Maybe Shadowcat, like many of us, didn't 
want to pay 29,999 for the cel, and only 
bid that in hopes of getting it for closer to 
21,000.  When s/he saw that you'd bid 30,000 (or 
more ... some of us don't have quick enough 
mental reflexes to see the implications of the 
high bid being only 1 yen more), s/he might have 
sighed a big sign of relief and taken her/his 
bundle of yen off to another, winnable auction.

Here's why I think this: I was gearing up to bid 
20k+ on an auction Friday, which would have 
stretched my finances past my monthly budget ... 
and so when I saw the item go over that (way, way 
over), I sighed a little bittersweet sigh of 
relief and went for another cel that was well 
within my budget.  It hurts to get outbid a 
little ... but sometimes there's an element of 
pleasure in the pain because the high bidder just 
saved you from spending 29,999 yen (plus 
shipping, commission, wire fee, etc.).

Smile: maybe you did Shadowcat a 1-yen favor.