Challenges with REOs/Shortsales in SoCal? Sneaky agents??

We've offered on 7 properties, good, solid offers. (pre-qual'd, 10-20% down, some at or above asking, some within 7%) On all of these only ONE was a typical experience where the seller countered, to us and some others, and we lost. No biggie we knew what we had to offer to get it, and weren't willing to go that high. The others have been a nightmare. 1 the listing agent never replied to our agent, despite numerous calls and emails - that one we were above list and supposedly competing against FHA's so according to the showing agent at the open house we should have been in there at least get a reply. Another one, an REO that's been on the market for 150 days, and is supposed to be going back to auction in late Jan, had no offers according to the listing agent last Sat. We made an offer on Monday and now apparently we're competing with 4 other buyers - what, everyone got houses for Christmas??? Several other "odd" experiences, but I'd rather hear from you all, and get some tips on how to navigate this weird market, or at least some moral support :-) We know part of the challenge is we don't believe the market has bottomed so when a bidding war breaks out, we walk. Maybe we just need to get back up on the fence!