One very visible difference between taper and fade is the visibility of a hairline at the sides and back of the head in a taper and the absence of such in a fade.
Entering your Maximum Bid. To place a bid on an item on eBay, click the Place Bid item on the auction listing and enter the maximum amount you're prepared to pay. This puts you into a binding contract to pay up to this amount for the item.
The act of placing a bid on a reserve auction is no different from the act of placing a bid on any other eBay auction-enter your maximum bid and let eBay's proxy bidding system do the rest as usual or snipe if you prefer and wait for the auction to end.