Is MADBID a ripoff UK.madbid.com?

Madbid is not a rip off. As you say, you have to buy bids. It is basically a question of being lucky with your bids. Madbid make their money by selling you the bids. It's a long time since I used Madbid, but if for arguments sake, bids cost 10p each and there are 100 bids placed for a laptop, Madbid make �1,000 (less the cost of the laptop + the amount of the winning bid). Not bad! I don't think there is any 'knack' to winning, you just have to be lucky.