joztamps, I always, always snipe when I'm hunting an auction item!

I will usually place a preliminary bid (so that the seller doesn't feel as though there's no interest), and then put my real bid into a stealthy snipe. The reason for that is that if I use the maximum bid option, it could encourage a fellow bidder to nibble-bid (and thus drive the price up). It's also open to abuse, as someone could bid a ridiculous maximum just to reveal my (genuine) maximum, and then withdraw their bid, leaving them knowing how to outbid me.

That can also be abused by the seller using another account to drive up the price by bidding just up to my (revealed) maximum. Even though it's a policy breach to shill bid, I would sooner believe that Angela Merkel is the Tooth Fairy than believe that eBay have stamped out shill bidding.

By placing my real maximum with a snipe service outside eBay, my maximum will only be placed in the final seconds of the auction, and it means I stand a very good chance of a) winning the item, and b) winning it for considerably less than my maximum.