To learn how ebay bidding works, open ebay and scroll down to the bottom of the screen. Look on the left hand side and click on "How Bidding Works".
Just to clear up a disagreement above, ebay DOES refer to the process of automatically increasing a bid up to a bidder's maximum amount as "Automatic Bidding".
One thing that should be pretty easy to figure out but isn't are the times reported that automatic bids are placed. I'm still wrestling with that one.
One thing I am glad ebay does not appear to have, or at least I haven't seen, is the 15 minute rule. That one really gripes me! A lot of us place our maximum bid then sit on the edge of our seat waiting for an auction to end to see if we win only to have someone pull the old snipe move in the last few seconds, except it isn't really a snipe because they just added 15 minutes to the clock. It changes the bid amount and even if you remain high bidder you still have to wait 15 minutes till the new ending time to see if you win.
The 15 minute rule can benefit the seller because it can encourage bidders to either place their best maximum bid and go to bed or stay up all night increasing bids one dollar and 15 minutes at a time until all but one bidder pukes and gives up. However, it can also turn off bidders who like to play the game, gamble with the clock and enter a big bid in the last seconds.