Once I understood that BE does not trigger if you are the high bidder at the trigger point it makes sense that I lost an item that I sniped at 242.50 @ 4 seconds and was high bidder. My BE of 4 did not come into play but I was sniped @ 245.00 a couple of seconds later and lost the auction. I understand that although $245 was the successful bid I have no way of knowing what that person's max bid actually was. Frustrating to lose by $2.50 but I suppose unless the BE can be triggered closer to the end of the auction it couldn't help in that particular scenario. Perhaps the BE could be programmed to trigger at the selected snipe trigger point. If you were the high bidder it wouldn't have any negative effect since it would only come into play if someone outbid you. In he end though, it then becomes the same thing as simply bidding the higher amount in the first place. In all fairness the feature has won a few auctions for me that I wouldn't have won without the BE feature. Once you understand the limitations it does have value in several scenarios. A higher initial bid choice is the best protection in all cases.