Secret with eBay guys is - Never bid early! It just shows intrest in the said item and people WILL start bidding against you. Leave it as late as possible (about 3-5 seconds before the end) and whack on your absolute max. That way you have paid only what you really have 'set aside' for it. Sooo easy to say... Maybe another £ will get it. Awww... maybe another £1, and so on. Before you know it you are £10 over the odds and still may not have got it.
my trick with ebayis similar to phate's. never bid a round number - thats what everyone does. if you got 20 quid to spend then bid 20.04 as your max bid. then if someone puts 20 quid in at the end u still win.