No.
You were sniped.
Given the short period between your last bid and the winning bid the snipe was probably not done manually (like you, hanging breathlessly over the keyboard) but by an automatic sniping program set up hours or even days before by the winning bidder.
The only way to win is to bid more than the other bidders.
The high bid, not the last bid, wins.
So.
I see an item I like at $10 and decide I will pay $100 for it after calculating the shipping.
The listing just opened and the auction will be in seven days.
But I don't bid immediately.
Instead I contact esnipe.com (there are many such programs, that's just the one DH uses) and put in my bid of $100.
The listing remains at $10 opening bid.
You see it and bid $10.
The auction opens to you at $10.
Bidder B sees it and bids $11. He is now the high bidder.
You lurk until the last ten seconds of the auction, then dash in with an $12.10 bid!
You are now the winner at $12. A single increment over Bidder B's $11. .
But in the last five seconds of the auction esnipe activates my $100 bid and I win at $12.20!
You didn't lose by ten cents , you lost by over $95 but neither you nor anyone else can see my maximum bid. And I only pay the single increment more than the underbidder.
Last second bidding is not a winning strategy. Nor is nibble bidding-- bidding a tiny bit more than the high bidder.
Bid once.
Bid your maximum.
Snipers also bid early as do some bidders who know what they want and will pay, but who don't have the patience for games. If they lose to a higher bidder , ah well, he bid too much, on to the next offering.
