Actually that scenario is only partially right. You are correct that in case of a tie the first bid wins. However the policy is this:
Bids are required to be incrimentally raised only when raising above the current bid. In my case the bid was currently $57.73 even though the high bidder had a top bid of $77.77. If I were to bid say $60, then his bid would have been bumped to $60.50. However, if I were to bid say $77.78, then I would have won the auction for $77.78, being that $77.78 while not .50 cents higher than the other bidder, was more than 50 cents greater than the "Current" bid. So that folks is how you lose an auction to a bidder who pays the same amount as your bid.