So I'm trying to get a gift for my sister since her birthday is coming up in about three weeks and she really wants one of those old film cameras. I think it's called a Canon AE-1 or something like that. I found a few on eBay and I've been watching them but I am totally lost on how the actual bidding part works. Every time I look at an auction it seems like the price is really low, like maybe twenty or thirty dollars, and then I check back right before it ends and suddenly it's like a hundred dollars? It's so frustrating because I'm on a pretty tight budget, probably around 80 bucks total including the shipping costs to Ohio. I've only ever bought stuff using the buy it now button because it's way less stressful but the prices there are way higher than the auctions start at.

I tried bidding on one yesterday just to see what happens and I put in 40 dollars and immediately it said I was outbid. Like within a second. Is that a robot doing that? I've heard people talk about sniping but I have no idea what that even means or if it's even legal on the site. I feel like such a noob asking this but is there a specific time I should be bidding? Like do I wait until the very last minute or do I put my highest price in at the start? I really dont want to overpay but I also really want to win this for her. I'm just worried I'm gonna mess it up and end up with nothing by the time her birthday gets here.

Does anyone have a specific way they do this to keep the price low? Like what is the actual secret to not getting into a bidding war where everyone just gets mad and pays too much... I'm just looking for the best way to actually win without spending way more than I have.