I buy and sell on eBay and most bids are made at the last minute. Very few of my sales have any bids before the last hour or so, that is very common. And I do it myself, if I am shopping and see something I want I will wait until the last minute to make my bid. It is just the nature of eBay shopping.
I understand there are proxy programs that you can sign up for that will place your last minute bid for you, so no matter how you try you may well just get beaten by an online service that bids for the buyer.