The exception for reserve auctions: I don't agree. If the reserve is over my max it's to expensive for me. If it's not I may win for the reserve. Many, and perhaps most, try to avoid reserve auctions just because they are reserve. Why give my interest away... if it's going to happen, let someone else do it.
exception 2: You must translate 'Really want' into a dollar amount. To most that does NOT mean 'At Any Cost'. If it did, you could just bid $1000 on that $100 gizmo. 'Really want' to me is taking the time to look at past auctions for the same or similar items. Odds are this auction will go along the same lines as past auctions have. If it doesn't, another should come along. If the item is rare, there are places other than eBay you can investigate and should be able to come up with an estimated 'eBay value' and add on a bit more.
Now, my reasoning only works if I know the value of the item. For rare items this could be difficult, and I've certainly been known to change my bid amount, and more than once! But I still won't give my interest away by bidding early in an auction. For items that are not-so-rare, I simply wait for another to come along.
The hardest part about using AS to my advantage is determining what my MAX is. Not my 'Starting max' or 'Medium Max', but my REAL max. After I enter a snipe I ask myself 'What if I'm outbid or the reserve is not met?' If the answer is 'I should have bid more' then it's time to increase my snipe. That's true whether I've actually been outbid or not.
That's my two cents.
