Which One, Which One?

Coindog, sounds like the "looking for a job" scenerio; it's easier to find one when you have one, than it is if you don't have one.

I'm surprised nobody just said, "bid higher."

Hang in there, keep trying, perhaps take a 3-4 week break from the Trade dollar hunt. Every auction you don't win is a coin you didn't overpay for. I understand your frustration though. I think I came in second in over 50 auctions when I was looking for a Twenty Cent Piece. Took over 6 months but I finally have one (I overpaid according to the market, but not me) and it's one of my favorite coins in the 7070. Every time I look at, I now fondly recall the journey of frustration it took to acquire it.

At those price levels, you don't want your spending to get out of control.
Put some money aside, so you can be prepared, when an opportunity that appeals to you, presents itself.
There will always be top coins around, if you are prepared to throw enough money at them, but I don't that is a discerning enough approach.
Hasten slowly, and satisfy the mild frustration with another lower priced top coin in the meantime.

A lot of the more desirable and pricey coins in my collection have come from a regular postal auction I have been subscribing to for the last 15 years. My approach is to bid on what appeals to me, rather than going high on an item I am looking for.