Jacobb, you also have to think that if there are no bids on an item and you are going to wait till the last minute, that someone may give the seller a good offer and then 'BAM' they are gone. But if you make a starting bid the seller cant take them off early without contacting you first.
It happened to me with a set of bumpers, I was waiting till the next day to bid and when I went back they were gone.

You can always count on somebody to put in an early bid. I'm keeping the rest of my tactics to myself since I lost the last auction to a worthy person type person

There are no tactics on ebay bidding. Just bid once right at the end and bid the maximum you are prepared to pay. There is no other way.