Reply to "reserve not yet met"

It seems to me, after reading the posts lately about using AS with reserve auctions, that you really have to use a slightly different technique if you absolutely want the item. One way or another, you have to know the reserve has been met before you can count on AS to place a winning bid.

So, if the reserve has not been met going into the last hour or so of the auction, you would basically have to manually bid until it was met. Essentially, a reserve is nothing more than a hidden "initial bid." (I hate 'em, personally.) So by bidding manually to meet it, you aren't losing any money. But you are revealing your interest in the item. Another, slightly more subtle option is the ask the seller what the reserve is, then put in a manual snipe in the last minute or so to meet it, and let AS handle your "real" snipe to cover any competition if it happens. But then you would be sniping yourself by one bid increment if there were no other bidder. So either way has drawbacks.

All of this presumes you want the item enough to meet the reserve, which you don't know until you KNOW (you know?) Cause AS can't determine the reserve for you.

What do you think, Steve? Am I analyzing this wrong?