This shit is going to torment me

[Jenne]

Haggle

It's an ebay type action site, but you have to pay for each bid.  So, they site makes their money on the bids, and you can get stuff dirt cheep.  I saw a Wii go for $6.39 today.  A PS3 went for $139.  Bids are not cheep ($0.55 - $0.75) a piece.  But, you can also buy bids with your bids.  Currently a 40 bid package is going for $0.40.  This could be a great thing, or you could piss away a ton of money.

[Electric Mango]

The first thing I think of is scam but let me know if you use it and like it.

[Grand Poobah Marx]

Either a scam or they're fucking geniuses...that is a ton of money for them, plus whatever ads they have.

[Jenne]

I don't see why it would be a scam.  The bids increment by $0.10.  Almost every auction I see, they get hundreds of bids.  In almost every case, they make enough to cover the cost of the item.  Hell, the Wii auction was incrementing by $0.01.  So, they got over 600 bids, at a min 55 cents per.  They made their money back and then some, and someone got a wii for $6.  Basically, if you win, it's like having a hoard of people pay for your item for you.

edit: I am thinking it will be a great thing to try when I can't sleep some night.

[Dontasemebro]

every bid ups the time by 15 seconds. That is so stupid. Anti-snipe, sure, but it's a scam. Nobody would purposefully not outbid a 6$ wii...they just ran out of money sniping back and forth.

[Jenne]

Sure, but that is just part of the strategy.  Even if you spend $100 on bids, you still get a hell of a deal on it.

[Jenne]

Oh, forgot to mention.  We saw a $600 laptop go for $3 and change today.

[Crazyman93]

You know what torments me Jenne?

Your avatar.
 

[Electric Mango]

I'd wait until I read some reviews from trusted companies before I spent any money.  I mean, who the hell is going to auction their Wii for pennies on the dollar.  As they say, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

[Dontasemebro]

Im sure they have reserved and auto-computer bids that cover bids that are too weak until they've made enough money to cover the wii.

[Jenne]

I'd wait until I read some reviews from trusted companies before I spent any money.  I mean, who the hell is going to auction their Wii for pennies on the dollar.  As they say, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Like I said, they make their money on the bids.  They almost always cover the item cost and then some just by the number of bids they get.  The Wii that went for $6 had over 600 bids.  So, they took in well over $300 for the $200 item.

[Ganon5]

They made their money back and then some, and someone got a wii for $6. Basically, if you win, it's like having a hoard of people pay for your item for you.

Nobody got a wii for $6. They got a wii for $6 + the 50 bids they put down on it + all of the bids they put on the other wiis that they didn't win before this one. The site will always win or it wouldn't be there in the first place

[Jenne]

They made their money back and then some, and someone got a wii for $6. Basically, if you win, it's like having a hoard of people pay for your item for you.

Nobody got a wii for $6. They got a wii for $6 + the 50 bids they put down on it + all of the bids they put on the other wiis that they didn't win before this one. The site will always win or it wouldn't be there in the first place

Well, no shit.  But like I said, even if you spend $150 on bids, you still saved money.  I never said they would not win.  You certainly cannot win everything.  But if you are smart about it, you can do well.

[Gangs]

huh...dunno bout this, seems very fishy, gotta wait for good reviews and the like!

[Dontasemebro]

you cannot be smart about it. A bid adds 15 seconds. There's no way to snipe it. This is just a clever pyramid scheme.

[Jenne]

you cannot be smart about it. A bid adds 15 seconds. There's no way to snipe it. This is just a clever pyramid scheme.

It's not a matter of sniping it.  It's just about not bumping it too much, or wasting bids early.  If you can catch an item where not a lot of people are bidding on it, you can catch them going away.  The simple fact is, someone will win the auction.  Like you said, eventually someone will run out of money.  I don't doubt that something like this could easily be rigged, but from the bidding I have seen, there is no need to.  It's like a casino game.  They are not rigged.  The odds are just in the houses favor.  And with enough volume, they don't have to be too heavily stacked to make a lot of money.