Look this one www-thehostingchart.com ,this site has an ad for the "web hosting" keyword. Wouldn't he get high bid prices for that keyword and site relevance(because it is a comparison site)?how can this campaign be profitable for him,or is he somehow avoiding google terms?
How long has that site been up? Secondly, it is possible to have compare sites, you just need to know how to keep them up and running.
About 7 days sure,maybe longer but I am sure for only last 7 days. That is a keyword with very high bid prices maybe even 5-10 dollars per click. He is in the top yellow area,so he has sure a great QS,with a comparison site?
Google penalizes comparison shopping sites, not comparison sites. Comparison shopping sites = shopping.yahoo.com, PriceRunner, any MeziMedia property (ToSeekA, Smarter.com - Really, I think this rule is directed at them). These sites are heavily focused on PPC -> PPC arbitrage, which Google doesn't exactly like.