Hi Marie. Id be happy to explain how the website works.

We operate on the "pay to participate/bid model" so it's required that you purchase bids in advance. This loads up your account balance. You can check out our promotional bid pack prices here: https://www.dealdash.com/buybids

Each bid you place takes away one of your bids from your balance and increases the price of the auction by 1 penny, then resetting the clock to 10 seconds. It's in this small window that someone else must decide if they will place a bid to outbid you. If no new bids are placed and you are the final bidder in the auction, you win the auction at the final sales price.

If you do not win the auction, you will see the Buy It Now button. By using the Buy it now option, you will get the item for retail price and all the bids you used in that auction will be returned to your bid balance. Users who take advantage of this option usually have a better experience, since they get the item they initially wanted as well as retain all their bids.

Please let us know if you have any other questions and be sure to read more about us here: http://www.dealdash.com/how-does-it-work

VERY rarely will you want to pay their LIST price for items but the option is available on all auction items. Case in point: I bid on numerous Kamikoto Ryoshi Knife Sets & won 6 different sets ranging in "Listed"values from $750 to $ 2300 only to find the same Knife sets NOW "Listed from $270 to $375. One year later.