Originally Posted by
Hanyuu
Basically, you can't see what other people put as their max bid. You just have to slowly bid up (or quickly) as they case may be. It is a hidden number what the current leader put down as their max. Buyouts are a different beast entirely.
So in the example, you might have bid 48k ish and the other guy has 100. You have no idea what he bid until you win the auction. So like he said, you need to bid 101k.
If the buyout of the item was 250k, then either of you could take it at anytime, simply by paying 250. Both if you are both trying to get a deal, you'll drive the price up pretty fast.