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Bottom of the NinthI have not read Barry's thread, yet, and this may have been raised. Employ the 5% penalty those who have demonstrated that is only their strategy to bid at the last minute. Since a footprint is left once a bid comes in, it should be easy to determine bidding patterns by the auction house. Mark an item on day one and not come back until the closing day towards the close of the auction. If I am actively bidding on a lot well before the cut off time, I would like to know that I am not going to be subject to the penalty because someone placed a bid at 01:29:35.
One other thing to keep in mind is that unless you have an unlimited budget, a bidder may not be able to be actively involved in all interested lots. I know I am constantly reassessing my bidding based on being out bid and factoring in how much I need/want the item. So I may gain interest in items late into the auction that I had passed on, but marked early, as I was concentrating on other lots. When those lots got too high, I might then want to go back to those other lots which I had bid on early but may not have bid on in the last few days.