I have no problem with max bidding, whether an early max bid or or a single snipe bid, but............
athough I may an idea of my max bid in an auction, but that is also subject to change and frequently does. I approach an auction in terms of a "good buy", rather than simply how much I am willing to pay under any circumstances. Losing doesn't bother me as I try to avoid the "gottahaveit" approach to bidding. (Losing at the casino is a negative proposition whereas losing an auction is a neutral position.)
Bidding patterns, with a limited number of bidders in the game, admittedly can be suggestive of shilling. They can also be quite transparent (ie the 50, 60, 70, 80, etc bidder). Or they can be entirely random and unpredictable. Knowing whether an item of interest is in fact a potential good buy cannot be determined until the waning moments of an auction.
Looking at the bidding pattern I find useful. Obviously a high snipe is going to win every time, but the risk of two competing high snipes has already been mentioned. Absent the snipe bid(s) though, if I can predict what another active bidder's final bid will be, I feel that I have an edge.
It becomes sort of a game. Beating a $70 snipe with a bid of $70.02 gives me visions of the other guy screaming at his laptop and a
.
Consistent with this "gaming" approach to auction bidding, if I do enter multiple bids on an item for any reason (
not shilling), I try to avoid a predictable pattern in my bidding.
"There are not only many reasons to skin a cat, but also many methods to skin it as well. Be well, my friend, bid well and may the best man win," attributed to the most interesting bidder in the World.