I watch some bike items on ebay-uk from time to time. There is virtually no bidding until the final minutes. I thought I was going to get a deal several times only to see the price skyrocket in the final minute. A British thing?, I dont know.

I also was into vintage Lionel trains for a while. Bidding seemed to be steady from the time of listing to the end, but the sniping was prevalent at the as well.