Any tips for a novice E-bay bidder?

[youtalkfunny]

I can't find a PS2 anywhere in town, so I thought I'd look at Ebay (welcome to the 90's, sharpie!).

Any hints?

Is there any reason to wait for the last minute?
Would I get a better price bidding on an auction that will close in the middle of the night?

Any advice would be helpful.

[mosta]

if you wait till the last possible second you don't give someone a chance to reconsider and outbid you. say they would pay up to $70 and they are displaying a $60 bid (you know how that works, right?). Well if you bid $72 a day in advance, they might consider topping you. If you don't give them that chance, ... .

the problem is when you try to snipe manually, you are often up against an automated system. there are online services that will put your bid in in the final seconds, for a fee. it's a little harder to go up against.

the basic idea is no one wants to show how high they will really pay when there is time for someone else to decide to outbid them. the first guy to bid the item may likely outbid you if you give him the chance.

[youtalkfunny]

Very helpful reply.

Thanks.

[Peca277]

Auction Sniper (http://www.auctionsniper.com) gives you 5 free snipes. I used it for the first time last month and it worked great for me.