That's how the transfer market is intended to work -- you have no chance to get a player in a bidwar unless you raise the price to more than the other guy is willing to pay.
Is it intended to be ebay-like? That´s how it worked yesterday with that other team. I can´t imagine he is able to check my bid and raise it within tenths of a second. And that happened several times.
Yes, people make quick bids, and will always place a lot of them as the auction expires. No, I don't think anyone uses an autobidder to do that. If you're refreshing the page constantly, it doesn't take too much time to place a new bid.
"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve."