Two hours does not mean ****. It's the last 30 - to - 10 seconds that stuff happens. "Sniping software."
Back in the dial-up Winbloz-hozed 98 days, I used to bid up an item 2-3-4 times just a dollar or two to get the timing of the bid. Then I'd get on a few minutes to close, and wait. Set up a bid in one window, and refresh the auction in the other. If it was still low in the last few seconds, I'd hit the button. And yeh I screwed myself a few times......modem dropout, etc.