You need to be able to get your highest bid into the auction. It sounds like you are waiting to see if you are going to get out bid and then bid again but time runs out. I would wait until the last possible moment that you are sure that you will be able to get in a bid and then bid the most that you are willing to pay for an item. And this strategy will not always work, because some times your bid will not get in. You may forget and there could be a problem with your connection to the internet. But if you get your highest bid in, even if you lose, you tried your best.