"It appears there's no way to determine shipping before bidding, and that could make or break the deal for something like this if it needs more than just elbow grease."
Oh you don't know half of it dearie!
Have been diddled so much as by HBid auctions that have lost count. That's saying something after years of dealing with fleaPay and CL.
No, you don't know what shipping will be in advance nor really have any choice or say. Unless collecting things personally all HBid sellers use some third party shipper and you agree to hold themselves harmless if something goes wrong. That is you won't get your money back from Hbid auctioneer, but have to sort things out with whomever did shipping.
Have had things vanish in transit (how does UPS lose something?), shipping charges drastically inflated by using too large a package for contents and or just outright greed.
Shippers charge a "package" and "packing fee" but things arrive in some tired worn out bit of rubbish box that's obviously been fetched from trash pile and reused.
Now as to when your item will be shipped, that's when they really get you.
Your credit card will be charged at once when auction is over. Soon as shipper calculated fees you get another invoice for that which must be paid prompt. After that everything else is on seller's or shipper's time, and again there is nothing one can do. Things may be shipped next day, week, or month. Who can say?
Since everything is sold "where is" and "as is" if things arrived damaged, are counterfeit, missing bits, not working, totally rubbished inside... too bad, it's yours.