I use auctionsniper.com - that way I don't have to worry about sitting in front of my computer at the very moment the auction ends. The dollar or so extra is worth it to me to have a "set it and forget it" up. There are plenty of other sniping services out there too.

FWIW, ebay started in San Jose, California. They were called auctionweb at first, although the founder already owned ebay.com it was for his consulting business "echo bay technology group."