One advantage is does give you if you bid early on ebay you are in fact making others drive up the price. For instance if there is 3 days left on an auction and you place a max bid of $20, you are determining the value of that auction for the other bidders to bid. If there is no action on an item people may wait and keep the price down then you slide in with your snipe bid and get it for a lot less if you went back and forth with someone for 3 days.
I collect Detroit Tigers, Detroit Lions, Detroit Pistons and anybody pictured in a Michigan Wolverines uniform.