Don't bid at 3 seconds, go 6 or 8 seconds
If a bid is the same as yours then that means you bid second and the win goes to the
First bidder, you would have waited for the last 3 seconds and become the second bid,
Also, you cannot bid below the minimum next bid increment, I know it's we all want to safeguard paying too much but ebay wont charge you more than the minimum increment
That only increases after the last bid amount.
So go a few bucks more than your instincts or even 10 more, if you need the item because
You wont pay over the last minimum increment anyway.

Not that I know of. You will always see only the minimum amount above your bid regardless as to how much the other bidder actually bid..