It's not a scam, but it's still kind of icky. The items up for bid are owned by the owners of the site. Start multiplying the cost of each bid by the number of bids, and the site owners make out like bandits, because once you've bid, you don't get that money back even if you lose the auction. Unless you win a lot of auctions, all the money lost in previous auctions can add up, so that high dollar iPad you sniped for $75 may have actually cost you more than the MSRP for it. It's like gambling, they'll let you win juuuust enough to keep you hooked and coming back.