The statements I'll be taking are from your website @OP
In a penny auction, each bid is paid for in advance, and there are no returns.
This means that the bids are final, and nothing will be given back to the bidder in case he loses the auction. Got this point.
I've seen this concept before, but for real items (say a new TV) and in that case the last bid for x minutes wins. In this case, the prize itself increases with every bid and that makes it very different.
why are the bids transparent?
That's how a blockchain works
So, aren't we cutting away our own head with an axe by bidding here when someone who wants the prize, comes and manipulates all the previous bids by his biggest bet? Even if the manipulator pushes the bid with just 1 satoshi ahead, he becomes a winner, won't he?
Then push it with 2 satoshis yourself. I can see this game work if a few people are fighting for the same prize, especially once the prize gets higher.
I am afraid some whale could possibly abuse this system, in that case it would not make sense for a person with little money to even participate on this website.
As they say: "There's always a bigger fish"! The whale who wins a few small auctions by bidding 10 Bitcoin may win a few times, until a whale with 20 Bitcoin takes his 10 Bitcoin.