Actually, Anita, the trick of the truly wise ebay shopper is to bid the maximum amount you are willing to pay during the very first bid. The Ebay system will automatically raise your bid to beat the other guy, even at the very last second.

I once got an angry email from a guy who was upset because every time he outbid me in the last few seconds he still lost to me. He couldn't figure out how I was able to beat him, and wanted to know what software and type of broadband connection I was using to "outsnipe" him, when in fact it was the ebay server itself that gave me the edge.

Nate