Yeah I tried the approach of a quirky, 1 owner website, and it didn't work. I'm still trying to clean up all the jokes, memes, etc.
Hmmmm, yeah I can see how a first impression is that the site is a penny auction site. I definitely need to rethink the front end design and UX flow. Maybe don't even show the prizes until they've registered.
Even if you just added a short paragraph explaining the concept (since otherwise when I get to your site I look around to see what it does, and see nothing but scam ads all over = scam site; if you actually say what the site's for the prizes have context) and how it works (otherwise I'm like, "sure, effectively free cash, yeah right" = scam site), and then have the prize list, it would make a big difference in first impressions. Maybe have any list of prizes on the front page not be a countdown of upcoming prizes, but a list of selected featured prizes ("including these brands!").
- Non-obvious business model - It's not obvious how you profit from the raffles, whereas charging money is generally easier/quicker to understand
- Use of memes (e.g. http://muxme.com/giveaways/56-25-toys-r-us-gift-card ) doesn't inspire confidence (may be a personal quirk of mine)
- Layout/design - My initial reaction when the page loaded was "Oh, it's a penny auction site", which are known for being borderline scams. Obviously it isn't, but that gut reaction is difficult for you to overcome (I'm thinking of sites like swoggi.co.uk when I say penny auctions)