Bidding smartly : eBay Guides

eBay works exactly like an auction, except that it is way slower then a real auction, so take your time.

If you bid more then a few hours before the end of the auction, all you're doing is getting the final price higher for whoever will buy the item ( and that includes you, because you are very likely to be overbid before the end ).

If you want to buy an item, add it to your watch list and only bid on it minutes before the auction ends. That way, nobody has to pay for the price increases caused by all the prior unnecessary bidding.