If the deal is too good, it may look like a "newbie" but in fact is usually
a "shill" waiting in the background to make you pay a lot more as you get
into the "frenzy". If you are smart the item goes to the shill and the
seller only pays that small listing charge

Ebay has even made it easier than that. They have a "second chance" deal where
the seller can go to the "loser" with a chance to buy it for his last bid if
the original deal falls through. That makes the "shill" idea virtually
guaranteed.
I usually watch items that seem to recur (usually a dealer), bid a small number
and wait until everyone who wants one has got one. Sometimes a day after
something went for over $100, I can snag another one for $20 or less. That is
particularly true of high volume PC parts where they list lots of identical
items.