An article in Times
From The Times
May 19, 2007
Strike gold with a penny punt
Mark Bridge
Online auctions are known for bargains tales of cut-price Ming
and Meissen on eBay are commonplace. But a gold bar going for a
penny? This month Paul Myring, of Bishops Stortford, bagged this
scarcely believable buy at Humraz.com, the new lowest unique bid
auction website that looks poised to offload a £180,000 apartment
in Surrey for less than £100.
The word auction is possibly misleading. Because while these
sales are not, technically, classified as gambling, taking part is
about chance, with an element of skill. The winner is the person
who has placed the lowest unmatched bid when the auction closes.
Placing the lowest bid possible is no sure-fire solution. Mr Myring
was exceptionally lucky that no other punter chanced a 1p
bid.
The site tells users the £3 range in which the current lowest
unique bid sits. At the time of writing, the lowest unique bid on
the two-bedroom flat in Woking is between £9.01 and £12. The
leading bid on a 5oz gold bar worth about £1,700, meanwhile, is
somewhere between 1p and £3.
Where Humraz differs from most low-bid auctions is in its system of
updates and alerts. When you bid online or by text, you are told by
e-mail or SMS whether or not you have the current lowest unique
bid. You are also updated on the bids status, so are told when it
no longer leads. This gives you the chance to have another attempt,
but adds an incentive to make multiple bids, with fees of £3 a
time.
Under the terms and conditions, it is possible to make free postal
bids in reality, for the cost of postage and a postcard. These do
not entitle you to status updates but give you a slim shot at the
property ladder for a tenth of the cost of a regular online or text
bid. Follow the sites terms and conditions link for details.
Asmat Monaghan, who founded the site, aims to close the property
auction when it has generated the funds to cover the costs of the
flat and its sale. While she is confident that this will happen
soon, Humraz reserves the right to close the auction before
sufficient funds have been raised. If this happens, 60 per cent of
the proceeds will go to the War Child charity and the winner will
receive £3,000.
A site with a longer track record, but promising lesser riches, is
Auctionair.co.uk, which offers lowest-bid sales of items from iPods
to holidays and cars. The site does not give bid status, but Duncan
Hilleary, the chief executive, says that alerts may be introduced.
Last week Joanne Hardy, of Brighton, paid £58, plus an £8 bid fee,
for a £1,800 Cartier watch. Ms Hardy has not used other online
auctions but was attracted by the chance to bid for something for
which she would not consider paying the full price. Its great
fun, she says.
CASE STUDY: Strike gold with a penny punt
Olivia ten Kate is hoping that the property auction on the Humraz
website will enable her to afford the unaffordable.
The 24-year-old PA is living in rented accomodation in Chiswick,
West London, and says that all she could buy at this stage would be
a bedsit. She has made 15 online bids for the flat in Surrey, for a
total of nearly £50, and receives updates by text. She has no plans
to move to Woking if she wins and says that she would probably rent
out the prize property.
Ms ten Kate read the sites small print and is aware of the risk
that the flat will not be sold, but she believes that the chance of
a shot at such a life-changing prize was too good to miss. Its an
excellent idea, she says, and a bit addictive.
