As a seed seller on the auction my advice is that you put the max bid your willing to pay with your original bid and stick with it.
In most cases the seller will have more of the same cross to list at a later time, if not they usually announce if it is a one time or only time listing.
As for buying unbloomed seedlings, the market is what someone is willing to pay for the genetics, I have bought a few myself with mixed results.
In the end I decided buying seeds were a better option for me, it make take a few more years to see bloom, but you get more seedlings and the price is usually lower excluding the crazy bidding you see from time to time.
The auction is a good place for getting plants or seeds if you can stay within your own limits, and if you get outbid don't take it personal, and whatever, do try to stay away from a bidding war unless money is no object. PS. That's not me
As a seller, bidding wars are nice for getting money to buy new plants, but I get a lot more personal satisfaction when somebody shows me a picture of a killer seedling they got using my seed.
Ed Burton, auction seller "gramps"
F-71 (Sandi Jacques x Angelique Fringes) TET, M M/L, 6.5 x 44, thickest scape in the yard, 3/4 way, 20+ buds in it's maiden bloom year of 2016.
Tooting my own horn here, but this was the best plant in the yard last summer
