Originally Posted by rpenmanparker

On eBay auctions the trick is to realize it is about paying what you want to for an item, not winning a contest. That is why I always snipe, either with eSnipe or on my own. With six seconds to go I enter the top bid I am willing to pay. No one knows I am there prior to that and bids up the price because they are challenged by me. I win about 80% of the time and never feel ripped off. Bidding early and often, essentially asking the other bidders to outdo you, has no upside.