i generally agree about sniping being the best tactics most of time. but there're some exceptions.
when you are buying something that's not in short supply (say, Zenitar fisheye :) basically, you don't expect a lots of bids (one, maybe two). in that case, you should -- if there's no BIN, just bid early. the rationale is that the second bidder (if there's one) is going to see that someone has already made a bid and if there are auctions with no bids and comparable price, he would be better off bidding there than to wage a war with you. when this happens, the first bid usually gets the lower price. -- or "BIN" if that's available. -- or, if you are not in a hurry and really want to get the item below BIN, *bid at BIN*. then if someone wants it more, you'll lose the item (but remember, there's lots of supply and you are not in a hurry). otherwise, you'll get the item for something between the initial bid amount shown and the BIN price. of course, if the demand is much higher than the supply (e.g. A*135/1.8), then snipe. best, mishka
