It is called "phatombidder.com". You put in how much you want to bid, and it bids for you at the very last minute (or second for that matter). Kind of like sniper bidding. Lets face it, it is not who bids the most that wins, but who bids "last". I use it and I love it. No more staying up till 3 in the morning to bid on something.
Earl, that is called "proxy bidding". That is how ebay works. If someone puts in $40 on an item that sits presently at $20, their bid will be posted at $21. Then when someone bids $30, the first bidder, who bid $40, will have their bid go up to $31. The guy wwho bid $40 will have their bid placed automaticall until the total exceeds the $40 that they bid. Then they are out of the running. It's how ebays system works, and is explained carefully in the instruction sections. It's not graft. You should probably read up on how it works before suspecting people of trying to rip you off on a $30 item. That being said, people DO put phantom bids on cars, as the purchase price is much more significant, and more worth their effort than a $30 part. They usually have no feedback, and if ebay catches them, they cancel the auction and boot the offender. That still doesn't make you pay too much. You should always know what you want to pay, and not go above it. I use Auction Stealer. Places my bid with 3 seconds to go. I am too busy to sit in front of the computer with a timer running.
The advantage of last second bidding is that it eliminates the guy who takes being outbid personal, until the time he can no longer do anything about it. I can't really see ANY advantage or reason in bidding before then. I have bought many items on ebay, including a 2002 Ford Lightning(brand new, bid with about 5 seconds left), and just last month, a 92 big block Ford dually to pull the new trailer. There is a Police auction site that started automatically extending the auction for 10 more minutes if a bid is placed in the last 10 minutes of an auction. I used to buy things there too, but no more.
ebay software you have the right idea but the wrong spelling "www.phantombidder.com" not phatombidder. your missing the N in phantom
sorry....spelled it wrong: http://www.phantombidder.com Tell them I sent you and I get credit for you joining. Then tell other people and YOU will get credit if they join.