Which makes more sense....placing the first bid or coming in later ?

Title says it all. 

Is there any advantage to being the first to place a bid or should one wait and come in later in the process?

I like to wait to the very end and jump in. It's just hard to gauge where the end is these days. 

It really depends on the behavior of the crowd, who is bidding, what the unit looks like, etc. I use both methods depending on the circumstances and what my strategy is for the day or for that particle unit.

I don't think one technique is necessarily always better then the other.

I can say that coming in at the end when everyone thinks the bidding is done can be diabolically fun. 

most of the regulars will leave me alone if i chime in first

I can say that coming in at the end when everyone thinks the bidding is done can be diabolically fun. 

I hear that...and having fun is important !

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If I know a locker is going to go high (say $750) I'll sometimes start it at that or wait for it to get to $150 or $200 and then go for the $500.  I used to get them at the $500 mark when I did that but now there's only a moment's hesitation before it goes on up.

Also, I think coming in first and high lets the newbies in the crowd know what's happening and it doesn't take long for them to figure out they are not in the same ball park as a few others in the group.

We use both. If it is something we want and we have "friends" there, we bid first and a lot of times they will back off. Even though as they say "There are no friends at auctions", we like to use it anyway. But, we might bid last if it is a unit we think is a great one just to see how high it starts to get and if it's reasonable we jump in. At times my husband stops bidding on a unit and if I think it is worth it I will take over and bid once or twice. When I do, the auctioneer kinda looks shocked and laughs in a friendly way but knows I want that locker! ;-) It's all about the crowd, the lockers and how much you are willing to spend.