this is bad, this is gambling, this is a scam
I agree it's bad, and I agree it's a scam, but there is one little thing that keeps it from being "gambling."
There is a "Buy It Now" option that lets you apply all of your losing bids towards the retail purchase price of the item. You then pay the balance of the "retail price" and you can buy the item. So in theory you didn't "lose" your earlier bid money.
You just get to pay full manufacturer's suggested retail plus shipping.