I think it is a silent auction. So you go in and put your bid. So it is not going to be like what I believe you imagine.

I am not sure whether 1. you know what others have bid(my guess is this would be the case to raise more money from charity's point of view) 2. you can bid again.

The way silent auctions (charity or otherwise) I've participated in usually do it is to have a list of bids near each item. You can circulate throughout the evening, changing your bid until bidding closes.

Yeah, most silent auctions for charities will have items on tables and a paper/clipboard in front of each ... as you mingle at the event, you can check the highest bid and raise if you'd like ... could be wrong though

This reactive limit thing bothers me when my family buys on eBay. Decide your ACTUAL limit up front if you already have all the relevant information :)

I don't have all of the relevant information. The obvious missing piece is how much other people value the item.

It seems kind of silly to be upset by being outbid when you are participating in an auction with public bids.

You already know all about PG, so what's stopping you from deciding the most it's worth to you?

Speaking of eBay, it's amazing how many users harm bidder proceedings by 'staking their claim' rather than making a single bid at their latest opportunity.