A buddy of mine simply says, "just get in there and bid as much as you want to spend on it the first time and let it ride...don't keep checking it and don't keep upping your bid...if you win it, you win it...if you lose it, you lose it but you're never going to be tempted into spending more than you thought it was worth."

I've been in several ebay auctions where you could see people trying to inch up on the high bid a dollar at a time. Not worth the trouble...

Best

AA