Online auctions are known for bargains – tales of cut-price Ming and Meissen on eBay are commonplace. But a gold bar going for a penny? This month Paul Myring, of Bishop’s Stortford, bagged this scarcely believable buy at Humraz.com, the new “lowest unique bid” auction website that looks poised to offload a £180,000 apartment in Surrey for less than £100.

The word “auction” is possibly misleading. Because while these sales are not, technically, classified as gambling, taking part is about chance, with an element of skill. The winner is the person who has placed the lowest unmatched bid when the auction closes. Placing the lowest bid possible is no sure-fire solution. Mr Myring was exceptionally lucky that no other punter chanced a 1p bid.

The site tells users the £3 range in which the current lowest unique bid sits. At the time of writing, the lowest unique bid on the two-bedroom flat in Woking is between £9.01 and £12. The leading bid on a 5oz gold bar worth about £1,700, meanwhile, is somewhere between 1p and £3.

Where Humraz differs from most low-bid auctions is in its system of updates and alerts. When you bid online or by text, you are told by e-mail or SMS whether or not you have the current lowest unique bid. You are also updated on the bid’s status, so are told when it no longer leads. This gives you the chance to have another attempt, but adds an incentive to make multiple bids, with fees of £3 a time.

Under the terms and conditions, it is possible to make free postal bids – in reality, for the cost of postage and a postcard. These do not entitle you to status updates but give you a slim shot at the property ladder for a tenth of the cost of a regular online or text bid. Follow the site’s terms and conditions link for details.

Asmat Monaghan, who founded the site, aims to close the property auction when it has generated the funds to cover the costs of the flat and its sale. While she is confident that this will happen soon, Humraz reserves the right to close the auction before sufficient funds have been raised. If this happens, 60 per cent of the proceeds will go to the War Child charity and the winner will receive £3,000.

A site with a longer track record, but promising lesser riches, is Auctionair.co.uk, which offers lowest-bid sales of items from iPods to holidays and cars. The site does not give bid status, but Duncan Hilleary, the chief executive, says that alerts may be introduced. Last week Joanne Hardy, of Brighton, paid £58, plus an £8 bid fee, for a £1,800 Cartier watch. Ms Hardy has not used other online auctions but was attracted by the chance to bid for something for which she would not consider paying the full price. “It’s great fun,” she says.

CASE STUDY: Strike gold with a penny punt

Olivia ten Kate is hoping that the property auction on the Humraz website will enable her to afford the unaffordable.

The 24-year-old PA is living in rented accomodation in Chiswick, West London, and says that all she could buy at this stage would be a bedsit. She has made 15 online bids for the flat in Surrey, for a total of nearly £50, and receives updates by text. She has no plans to move to Woking if she wins and says that she would probably rent out the prize property.

Ms ten Kate read the site’s small print and is aware of the risk that the flat will not be sold, but she believes that the chance of a shot at such a life-changing prize was too good to miss. “It’s an excellent idea,” she says, “and a bit addictive.”