and a long one if I remember correctly. The auction you lost was by 50 cents but really the other bidder may have bid it up another 100.00 on top of the 50 cents, that was just the next incremental bid but he may have been willing to pay much much more for it but we will never know unless u ask him. I never feel like dang I lost it by 50 cents, rather I wonder how high he was willing to go? When I see a chip that doesn't come up often I set my Auction Sniper higher than actual value just to up my odds of obtaining that particular chip and often I pick it up much less than book but I also think sniping has saved me money and bidding wars against others. I do dislike bidding against friends too but in the old days when Ebay displayed other bidders full name it was easier to discern who was who and you could even search what other items that bidder was bidding on and often I would find we would have similar taste in chips and end up bidding on many of the same items! But now that is all private. I used 2 Ebay names when I bid on a chip that a friend was bidding on or rather I used the other name that nobody knows me by, nowadays I really don't recognize the abbreviated names or don't pay attention to em, I think its kind of you to think of your friends that way but in the end highest bidder wins !! The chip you lost out on usually appears sooner or later and is often in better condition at a lower price, happy hunting !