If I am looking for an item I almost never bid on the first one I see. I will often watch it to see how much it will sell for and then wait for another one to come up. That way I will know what the going price is. Sometimes I will see an item that I was watching and then was sold come up again as a relisting. I think that often there is some bidding shenanigans going on. It is good to know what the price should be!