What is the usable range for using this combat maneuver?
No range is listed.
Could you feint from 30 feet and use a ranged attack to gain sneak attack?
No. Feint only works against the next melee attack you make against the target.
There are feats that may (or may not!) work for your allies, so it's not as open and shut as that answer makes it seem.
here is a thread about feinting at range.
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My original thought on this was of that maneuver's uses for the Bard Archetype, Sandman. The ranged attack thing came in my head and I typed that. lol.
Sneakspell (Ex): At 2nd level, a sandman adds +1 to the save DC of spells and bardic performance against opponents who are denied their Dex bonus. This increases to +2 at 10th level and +3 at 18th level. In addition, at 6th level he gains a +2 bonus on caster level checks to overcome spell resistance against such foes, and this bonus increases to +4 at 14th level. This ability replaces versatile performance.
My original thought on this was of that maneuver's uses for the Bard Archetype, Sandman. The ranged attack thing came in my head and I typed that. lol.
Sneakspell (Ex): At 2nd level, a sandman adds +1 to the save DC of spells and bardic performance against opponents who are denied their Dex bonus. This increases to +2 at 10th level and +3 at 18th level. In addition, at 6th level he gains a +2 bonus on caster level checks to overcome spell resistance against such foes, and this bonus increases to +4 at 14th level. This ability replaces versatile performance.
I don't think you can feint at range*. However, does a spell's effect count as a melee attack?, or just the delivery of the spell, such as through a spellstrike attack or a melee touch attack?
[* Unless you have a specific ability that allows you to do so.]
A melee touch attack or a melee spellstrike should qualify. They are melee attacks.
Edit: Also, I think you can feint at range, but it doesn't do you any good unless (a) you then attack in melee or (b) possess Greater Feint or a class feature that allows feint to help ranged attacks (such as archer's Trick Shot).
I could see feinting with a ranged weapon, say, throwing a dagger in such a way to make a target try to dodge when it isn't actually going to hit hir. However, while RAW is a little ambiguous, it seems given the existence of that archetype's ability, that the feint is, like most combat maneuvers, intended to require actually contact between the maneuverer and the maneuveree, so to speak.
(posted this in the wrong thread to begin with, sorry for the inadvertent threadomancy)