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Friday, June 6, 2014

Penny Auctions - The Basics You Have To Know

“If it seems to good to be true, then most likely it is.”

We’ve heard of this many times, haven’t we? But just like any rule or principle, there’s always an exception. And one that immediately comes to mind are online penny auctions. TVs, smartphones, SLR cameras – everything is sold at rock-bottom prices. But here’s the sweet part: it’s 100% legit.

Just To Clarify…

Penny auctions – online or otherwise – sell bids and NOT products. These auction sites have been designed form the ground up for selling bids, which is why a lot of people look at these as bidding sites and NOT auction sites. With that out of the way, let’s take a look at how it works at a basic level.

How It Works

“How many bids were spent?” – This is the primary concern of every penny auction site. The amount the product was sold for is merely an postscript. What penny auction site owners hope for is that the total amount of money spent on the bids exceed the cost of the time item they’re auctioning.

Let’s check out an example: Let’s say a 58-inch, LCD TV (at a retail price of $2000) is being auctioned. The ending auction price amounted to $100, with the price increasing by a penny for every bid placed. With a little bit of math, we can determine that this specific auction took 10,000 bids ($0.01 x 10,000 = $100).

As mentioned earlier, penny auction sites make money NOT from the selling price of the item on auction but through the number of bids it received. You see, they charge for every bid. How much exactly depends on the online auction site – it could cost anywhere from $0.50 to $1 per bid. Taking the lowest end, 10,000 at $0.50 translates to $5,000 worth of bids!

So an LCD TV that cost them about $2000 got $5000 worth of bids, which means they have made about $3000 on this specific auction! The website made a boatload of money and the auction winner got an expensive TV at 95% discount. It’s that crazy!

Before You Jump Into Penny Auctions

It’s a very cut-throat field – keep this in mind. It’s not discount or entertainment shopping. At their truest form, penny auctions count as a competitive game like poker. And just like poker, it can be a lot of fun especially when you start winning $2,000-gadgets without spending more than $10.

If you’re a poker enthusiast and have played for quite some time now, you’ll probably love penny auctions. Penny auctions heavily reward all-out aggression, and it requires playing with the minds of other bidders. Go for the jugular and use psychology to your advantage, and you’ll have a huge edge against the average penny auctions bidder.

But while it is fun, keep in mind that winning isn’t as easy as others make it out to be. There are no fail-proof techniques that lets you win every single time. If you want to get your hands on penny auctions and make it big, start by learning the basics of the game – focusing on different strategies and bidding styles.

Top 5 Penny Auction Sites

Looking for penny auction sites that are 100% legit? You’ve come to the right place. Below is a list of 5 of the biggest and most reputable online penny auction sites today. Take your pick!

Beezid.com
This penny auction site is one of the industry leaders – it’s one of the biggest; most active; and has been around for a long time now. As far as auctions go, there is no shortage of it in Beezid.com. You can expect to see up to over 500 auctions day-in and day-out, which is way more than its competitors.

Just about anything is on show - from HD TVs; smartphones; even cars; and everything else in between. As for bidders, they can expect to save anywhere from 75% to 99% on the retail prices of the items on auction.

Dealdash.com
Launched in the United States during February of 2009, DealDash.com has showed amazing longevity in this highly competitive industry. With 5 years of operation and still counting, it became one of the biggest companies in the penny auctions industry.

What made it stand out from the rest of the pack, however, is it’s Unique Selling Point (USP): If a customer loses the auction, he / she can buy the item for sale at the regular retail price AND get a full refund on the bids the customer placed. This eliminates the risk and potential losses that are oh-so-common in this bidding model.

Quibids.com
Quibids is a highly reputable and well-rounded penny auction site. That said, it also means that competition can be quite stiff. However, if you stick to their training instructions (they do have one!), you’ve got an equal shot of winning expensive items for pennies – just like everyone else.

There are thousands of real winners on the site. And if you have the patience and will to learn good bidding strategies and tactics, it’s only a matter of time before you join the winner’s ranks.

HappyBidDay.com
Compared to other penny auction sites, HappyBidDay.com is considerably smaller – look at it as the SMB version of DealDash, Beezid, or Quibids. This is great news for newcomers to penny auctions and bidders who’re looking for less competition.

Despite its smaller size, the site still has a diverse list of items on auction. You can find video game consoles; iPads and iPhones; laptops; expensive fitness and gym equipment; and those are just to name a few. Moreover, the site is extremely user friendly. If you’re a first-time bidder, this is an excellent choice.

Bidson.com
What I like about Bidson.com is that it has numerous tiers for bidders. First, it has the Rookie section, which is available for bidders who are yet to win any 3 auctions at the site. For those of you who hardly sleep, there’s the 24-Hour Auctions that’re open ‘round the clock. Free Fall, on the other hand, is a tier that requires manual bidding (no AutoPilot). And if you think you can play with the big bidders at the site, participate in the Unlimited tier where everyone can participate. Just keep in mind that there’s a limit of only 3 winnings per week.

Beezid.com - Scam Or Legit?

“Can I really win expensive items for pennies at Beezid? Or is this whole thing a scam?” Perhaps you’re here because you just learned about penny auction sites and learned about Beezid.com. If that’s the case, you’ve come to the right place. I have used more penny auction sites than I care to count; got burned; and won a ton of stuff. Let’s take a look.

So Is Beezid A Scam?

To answer that question, NO – this penny auction site is not a scam. Along with other big players in the industry, this site is 100% legit. Matter of fact, if you check Wikipedia’s page dedicated on penny auctions (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bidding_fee_auction), Beezid is listed. Moreover, you can check the site’s domain. You can do that by going to http://www.whois.com/whois.

You see, scammers (penny auction site or not) are very careful about domain registrations. They always hide the registrant’s details. Also, a scam site won’t last for more than a few months – maybe a year at most. People will report the site and it’s only a matter of time before the hosting provider closes the site.

The good news is Beezid is clear of such tell-tale signs: The site’s whois discloses the registrant’s details and the site has been registered and running for years now. Here’s a cool tip: To avoid getting scammed in penny auctions, stick with the big boys – sites that have a proven track record.

How Beezid (And Other Penny Auction Sites) Work

To give you an idea of how penny auction sites work, let’s just say they’re in the business of selling bids instead of selling products. Here’s how it work from the bidder’s perspective:

•    Beezid auctioned a $500-iPad starting at $0.00. To bid on the auctioned item, you need buy bids from the house. For a pack of a hundred bids at $0.50 each, you paid $50. Everytime a bid is placed, the iPad’s price goes up by a cent.

•    Typically, an auction has a lifespan of 10, 15, or 20 seconds. However, everytime a bid is placed, the timer is reset. The last bidder wins the item. Now, let’s say you’re the last bidder – you placed a total of 20 bids and the price ended at $14.00.

•    This means the total number of bids ended at 1400 ($14/$0.01) – the house just made $700 from the auction and this translates to $200 in profit. You, the winning bidder, get to iPad for only $14 – a 97% reduction in price!

3 Reasons Why I LOVE Beezid

•    First, it’s not overpopulated unlike other sites. This translates to less competition and greater chances of winning.

•    The roster of products on auction is virtually endless. And unlike other auction sites that auction $10 Amazon gift cards, Beezid offers expensive products and gadgets.

•    You have the option to buy the item at the retail price if you lose the auction. Moreover, the money you spent on bids will be refunded or deducted from the retail price, which means you don’t lose anything at all. Just keep in mind that this isn’t available at all auctions.

Winning On Beezid:

Here’s a valuable resource you MUST check out: www.ipennyauctions.com. Owned by a penny auctions expert, you will find numerous solid and winning strategies here. He’s so good at this stuff that he was banned by an penny auction site for winning way too much! Follow his strategies to the “T” and you’ll be surprised at how you can easily dominate penny auction sites like Beezid!

DealDash.com - Legit And Recommended?

Lately, I have seen that Dealdash is getting a lot of attention. This kind of worried me. But before we get to the reason why, let me tell you that DealDash.com is NOT a scam. It’s 100% legit. If you are to check out their page on BBB (Better Business Bureau), you’ll see that – while they got complaints – the company attended to those and sorted the issues out.

It’s Paul here. Some of you fellas may know me from PennyAuctionWatch.com forum. To those who are not quite familiar with me, I’m a hardcore penny auctions player. I have played on numerous sites; lost more than I care to count; and won a lot, too.

Also, if you are to check out their whois details, you can see that they have full disclosure and have been in the business for a very long time now. So far so good, but do I recommend it?

DealDash – Not A Scam, BUT Not Recommended

DealDash.com is 100% legit, but that as far as recommendations go, NO I do not recommend it. The reason is simple: The site is overpopulated. In simpler words, your chances of winning are almost non-existent. Drooling over that cool smartphone; fitness equipment; or laptop? You can drool at it all you want and hope to win. But trust me, the competition is so stiff that winning is almost impossible. Matter of fact, here’s DealDash’s response on a complaint filed against them, which BBB addressed:

“DealDash said the company underwent "unanticipated growth" in the summer of 2012, and during the expansion of the supplier network in the fall 2012, the company experienced procurement issues and delivery days, which affected the customers. DealDash says its new partnership with large retailers such as Best Buy have led to a "dramatic" decrease in procurement issues, and increase in product availability.”

As you can see, the overpopulation of the site has led to numerous problems (logistics, delivery, etc.) Now, don’t get me wrong. I have no beef against DealDash. Matter of fact, I used to be a regular there. It was a great site and I won numerous cool and expensive gadgets from them. However, the overpopulation problem is really hurting them and their customers.

What Should You Do Instead

DealDash.com has truckloads of members. Yes, they’re one of the biggest players in the penny auctions industry but their customer base has clearly outgrown them. This results in A LOT of people bidding on the same phone, laptop, etc. In industries like this, such stiff competition greatly minimizes your chances of winning.

Fortunately, you have other options. A wise move would be to pass DealDash (until they catch up on their ever-growing customer base at least), and go for a penny auction site that has an equally diverse set of offerings; 100% legit; and not as competitive.

Trust me, there are a lot of totally legit and less competitive penny auction sites out there. To help you with your research, check out www.ipennyauctions.com. On this site, you’ll also find a step-by-step guide and strategies for winning at penny auction sites. Oh! By the way, the site is run and owned by a fella who was banned for winning excessively from just about penny auction site on the planet!

Quibids.com - A Closer Look

So you’re thinking about giving Quibids.com a shot but you’re not sure if it’s worth it? Well, read this basic guide and tour to Quibids and be the judge!

Quibids - Is It A Scam?

I’ve got some good news for you: No, Quibids is not a scam. Like any 100% legit penny auction site, the game is played and won using a combination of calculation, timing, and of course, luck. If you’re still doubting the site’s legitimacy, I suggest you head over to BBB (Better Business Bureau) and check out their page. There, you’ll see that:

•    It has been a BBB Accredited Business since September 22, 2010
•    Quibids.com has an A-Rating, which is very high and respectable
•    Resolved / closed about 1060 complaints over the past 3 years
•    The business has completed a thorough internal controls audit by Grant Thornton in 2011

If that isn’t enough to convince you, I don’t what will. Moving forward, since Quibids.com is a penny auctions site, bids only increase by a cent – sometimes 2, 10, or even 20 cents depending on the auction and number of bidders.

Here’s the exciting part however: The final price or selling value of the item on auction will stay very low no matter what. It’s not at all uncommon for a bidder to walk away with a gadget that’s worth $700 for about $20 or even less! Cool, right? But while it is exciting, don’t let that fool you into thinking that it’s easy.

You can walk away with $4000 from a roulette table and spend only in $100 in the process. But we all know how hard it is to pull that off. The same thing can be said with any penny auction site. While it is doable, there are other bidders and the odds are stacked against you.

So How Does The Site Work?

If you’re a bit confused about how Quibids work, here’s a quick tour: They sell you bids NOT items. You can use those bids to bid on real and expensive products. The diversity of products on auction at Quibids is amazing – you can find iPads, top-tier PCs, MacBooks, home theater systems, and those are just to name a few.

•    Every bid costs $0.60
•    Every bid adds a penny - $0.01 – to the auction price
•    Of course, you will compete with other bidders who’re just as eager to get that item
•    Keep in mind that every auction in Quibid has a timer of 15 seconds
•    Placing a bid before the timer runs out resets it back to 15 seconds
•    As a certain amount is reached, the timer is shortened down to 10 seconds
•    If the timer runs out and you are the highest bidder, you bag the item!

Sounds really cool, doesn’t it? After winning, you only have to pay your bid amount as well as the shipping.

A Cool Feature

One of the niceties on Quibids is that if you lose the auction, they let you take the total amount you placed on the bids as credit for buying the item on auction at full retail price. Other penny auction sites don’t offer this ‘backup plan’ so to speak.

HappyBidDay - Worth Your Time?

If you’re looking for the biggest, leanest penny auctions website, you may want to say “pass” to HappyBidDay.com. It is dwarfed by other websites – that’s for sure. However, this mid-sized penny auction site – while not as big as DealDash, BeezBid, and others – packs a lot of punch. Since its inception in 2010, HappyBidDay came to known as one of the most reliable sites in the industry – one that:

•    Offers a nice variety of items and auctions
•    Has a good reputaton among bidders of all skill levels
•    Fast shipping and MORE

If you’re thinking twice about joining or bidding on HappyBidDay.com, read on and see for yourself if it’s worth it.

Is It A Scam?

With 4 years in its belt and still counting, the answer is NO it’s not a scam. Looking at its Better Business Bureau (BBB) page, you can see that the business is yet to be accredited. However, it was established in 2010 (with its BBB file opened in 10/26/2011). Scam sites don’t enjoy such longevity as they get shot down by consumers and rip-off reports. Moreover, only 13 complaints were filed against HappyBidDay with 12 of them being resolved over the last 12 months.

What’s Inside?

It’s a great auction site whether you’re a beginner, a veteran bidder, or somewhere in between. Beginners should check out Happy Auctions and Starter Auctions – it’s free to participate in the former while the latter is reserved for new bidders. These auctions do a good job of flattening the learning curve for beginners – allowing them to get a good feel for the site and gain some valuable experience before jumping to auctions with stiffer competition.

Veteran penny auction bidders, on the other hand, would be glad to know that the site offers numerous expensive / high-end auctions. It’s not uncommon to see bidders going home with the latest laptops; expensive stones like gold and silver; high definition TVs; and the like while spending only $10 to $20 in the process. Also bidders who earn and sell their winnings and power bidders have a great selection of great auctions to participate in.

The Auctions: Features And Niceties

•    Rewards Program: Customers who refer friends; participate in contests; etc. get to earn free bids that they can use in HappyBidDay Auctions.
•    Starter Auctions: This low-competition auction is reserved and a nice starting point for new users or bidders.
•    Happy Auctions: It’s free to participate in these auctions. Here you can win small gift cards and bid packages. Very suitable for beginners.
•    Buy-It Auctions: These auctions allow the losers to purchase the item at the total retail price and RECOVER the money they lost through bids.

Closing Thoughts

If you’re looking for an excellent balance between the number of auctions available and the level of competition, HappyBidDay is the place to bet. It’s nice mix of auctions; fast shipping; excellent customer service; and more leave you with a lot of chances to win and grow your skills as a penny auctions bidder. HIGHLY recommended!

Bidson.com - What Is It All About?

An e-trading site based on entertaining and exciting auctions, Bidson.com offers two types of auctions. On the site, you can find both Lowest Bid Auctions and Penny Auctions. Assuming that you’re here to know more about their penny auctions, here’s how it works:

Penny auctions work just like traditional auctions. There is one exception however: You can only raise the price of the auctioned item by one penny ($0.01) at a time. Just like other penny auction sites, every auction at Bidson has a countdown timer. However, when a bid is raised, the timer is refreshed. Now, if the timer runs out and the bid isn’t raised, the auction closes with the last bidder rendered as the winner.

Something To Closely Keep In Mind

The auctions at Bidson.com are open ‘round the clock – 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Keep in mind that, during the remaining hours, the countdown timers are paused, which means they cannot finish during these hours. That said, bids can still be raised (and so is the price of the item) despite the paused time…with the countdown continuing the following morning. These mechanics will play a huge role in your bidding – and can spell the difference between winning and losing.

The AutoPilot Feature

One nice feature that Bidson has is the AutoPilot feature. As the name suggests, this lets you place bids on your behalf automatically – even if you are away from the computer. It will place bids in the last 5 seconds of the auction. Provided that the feature is activated and you have the spending power necessary, AutoPilot will place bids until you win.

To get the AutoPilot going, activate it by clicking on the “lock” icon on the left part of the screen, just right next to the bid button. Once the feature is activated, it will only deactivate if: (1) You win the auction. (2) You run out of bid credits. AutoPilot will not be turned off even if you log out of the site. To switch it off manually, just click the same lock icon you used to activate it.

“I Just Won! Now What?”

If you win an auction, Bidson’s team will contact you through email within the next 24 hours after the auction closes. The email will contain the invoice of the winning bid and the fees required to ship the item to your address. Once the invoice is taken care of, Bidson will ship the laptop, smartphone, fridge, or whatever item you won. It will take approximately 5 to 8 working days to deliver it, which is quite standard in penny auction sites.

Numerous Auction Types To Choose From

What users love about Bidson – aside from the numerous auctions; multiple languages and countries it supports; etc. – are the different types of auctions available. Users who are yet to win any 3 auctions at the site can participate in Rookie auctions. Then there are 24-hour auctions; Free Fall auctions where AutoPilot is unavailable; and Unlimited Auctions where everybody can participate.

This lets beginners, intermediates, and seasoned penny auction veterans to get a slice of the sweet pie minus the overly stiff, cut-throat competition – a problem among big and well-established penny auction sites.

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