having had it a two seconds actually placed the snipe (in europe) always 5-10 seconds before the end, and n e v e r - e v e r missed a snipe.
when i go for items in the USA, 2 seconds really is too risky, so i use 8, which usually placed the bid 5-12 seconds before the end.
but 40 or 50 seconds, as mentioned, is really too much, because that leaves enough time to even place a bid (or two) manually, and easily.
greetings - heinz -