Lee,

The way eBay works, it is better to not let others know your bidding intentions. So I usually wait until it is near to the end of an auction to place my bid, if I can. In order to track auctions, I will sometimes place a minimum bid on an item when I first see it. That is so it shows up on "My eBay Bidding" page and I can track the item. eBay only lets you "watch" so many items, so this is an alternative that lets me track an item without necessarily letting others know my final bid.