+1 on the automated snipe service idea. IMO, this is the only way to go for straight auctions. You decide what is the maximum amount you're willing to pay and enter that as your snipe max. bid. These services only bid the lowest amount needed to beat the current high bid, so you don't have to worry about overbidding. Set the snipe up to place your bid 5 sec. or so before the auction ends, which pretty much guarantees that nobody an manually outbid you before the auction ends. And since you're not on e-Bay watching the auction, there's no temptation to get into a "bidding war" and let emotion overtake reason. You'll get an e-mail when the auction ends, advising you that you either won the item or were outbid.

Incidentally, it's because the use of these sniping services has become so prevalent that the main activity on many auctions occurs within the last several seconds of the auction, and an item that has been sitting at a bargain price for days suddenly gets bid up & sells for much more.