Hadn't thought about that aspect. However, gift cards are only a fraction of things they sell, and most are in the $100 or less denomination. In addition, not all losers are astute enough to use their lost bids as credit for a purchase. Read the sad stories on the web about all the new members who are sure that the auction is a scam, and that they lost "everything" .

The "big stuff" that sells for $500 or so I'm sure has a hefty retail markup in the MSRP, so they are happy to sell to auction losers for full price.