[sapper740]

Having bought a few (few?) items on ebay over the years I've learned a couple of strategies that have both helped me be successful in winning auctions and not paying more than I have to.
Most important of all is be a Sniper! If you constantly bid, bid, bid, on an item during the course of the auction you are tipping your hand that you are closely watching that item and therefore want it badly. That will lead to Collusion bidding (more on that later) and will only serve to keep other bidders who also want that item on their toes. Further, the Ego bidders, those who have the need for their name in lights will constantly outbid you, thereby driving the price up.
Rules for successful Sniping: get to the auction 10 minutes before it closes and check on bids to see if there are any "players". If there are no players, don't relax as there may still be other Snipers lurking nearby. Constantly hit the Refresh button to see if there are any last minute bids beyond what you are willing to pay. You also want to hit the refresh button to insure that your computer's internal clock and that of the website's are synchronized. What!, you say? Yes, it happens. I've missed out a few items when I've left the computer, knowing that there is still 6 minutes left on the auction, been gone three minutes by the clock, and arrive back to find the auction has ended. I don't know if ebay does this on purpose occasionally to thwart sniping, but it does happen. Stay by the screen and watch the remaining time on the auction. How late do you wait before you "pull the trigger"? depends on your internet connection. If you have a dial-up modem, you will need to bid earlier than someone with a cable modem. Rough rule of thumb: 8-10 seconds before end of auction with a dial-up, 2-3 seconds with cable. It's critical that you bid as late as possible as there will be other bidders refreshing the auction site to see if they still have the winning bid. You don't want to give them enough time to raise their bid. Of course, if their maximum bid is greater than yours, this won't help.
Collusion bidding: It's OK to contact the seller during the auction if you need more information about the article, just don't gush about the item. Don't give him any idea of how badly you may want his stuff. If the seller thinks you got to have his item at any price, then that's what you'll pay, any price! Sellers have been known to get a friend to bid up their item, knowing that you will outbid them 'cause you gots to have it! Trust me, I know whereof I speak.
Having said all that, ebay is an excellent resource for the collector. Yes, too many people are bidding too much for a lot of the stuff for sale, but now and then some items come up for auction that just can't be found anywhere else. Case in point: I bought a brand new, still in the bag and complete with tent pins (pegs) Woods of Canada 1942 manufactured Circular tent. reproductions of this tent sell for between $750.00 and $900.00 without pins, I bought all with shipping included for $485.00!!! Deal of the century. So while many people decry ebay and the prices paid, I still enjoy checking out the auctions and with a few simple precautions successfully bid on many items. Derek.