There is a "Show Automatic bids' option top right to show when eBay auto-bids and what amount. Look at the times to see the sequence. They could maybe add an option to sort by time so it would make a bit more sense. k***2 bid at 8:19 with at least $162.5, maybe 200 or 5000 for all we know.
Postal auctions work this way, where instead of bidding like a normal auction, you just set your maximum amount and you trust the auctioneer to bid as if you were in the room. Most auction houses allow this, but you are at the discretion of the auctioneer to trust them not to just stiff you for $1 below what you say your top bid will be.