Penny Auctions – How to sell a $180 tablet for $7,264

"Shockingly nearly half of those bids came from just one person who lost approximately lost $3,500 in just two hours"

Is such an irrational amount of money to lose, i'd wager a guess it wasn't a real user. I'd bet its an automated system owned by the "house" that keeps the auction from ending prematurely.

There's a phenomenon that plays out now and then where people will spend more than $1 to win $1 because they can't abandon their sunk costs. Good money after bad.