Diary of a Mad Editor

Bidray.com is a new penny auction site. Unlike ebay, where there is no maximum bid limit, this site limits bids to increments of 1-cent and each bid has a set time limit based on the items popularity. This concept seems to translate into some serious bargains for the consumer. Not to mention free shipping and that the proceeds of the winning bid are donated to the “charity of the winning bidders choice.” For example a Canon Powershot digital camera, which retails for around a $180 recently sold for 0.71 according to the website. Sounds a little too good to be true, but ya never know. One thing, though, if these bargains are all that, I can see how this works for the consumer, but what’s the incentive for the seller? I found no information on the site for sellers or about where this merchandise comes from that it’s even possible to sell it so cheaply. The site does charge a flat $1 bidding fee, but unless they are getting ebay numbers in terms of bids, I’m not sure how it adds up. This one may be a curiosity only, but I’d be interested in hearing from either a seller or buyer who’s benefited from this site because this one has me scratching my head.