or more free snipes. Would you consider providing the item number so it can be checked out?