No-one 'likes' to be outbid at the last moment, but it has to be accepted as a possibility in any auction, live or on-line. Don't be misled by the bidding mechanism into thinking that eBay auctions are not 'real'. They differ from live auctions in that you cannot look around to see your competitors, and have therefore no clue that another bid is coming. Thence comes the danger of being 'sniped'.

That experienced on-line bidders decide what they will pay, and bid at the last moment, is only to be expected when there is a fixed end-time. That is the distinction between on-line and live auctions. It is also why the winning bid is only the greatest of a bunch of last-second bids. It is very much the auctioneer's call when a live auction ends, and holding off on a bid can be a bidder's undoing if the timing is not right.

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