The Art of Bidding/Outbidding!

Have you ever been outbid by another pesky user? Worse yet, have you ever been outbid at the very....last.....second?
Well you have gee to the right guide on how to be the outbidder and not the outbidee.
The first thing you need to do is watch and wait on the auction that suits you. If the auction is ending in 3, 5, or 7 days then you need to just sit back, relax, and pick your spot.
Once you are ready to put your foot in the door and make yourself known, then you should think about one thing before you do. Think to yourself, "Do I really, really want this item?" If you answer a resounding, "Yes!", then you need to address the next important step in how much you want to spend.
A method that I like to use is to establish a "ceiling" for my bid. Say the item is going for $15 to start and has a retail value of $100, then I may make a ceiling offer of $50. You place your beginning bid at $50 and wait. If you are outbid, then you really did not need the item in the first place. Discipline should be the name of the game!
If you really have to have this item, then you should try to be the one bidding at the end of the auction to sneak the item into your possession. Let's say for example that the item has less than 5 minutes remaining and the offer is sitting at $30, but you are only willing to spend at most $100. I would suggest WAITING until the 30 second mark to put the bid in at $100. This way all of the bidders will be frantically trying to bid to catch up to your ceiling. They will not have time unless they are veterans as well that want the item worse than you do. Most of the time they will only get halfway to you and the auction will end at their final bids of say, $65. You are now the winner of the auction and have to pay $65, not the $100 ceiling bid.
You do not want to incrementalize your bids, meaning that the auction has less than 5 minutes left and you are trading bids at a $1 increment increase. This a very dangerous way to lose an auction!! Especially if you are on a dial-up or slow DSL connection for Internet access. Remember you can establish a high bid and the rest of the players will have to play catch up to find your top bid! Bid With Confidence!! Also remember, you are your own boss in this vast game of Bid/Outbid........