penny auctions

while browsing msn news i stumbled upon this interesting article....http://redtape.msnbc.com/2011/02/heres-a-puzzler-how-can-a-website-sell-a-10-walmart-gift-card-for-26-cents-and-still-make-money-or-sell-an-apple-ipod-wort.html


this article talks about online penny auctions. i had seen commercials late at night on TV about beezid.com awhile ago whether they tried to entice the audience by advertising that you can get products for up to 90% or more off the regular price (from the get go it seemed like a scam). i didn't think anything of it until a week ago when my sister in-law told me she won a 55" HDTV for $88 from beezid. after talking to my brother later on that day i found out their process on their auctions and that my sis in-law figured out how to beat the system (she found the pattern of bidding). The way it works is you have to pay for each bid you place but it's not represented in how much everyone is really placing bids for (ranging from 60 cents to $1) but in pennies hence the phrase penny auctions. so the company sells a TV not for $88 but the total of all bids placed... genius idea to scam unknowing consumers. 


I thought this was an interesting article & felt like sharing....hope y'all enjoy