Lowest unique bid auctions are an increasingly popular way to try and win consumer items and more online. Unique bid auctions operate on the principle of bidders placing unique bids, in other words for a bid to be eligible to win no one else can have placed a bid for the same amount. In a lowest unique bid auction, the lowest unmatched bid placed by the close of the auction wins the item.
Bidders are usually allowed to place multiple bids and the numbers of current bids at each amount are usually kept confidential. Some online auctions might provide general guidance on bidding, for example whether the winning unique bid is higher or lower than your last bid. The requirement for a unique bid means that the auction rules will generally allow bids to be extremely precise, that is bidders can place bids specific to the penny.
Whilst lowest unique bid auctions can be a great way to 'win' or buy high value items for much less than their retail price the real winner is usually the auction organiser who will in most cases charge a registration or administration fee and in an auction with a large number of bidders this cumulative fee will exceed the value of the item being sold.
The need for a large number of bidders to run a profitable auction means that they are usually only organised and run as an online auction. Most sites will require you to register and may operate on a credit purchasing system.