QuiBids LLC Consumer Fraud-Reports on line that they do not make a lot of money. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Quibids will give you a chance to "purchase the item" on the buy it now platform.  This includes only a few of the items.  I bid on a Macbook, didn't win, and went to look at the "Buy it Now" option.  In this instance, that was not offered.  Even when it is offered, you only get the amount "You Personally Bid" as a discount not the winning price.  For example, I would have only gotten 18.00 off the purchase price after 30 bids.  So I would still have to pay virtually retail.  I could get a better deal with Ebay. All I can say is consumer beware, there are better ways to get good deals.

Although I can't speak for every penny auction out there, I can say something for QuiBids.  We make ourselves quite transparent with how we run things.  "The truth is..."  yes, we make it known that each bid is $0.60 (We have to do this in order to first, pay for the cost of the item).  People can't participate in the auctions until they purchase a bid pack.  So upon buying a bid pack, they should know how the model works.  If they are still unsure we've offered the QuiBids101 section to help them understand it more thoroughly, on top of our support team.

As far as no one bidding until later in the auction - those users are being savvy with their bids and not wasting them at the 20 hour mark.  The final countdown is there to give everyone the chance to bid on the item if they indeed want to go for it. 

Users can get some awesome deals, and we want them to!  In your instance, you talk about the winning bid on a MacBook being anywhere from $13-$300.  The winner can get a good deal b/c they're more than likely not going to have all the bids placed.  Each auction varies.  And to all the participants who do not win, that's why we offer the 'Buy it Now' feature.  Users can then purchase the item for its online retail value, minus the cost of bids they already put in.  That way, they don't lose their money. 

Penny auctions aren't for everyone and those that do decide to participate, need to do their homework and read up on each one since every penny auction has its own variations to its model.  We pride ourselves in being the beacon of moral and ethical business practices in our industry.