question about proxy...

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I guess my real question is when AS places a bid for you at the last, say, 5 seconds of an auction, does it set up an eBay proxy?

Yes. Your snipe will react the same as placing a bid several days before the close of an auction.

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Would AS submit my maximum bid to eBay but display the highest bid as $31 like a normal bid would?

Yes.

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And if some trickster tried to outbid me at 3 seconds, but had a lower maximum bid, would I still win the auction?

Yes.

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It's also good to note this auction ends at 10:30ish PDT. Since my maximum bid is so ridiculously high (though nothing I wouldn't be willing to pay), should I just have a 20 second lead-time to be on the safe side?

A longer lead-time is safer for getting the bid placed, but increases the chances of someone seeing your bid, and reacting. Here’s what AS recommends: http://www.auctionsniper.com/faqbasics.aspx#basics13

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And what about manual bidding combined with AS? Do the cons outway the pros with such a setup?

That’s a personal preference. The absolute safest bet to insuring that your bid gets placed is to place a manual bid as soon as you see the auction. AS can’t guarantee 100% of the snipes get placed, although they have a damn good success rate. But, like anything, crap happens. Placing a non-snipe bid opens you up to the possibility that someone will nibble you, or you’ll start a bidding war. If money is no object, and you simply HAVE to have the item, then place an obscenely large proxy bid and hope that no one else does the same. If you don’t have unlimited funds, then placing just a snipe, with say a 8 to 12 second lead-time is a winner.

Is that 10:30ish AM or PM?

thanks for the quick response! I really appreciate it

and unfortunately, it ends at 10:30ish P.M. 22:30

I have one additional point to add to Rick's very clear explanation.

If it is this important - keep an eye on the auction yourself. (MAKE CERTAIN YOU ARE SIGNED IN!) Open two windows on the same auction, press the "Place Bid" button, don't enter anything in the box - yet.

You can trust AS to enter the bid for you normally in the last few seconds, but I would lengthen the time slightly, so that if it does look like you could be outbid (O.K. ones that arrive in the last five seconds you can't possibly counter) then you can think on your feet "I'll go higher"

Normally (and this is true of 99.9%) of cases, bid your max and win some, lose some. If you really want to break the bank, place it in AS's hands, but if you are vascillating I know how hard it is to come to a decision.

Perhaps your perception of the market value turns out to be wrong - it is very rare after all and not many come on the market. Say you think the item has never gone above $800 before, so you place a snipe of $1011.89 By all previous sales, you should easily get it. Then in the concluding minutes you see that the price has shot up to $1500. Now AS won't help you now for its warning of you being outbid has come far too late and it is too late to raise your bid (AS locks the bid in the concluding minutes) - its now in your hands.

Should you bid $2011.89? If you have the money and it won't seriously damage your wealth, the temptation is to go for it.

I would say be cautious - you can get two or three idiots bidding simultaneously - look at the bidders on this:

Minolta Catalogue

This camera catalogue is rare, but not that rare. I got my copy for £3 and it sometimes goes as high as £10, but these clowns think it worth £50+ Note they are all inexperienced bidders. Avoid!

If, however, there are lots of different bidders with high feedback rating bidding already on it nearly at your AS saved bid,(say $900+ in the example above) I would change your view (you now know you can sell it again!) of the market value. Try and alter (if you have time) the AS price - if not, enter your new max in the little box & bid ASAP - hoping that you have a fast internet connection that is!

To all beginners reading this - this is not normal advice - this is only for articles of extreme rarity. Most things simply are not that rare. To give you an example, my Mother gave me a book of Edwardian photographs entiled Queen Alexandras Photo album - pictures of the Tsar's family at play in 1909 and told me it was very rare and she had treasured it for years. Since becoming an ebay addict, I've seen dozens!
Good luck. Tell us how you got on.

Simple advice - 20 minutes before the auction ends, look at how it is doing. Many bidders? Price within 20% of you max with AS - change your AS bid now!