Pay peanuts for Prada online Penny auction site allows users to bid for high-end designer goods MBA student Jessica Kerr hopes to create a trend by having an online penny auction selling Louis Vuitton bags and Prada wristlets for less. Launched 10 weeks ago, Riffington offers authentic designer handbags, jewelery and gift cards through a "pay-to-play" business design. She hatched the idea after boyfriend and Riffington co-owner David Gustavson read a Time magazine article concerning the ever more popular model - utilized on sites for example OffAndAway.com and Quibids. Kerr said she hopes to fill an louis vuitton official website in Canada for designer items. "The platform already existed, however for lots of electronics," Kerr said. "And so I thought this would be a great place to do handbags because they're far too expensive and highly desired." Every week, Riffington features in-season items - sourced at retail stores in Ontario and B.C. - through live auctions three times daily on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Users purchase bids for 99 cents each, in packages of at least 20. Each bid placed raises the price of a product by only a penny - and also boosts the auction count-down clock by Thirty seconds. At the conclusion of the auction, the product goes to the highest bidder. So far, the greatest price for the highend goods has been $16. Because users will also be paying for their bids, however, Kerr and partner Casey Rollins say they should enter an auction looking to pay about onethird of the list price. But don't be prepared to buy $20 worth of bids and leave having a $1,000 bag. "The deals are amazing, you just have to be sensible about what you're prepared to purchase them," Kerr said. "That's why we always stress it's for people who are likely to buy the bag anyway." Quite simply, if you're prepared to spend the $675 retail price of the Marc Jacobs Bow Quilting purse - it's inside your interest to test for a lesser price within the auction. "So far, nobody has compare to paying retail," she said. The "Buy-It-Now" feature allows users to buy the product at list price and offers some to safeguard losing bidders who've already potentially spent hundreds of dollars. "We do not want In louis vuitton outlet store to need to walk away, out $300 and with no bag," said Kerr. "So they have the possibility to click Buy-It-Now and all they have to pay may be the distinction between what they bid and retail." Casey Rollins, Kerr's business partner and fellow student in UVic's MBA program, said they hope to educate users through video lessons, so they don't waste their cash. "This business model is large in the U.S. And when you arrived at Canada, it's not," she said. "So education is a huge thing that people are always pushing." Riffington currently counts almost 450 users, but Kerr and Rollins said their marketing strategy remains restricted to social media. I was told that they do not have a projection of annual revenue, because of the uncertainty of the market and also the early stages of the business. While they are seeing good and the bad, the selffunded project is covering their costs. "We're in the positive, should you take a look at our May-June financials," Casey said. The louis vuitton shoes said they expect more routine users come fall. "We have high desires September for additional consistency," said Kerr. Additionally they plan to open weekend auctions in those days.