eBay lists bids by amount, from highest to lowest, and NOT in the order in which they were made. Hence, the highest (i.e., winning) bid is always listed first, followed by the next highest bid, etc. It does not matter if the winning bid came before or after your snipe, or if it was made a week before, or whenever. The highest bid always wins, regardless of when it was made.
It is extremely unlikely that the winning bid was merely fifty cents above yours. Fifty cents was merely one increment above your top bid--in other words, that was all it took to keep the high bidder one increment above your snipe. Simply put, you were outbid.
eBay does not list the winning bidder's max; it only lists the amount needed to keep him one increment above the next highest. If bidder A bids $10.00 on an item and bidder B bids $78.67, the bid history at the end of the auction will show bidder B winning for $10.50, which is one increment above the next highest bid. It will NOT show that he actually bid nearly eight times thye next highest bid. Consequently, you have no way of knowing how much the winner bid, only that he bid more than you did.
Also, it is a better idea not to bid in even dollar amounts. An odd cents amount (like $78.67) could make a difference, if someone else's max was near your own.
Good luck.