Happens all the time, and to my knowledge eBay doesn't specifically state anything in their policies about sniping. The old adage, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em" usually applies when you're bidding on an item you want badly enough. I've been outbid on several items that were meant for MrsRantingGeek, and that's only because I was outbid at the last minute. One day I had enough of losing, so I asked my cow-orkers at the time how I could bolster my chances of winning online auctions. "Snipe them," was their answer.