QueenMum - we've all lost an auction or two in the last seconds, so don't feel bad! There's a site called
www.esnipe.com which will bid automatically for you, but I don't know all the details. I have a fatalistic viewpoint, that if I'm not supposed to win something, I won't. Maybe that sounds odd, but it works for me.
ETA: The fees for using esnipe are:
Winning Bid - Your Cost
Auction wins for under $25 - $0.25
Auction wins between $25-$1,000 - 1% of auction price
Auction wins for $1,000 and over - $10.00
This is NOT an endorsement, just information.