Penny auction sites

[Disney Dad Canada]

Just looking into penny auction sites, where you buy a number of bids, then bid on an item, which usually sells for pennies.

Anyone have any experience with these? Are there any Disney specific ones?

 

[chipscamping buddy]

I don't know of any Disney ones. They love to promote the great deals, but take the number of pennies in the winning bid and multiply by the bid cost and you see just how profitable they are for the people running them. Very competitive to win anything, once someone starts to bid, they have a good bit invested and don't want to walk away.

 

[Disney Dad Canada]

I bet a Disney themed one would go over well. There are lots of Disney fans out there.

 

[ndfi78]

They are a rip off for the most part. Think of them as legal gambling.

 

[HM]

If you do the math...you might end up with an item at a cheap price (or not), but the person doing the auction is making a mint off the item they are auctioning.

 

[DisneyKobi]

I don't know anyone who has used these auction bidding sites that has won anything...at all.

The time and money spent on these sites is equivalent to gambling and is better directed to the kids' college savings account, don't you think?

it's really bad when people get "addicted" to these sites. Sad.

 

[THEBIGTODOLIST]

Hi Everybody. I don't post much but I read here a lot. I was recently healing from multiple surgeries, a total of 4 months. I have tried to be productive over this time, for example, I joined Quick Rewards (thanks dis members for the info) and a couple other survey sites to keep my mind active and make some pocket money for DW (I am impressed with how it has added up). I also ran across penny auctions, I knew nothing about them to begin with but I was intrigued. I started at a site called bidrack.com. I spent A LOT of time just watching auctions and reading about auctions and they give you free bids everyday so it was a nice way to get my feet wet without going nuts. I have since sampled dozens of sites, I have bought some small promo packages at some and just played with the free bids for registering at others. Keep in mind I have LOTS of free time right now. I have done VERY well, meaning I have won much more than I have invested. I concentrate on winning giftcards that are in someway suitable for our next Disney trip. I am even thinking about starting my own site that focuses on all things Disney and travel related. The way to be successful in penny auctions is somewhat simple but requires a significant investment of time. You need to try out different sites to see what works best for you while keeping an eye out for scam sites. Scam sites are sites that take your money but never deliver on product or who bid on their own auctions! It is true that some sites are set up to make astounding amounts of money on the items they sale. The sites I use almost all offer a buy it now feature, where, at the end of the auction, if you lose, you may apply the amount of bids to buy the item at a set price.This is a great option when bidding on gift cards. Penny Auctions do have a "gambling" aspect to them, meaning you can lose money and I have on many auctions but i have learned when to cut my losses, so my wins are way over my losses. But again this takes time to learn. you wouldn't just walk up to a blackjack table and start playing without knowing anything about the game - unless you like learning the hard way. Same with these auctions. There are a few sites that are great places with win limits, buy it now options and free bids to try (Shopbig). There are sites that are low traffic, low risk and low reward (savvybidding). There are sites that the novice is better to steer clear of (Swoopo, Bidcactus are two that come to mind). And there are sites that just aren't worth the time and effort (too long to list). And at the worst end are the scam sites. Look up reviews at the watch dog sites that allow open reviews. Don't spend the rent money thinking you can double it back in Target gift cards. I spend modestly and win modestly. Overall I have chosen 4 sites to stay with and am happily up! I am willing to answer any question I can.

 

[tinatark]

a friend of ours frequents bigdeal.com - if you are willing to stay with an item until the end, you can get a good deal.

This site gives you $ back in the form of *discounts* - you can buy gift cards for Wal Mart, etc. at 10 percent off, using the $ you used to buy your bids. Plus, if you are bidding on an item with a buy it now price and don't win, you can buy it for that price, minus any $ you spent bidding for it.

That said, it takes HOURS to win stuff there. Hours.

 

[CoolDisneyKitten]

I won some gift certificates on Quibids earlier this year. At one point, I was up around $30. But did I stop? no ... I bought more bids and now I'm down around $50.

It really is like legal gambling. You have to decide to keep bidding or not.. you try and bluff the other bidders ... etc.

 

[diamondpixienc]

@BIGTODOLIST FIrst, I hope you continue to have a speedy recocery. Second, thanks so much for the advice and a little insite. ANd Finally, do you care to share which are the four sites you prefer and a little about why? PM if you prefer to do that. Have a great day!

 

[GinnyEmma]

they are a scam. they make a mint off of people who are willing to risk wasting money.

 

[luvmy3]

they are a scam. they make a mint off of people who are willing to risk wasting money.

Then they aren't a scam, people are willing to participate they aren't being decieved. If someone doesn't do their research and finds out how these sites work, thats their own fault.
(The only people who would trult feel scammed are those who want something for close to nothing i.e pennies, so I wonder who the real scammer is)

 

[GinnyEmma]

they market themselves as a place to get something for nothing. That equals scam in my book.

 

[luvmy3]

they market themselves as a place to get something for nothing. That equals scam in my book.

The terms are pretty clear when you sign up.

 

[kmacht]

You might want to do some research before bidding on anything. There are many accusations of schill bitting and automatic bidding. The sites claim that they don't do this but the company that makes the software for these types of sites promotes the ability to do so. If the item isn't selling for enough or they don't have enough bids they can set it up to automaticly keep upping the bids until it reaches a set ammount.

Keith

 

[dhdozier]

Hi Everybody. I don't post much but I read here a lot. I was recently healing from multiple surgeries, a total of 4 months. I have tried to be productive over this time, for example, I joined Quick Rewards (thanks dis members for the info) and a couple other survey sites to keep my mind active and make some pocket money for DW (I am impressed with how it has added up). I also ran across penny auctions, I knew nothing about them to begin with but I was intrigued. I started at a site called bidrack.com. I spent A LOT of time just watching auctions and reading about auctions and they give you free bids everyday so it was a nice way to get my feet wet without going nuts. I have since sampled dozens of sites, I have bought some small promo packages at some and just played with the free bids for registering at others. Keep in mind I have LOTS of free time right now. I have done VERY well, meaning I have won much more than I have invested. I concentrate on winning giftcards that are in someway suitable for our next Disney trip. I am even thinking about starting my own site that focuses on all things Disney and travel related. The way to be successful in penny auctions is somewhat simple but requires a significant investment of time. You need to try out different sites to see what works best for you while keeping an eye out for scam sites. Scam sites are sites that take your money but never deliver on product or who bid on their own auctions! It is true that some sites are set up to make astounding amounts of money on the items they sale. The sites I use almost all offer a buy it now feature, where, at the end of the auction, if you lose, you may apply the amount of bids to buy the item at a set price.This is a great option when bidding on gift cards. Penny Auctions do have a "gambling" aspect to them, meaning you can lose money and I have on many auctions but i have learned when to cut my losses, so my wins are way over my losses. But again this takes time to learn. you wouldn't just walk up to a blackjack table and start playing without knowing anything about the game - unless you like learning the hard way. Same with these auctions. There are a few sites that are great places with win limits, buy it now options and free bids to try (Shopbig). There are sites that are low traffic, low risk and low reward (savvybidding). There are sites that the novice is better to steer clear of (Swoopo, Bidcactus are two that come to mind). And there are sites that just aren't worth the time and effort (too long to list). And at the worst end are the scam sites. Look up reviews at the watch dog sites that allow open reviews. Don't spend the rent money thinking you can double it back in Target gift cards. I spend modestly and win modestly. Overall I have chosen 4 sites to stay with and am happily up! I am willing to answer any question I can.

Good luck on your recovery and I hope you continue to post ways to help others on this board. It was a shame how you were treated on the other thread you posted on. I too am interested in what sites you prefer if you would pm me I would appreciate it.

 

[timmac]

The terms are pretty clear when you sign up.

While I'd agree the terms are clear, what's presented is something very different from what it really is.

That said, consider all similar posts a warning to carefully read the terms. Or better yet, avoid the sites entirely.

For the PP who pointed out possible shill bidding, etc, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if that was the case.

 

[BoogasMom]

Why wouldn't just bidding on what you want on legitimate sites such as ebay be good enough? Your risk is a lot lower because you can bid on items from sellers with good feedback ratings and you are covered if you pay through paypal and it is determined the seller is running a scam. I guess I am missing something when it comes to these penny bid sites????

 

[Modog814]

The other day I signed up for the introductory package to Quibids, 100 bids for $60.

I'm still torn on whether or not they're worth it. Those of you who are likening it to gambling make it sound way worse than it is (or could be)

I think they're are 2 strategies to these sites, 1) is you're trying to get stuff super cheap, you limit your bids, basically trying to swoop in and "steal" the item from other bidders who have been bidding the price up. The other way to get things cheap is to try to bid at one or 2 cents and hope that the time just expires. This I think is a type of gambling, and I believe you lose way more than win.

The 2nd strategy, is one they recommend on their FAQ, and that is to bid on things you don't mind using the buy it now feature for. I think this works best for things like gift cards. For example, lets say you know you need something from Home Depot for say $100. A $100 Home Depot (from what I can tell) generally goes in the $10 range of bidding. That's 1000 bids. So the strategy is this, you pay say $60 for 100 bids. You participate in bidding (strategies for this another subject).

4 outcomes:

1) You win the auction, say for $10 using all your bids, so the $100 GC cost you $10 + $60 + $1.99 s/h, so it costs you $71.99.

2) You use up all your bids and don't win. But use the buy it now feature...so the $100 GC costs you an additional $40 ($100 - 100bids * 0.60). So total cost is $101.99 including the s/h.

3) Somewhere in between 1 and 2. You win, but not using all your bids, so now you can repeat the process on perhaps a small denomination gift card.

4) During an auction you realize it's cheaper just to stop bidding and use the buy it now feature. This happened to me.

My thoughts on it:

1) Yes I believe they are making profits, I don't think it's as much as you'd think though, because a) of the buy it now option, and b) because you can "win" bids

2) Yes you can win things cheap, it's possible. My first auction I won a $20 GC + 20 free bids. Cost to me was 2 bids placed, 1.99 s/h and 0.04 price. I think this is an anomoly.

3) I'm thinking I might use this again if I have a need at Lowes or Home Depot or plan on going to one of the restaurants they offer. If you follow the 2nd strategy above, worst case scenario is that is costs you the 1.99 s/h fee. So in essense you are gambling the $2 that you'll win the auction and save 30-50%.

 

[GinnyEmma]

Because everyone wants to beat the system.