Ebay: bid infrequently, bid low, bid at the last 
minute.  Expect undescribed damage when the cel 
arrives (often in a unreinforced soft legal-sized 
envelope marked DO NOT BEND).

YHJ: a mixture.  Since my bids come up 
as "Animechaos" anyhow, no one knows if I'm 
bidding or if sempei or any number of other 
madmen are.  So I often bid early, counting on 
other bidders to recognize that some of 
the people who bid under this name have serious 
money.

Problem: getting sniped by another Animechaos 
bidder who really does have serious money at the 
last second in a Bidwar bid.

If I really really want the item, I hold off and 
bid close to my max at the last 5 minutes.  Then 
I watch.  If I'm outbid, then I bid my max.  The 
counterbid is often enough to scare off other 
bidders.  

And I watch my tail in the last 30 seconds, with 
a really outrageous bid poised to fly if another 
AC bidder tries to Bidwar me.  

Problem: a Japanese bidder jumps in 10 seconds 
from the end with an equally outrageous bid and 
suddenly you are responsible for every penny of 
your bid.

I don't know ... I guess I try to be lucky.  Each 
one of my treasured high-middle-end cels has a 
different bidding story.  On the other hand, I 
never never whine over lost cels.  

Gilbert and Sullivan chorus chimes in 
with "What never???

... well, hardly ever.  I figure I have 
that much more money to lay down on the next 
coveted item.