Best Penny Auction Coupons

Penny auction coupons are very useful if you are looking to get some really nice discounts. Lots of penny auctions have a system where they give free bids if you use a coupon. Still others have penny auction coupon codes that give a good discount on bids.

However, one of the best deals on penny auctions that you can get is at PennyAuctionCoupon. This is a wonderful site which is modeled after Groupon. So here is how this site works - they feature a penny auction on their homepage for 1 day. This penny auction then gives a huge discount to everyone who buys from PAC. Discounts of up to 50% are the norm here, which is much higher than any penny auction coupon can ever give you.

From the point of view of the penny auction, it is a good way to promote their site. They get a host of interested penny auction bidders who are then able to join their site and perhaps be active.

Many of the well known penny auctions are also featured on PennyAuctionCoupon and you might just find one of your favorite sites listed as well. Remember there is one deal every day.

The process is quite simple - you join the penny auction being featured if you haven't done so already. Then you buy the bid pack directly from PennyAuctionCoupon who pass on your information to the penny auction. You will then have the bids credited to your account within 24 hours. It is risk free because you pay not directly to the penny auction but to the site PAC, so you know you cannot be scammed.

Check out PennyAuctionCoupon to find some great penny auction coupons and deals.

Last Chance for 50% Free Bids at HappyBidDay

HappyBidDay Coupon Code: MEMORIALDAY (Click to Activate)

HappyBidDay is an interesting penny auction which is relatively new penny auction, is less crowded than sites like Quibids and not too many people know about it. As an example, I was just following an auction as it ended in ... 5 bids.

The ending price was $1.06. What confuses many people is the price - they think there were 106 bids and think the site is competitive, but only 5 bids were placed. This is because the auctions at HappyBidDay start at $1.01 and not at $0.00 or $0.01 which is generally the case. Plus, almost all auctions have free bids with them, so you buy a bid pack, win an item, get free bids, then use these free bids to win more items (of course you need to follow penny auction strategies) It is a nice site to check out and they have regular promotions as well.

They are giving 50 free bids on purchasing a 100 bid pack for the Memorial day coupon till the end of the month, i.e. 5/31 using the coupon code mentioned above.

Check out the site at www.HappyBidDay.com to see the auctions.

RockDawg Coupon Code

I am happy to announce a new RockDawg coupon code for bidders. This is valid only for new users who sign up with this code. You will get 10 free RockDawg bids, which is a great deal, in my opinion. The RockDawg coupon code is RD52.

RockDawg is a new penny auction which has special 'unleashed auctions' to add to the excitement. It is a very trusted site and has one of the best reviews online. They have a great customer service you can reach practically anytime. You can also read my interview with Diane of RockDawg. Diane is the co-founder of RockDawg.

Edit: There was some problem earlier and now it is resolved. So all you have to do is just log in to your RockDawg account, go to your account and on the left hand side menu click on Redeem Awards. Then, enter the coupon code RD52 and you will get 10 free bids instantly added to your account! If there is still a problem, drop a comment and I'll get it fixed. 

Penny Auctions Blog on Facebook!

For all my readers, I have a new way to stay connected. Why, of course it is Facebook! Please join me on Facebook by liking the page. You will get the latest news, updates, free bids, promotions, etc. through the Facebook page, so don't miss out. I have lots of offers to offer!

Also, I am writing an eBook 'The Ultimate Guide to Win Penny Auctions' where I will include all the penny auction strategies, tips etc. It is going to be a comprehensive guide for penny auctions which will be immensely beneficial to all bidders. I plan to sell it at $19.95, but to my first 25 Facebook Fans, I'll give it for FREE! So that's my gift to you - join me on Facebook now! The eBook should be ready in a couple of weeks.

Penny Auction Strategies: How to Win Penny Auctions

These penny auction strategies will help you win penny auctions. Please note beforehand that there is absolutely no penny auction strategy that will guarantee you a win. Ever. If anyone claims to do so, like the countless Youtube videos that you see, it is simply BS - beware of the snake oil salesmen around this industry.

So why is there no foolproof penny auction strategy? Simple, because winning these auctions doesn't just depend on what you do but also on what others do. Ultimately, there is just one winner. Think about it, what if all players are using the "100% guaranteed win on penny auction strategy"? Who will win?

Sometimes, at penny auctions, you should know when to quit. Without knowing this, you might end up overbidding and thus potentially losing a lot of money.

Penny Auction Strategy-1: Plan Your Products Ahead of Time 
How many times have you gone into a store and tempted to buy something you don't need, specially when it is at a discount. Huge discount. How many times have you been tempted by infomercials that promise to "double your order" for just $19.95 and never used it ever. This is what happens with penny auctions too.

Different penny auctions have different products on sale. These can range from electronics to gift cards. Do not bid on items that you don't need - there is absolutely no point in risking your money for something that ultimately you don't need any way. Bid only on those products which you would want anyway and perhaps buy them from Amazon in any case if you don't win it.

This penny auction strategy should also be followed with those sites that offer a Buy Now feature, like Quibids, BidRivals and DealDash. These penny auctions allow you to buy an item you lost at full retail, so you don't waste money on bids. However, if you end up buying an item that you don't need at full retail, I think it is just a waste of money.

So remember that to get the best penny auction deals, you should plan what products you need in advance.

Penny Auction Strategy-2: Plan a Budget 
You will be surprised by the number of penny auction bidders who overbid on items. This is a serious problem and should not take place. It is easy to get lost in the excitement of a penny auction, but there is a time to let go. Without knowing when to let go, you can go on spending on an endless spree. There is no end to to the potential losses that you can take.

It is also for this reason that I advise never to bid on penny auctions with the money that you really need - the money to pay your groceries or mortgage. Instead, only bid with the extra money you have saved and know the risk. Always know the risk before starting - some penny auctions involve the risk of losing all the money while other penny auctions entail the risk of buying the item at full retail or losing all your money. Knowledge is power in this case.

Penny Auction Strategy-3: Choose your Penny Auctions Wisely 
This is perhaps one of the most important penny auction strategy that there is. You should know which penny auction sites to bid on. Choosing the right site can make or break the profits that you expect to get from these auctions. While deciding which penny auctions to join, you should look at the following -

• Legitimacy of the Penny Auction: This is the most important feature. The penny auction should ship the items that you win and not employ any bots for bidding against you. It is the most important aspect of any penny auction that you should look. 
• Competition: This is the next aspect. Among all the legitimate penny auctions, you should find the ones that are less competitive, i.e. more products with less bidders. A preview of previously closed auctions should give you a good idea. 
• Product Selection: The penny auction that you select should sell the products that you are interested in. This will ensure that you don't waste money on products that you don't like. Of late, there are many niche penny auctions, so join such sites only if you are interested in the niche. 

You should check out my blog regularly for the best penny auctions. I try to get in touch directly with the owner and only then recommend penny auctions that I think are legitimate and less competitive. My readers have had excellent results from the penny auctions that I recommended to them.

Penny Auction Strategy-4: Know When to Bid
Penny auctions have varying degrees of competition throughout the day. Also, there is a lot of variation along the week. It is very important that you know what the best time for bidding at your penny auction is. I write about this for some penny auctions, like What's the Best Time to Bid on Quibids.

Time timing of bidding is important and it really depends from one penny auction to another. As a general rule, there are more bidders during nights and weekends, but then some penny auctions might have more products during these times. There are also special times and occasions where you can look for less competition. You should do your research in advance for this penny auction strategy to work. If you want me to research the best time to bid on penny auctions for a particular site, just let me know and I'd be happy to help.

Penny Auction Strategy-5: Know the Volunteer's Dilemma 
The volunteer's dilemma penny auction strategy, first reported on this blog, is a very powerful game theory rule that can help you win penny auctions. The more such chances of dilemma you create, the higher your chances of winning. You should preferably watch a few auctions which show the Volunteer's Dilemma strategy so you understand it better.

Penny Auction Strategy-6: Beware of Bid Voucher Auctions 
Yes, beware of bid voucher auctions. This is a strange penny auction strategy to mention but is very helpful. There are only certain penny auction sites where you should look to bid on bid vouchers. For example, I explain in my Quibids strategy for Bid Vouchers why it is not a very good idea to bid on voucher bids at Quibids, because you cannot use them for Buy Now feature.

Some penny auctions don't offer the Buy Now feature and their voucher bids can be less competitive, so you might want to try those out. However, generally bid vouchers are one of the most competitive auctions, so you should always be careful. Look at the previous history and closed auctions to get an idea.

Penny Auction Strategy-7: Winning Big Items 
If you are new to penny auctions, I don't suggest going for the Macbook or iPad right away. These tend to be very competitive. I will soon publish an eBook that will give all the details on how exactly you should go about winning big-ticket items because there is just a lot to be said. For now, let me just say that winning big ticket items is very different from winning small gift cards. At Quibids, you might check out my post on How to Win Quibids Macbooks and other items. However, there could be better options than Quibids if you are serious about winning that Macbook.

These are my penny auction strategies I use and have studied on thousands of auctions online. When I complete my eBook, I'll give many more intricate details and strategies that will help you win penny auctions. Don't forget to leave a comment!

MyPadiddle Interview with David Hoffman Jr.

I had the chance to interview David Hoffman Jr. of MyPadiddle. David is the COO of the penny auction MyPadiddle. He has some very interesting thoughts to share not just about his own website but penny auctions in general. I am sure you will enjoy reading his thoughts as an insider to the penny auction industry.

Sid: MyPadiddle seems to be the only penny auctions really interested in sporting goods, events and tickets. What made you attracted to this segment?
David: We are sports guys! When we decided to start MyPadiddle we wanted to come in as a niche site. We have access to almost any ticket at any time and we get the best seats to those events. Just ask our customers who have already gone to the Final Four and MLB games since we started in March.

Sid: In the future, do you want to see MyPadiddle as an exclusive auction for a niche segment or a general penny auction with all kinds of products?
David: I would have to say more of a general penny auction but we will always have the event tickets as well. We will always broaden our product list and will take requests as well. Whatever our customers want is what we will have!

Sid: What attracted you to the penny auction model?
David: Simple, the possibility to run a profitable business. The penny auction model for the larger sites is great. The fact that some of the top sites seem overloaded with users, we believe those users will be looking for new sites. So if we target those users plus consistently bringing in our own new users the Penny Auction model looks attractive!

Sid: With an increasing number of lawsuits and complaints, the press seems to be a tad skeptical about penny auctions. Where do you see the future of the penny auction model?
David: People love to play games, people love to shop, people love to win stuff, and people love competition. I believe the Penny Auction industry will continue to grow and the model will mainly stay the same. There will still be a few new sites that will try something new. The complaints on other websites are hurting the industry. There will always be scam artists out there trying to make a quick buck if they can. They are the ones giving the industry a bad name. As time goes on and Penny Auctions become larger, we hope that there is some kind of regulation so all the legit sites can grow. As for the lawsuits, in my opinion, they won’t last long. I have read through some of them and don’t believe that they will last very long. Skepticism will always be there with a new user. That is understandable. If the new user hangs in there and studies certain sites and the behaviors of its users, those users have a good shot at winning items for cheap. The more knowledgeable a user becomes about a Penny Auction site, the more the skepticism will go away.

Sid: Do you think the industry is saturated with so many new players in the market or do you think there is scope for penny auctions to go more mainstream and thus more potential for growth?
David: I think that the industry is saturated with new players but those new players are all playing on the bigger sites. Those sites pay big money for their advertising and have earned all those new players. I think that a lot of those users will start to trickle down and grow some of the medium to smaller sites. That is, if the medium and smaller sites are also paying a good chunk of money into their advertising to target them. I think that penny auctions will grow into more of mainstream then it currently is and I do believe that the industry as a whole will keep growing because of it.

Sid: Do you see more penny auctions emerging in the future catering to a niche segment?
David: The Penny Auction model is very appealing to someone who wants to start a business. It is also very deceiving. I think that the new Penny Auctions will continue to pop up all the time, especially niche sites. The sites that have the capital to spend on advertising as well as make it through the heavy losses in starting up will survive. Another aspect that separates Penny Auction sites is their Management. If you don’t know how to run a business you will fail and fail quickly in the Penny Auction industry. MyPadiddle has a very smart and savvy management and that reflects in our Customer Service, Shipping and Tech team (which has built us a fantastic site!).

Sid: How is MyPadiddle different from other penny auctions?
David: There is not much different between any of the Penny Auction sites. It’s all the same model just different items, different look, customer service, shipping times, and rules. I believe our current customers that have already tried MyPadiddle will attest to how we run our business! I would put our Customer Service, Shipping times, and website look up against any other site out there!

Sid: What additional features would you like to add to MyPadiddle in the short and long term?
David: We are working on a couple things. We would like to have a daily giveaway where one random person will win a prize each day! We are also working on our MyPadiddle points. The points will be accrued from buying bid packs as well as bidding on items. The points will eventually be able to be spent on free bid packs as well as some items. We are excited to roll out both of these projects soon!

Sid: Have you reached the critical point in terms of number of bidders where you can turn an overall profit?
David: Not yet. That is not good for us but great for the bidders! We understood that there will be losses and possibly heavy losses when starting a new business. We have some great advertising projects coming up in June to keep growing our user base. As a new user, now is a great time to bid at MyPadiddle!

Sid: If you had to give just one reason for penny auction bidders to choose MyPadiddle over others, what reason would you give?
David: Service, Service, Service! We have some great people who run our Customer Service and Shipping departments. If a user wins an auction, they want to know that it will be coming soon. We ship our products out 1-2 days after an auction is paid for. We also work with our users who would like to exchange what they won for some Amazon credit to buy something else. We are always ready and willing to work with our users. The site looks fantastic and runs perfect is another great thing about MyPadiddle!

Sid: Tell us something about the people behind MyPadiddle. How big is the team? We have 4 owners to MyPadiddle.
David: Jamie and Shawn came up with the idea to start MyPadiddle and really got us off the ground, planning took 5 months before our actual launch. Myself (David) and Ed jumped in about 2 months before the launch of MyPadiddle. We have a company based in South Bend that built our site and will make any changes we need. We have others that help from time to time to always assure we keep our shipping deadlines and our customer service emails answered. This advertising push in June will tell us if we need to add a few people to help us stay within our shipping and customer service goals. Hopefully we will have to add to the employees at our downtown South Bend office!

Sid: What’s the guiding motto at MyPadiddle?
David: Meet our goals and have fun! Our goals for Customer Service and shipping are high. We have to work hard to attain those goals. In attaining them we have to have some fun though! I for one believe that if you are not having fun then you won’t do as good a job. Everyone wants to have fun while they work, right?

Sid: Did you start any companies prior to MyPadiddle?
David: None of the 4 owners have previously started their own company. I lived with the owners of Better World Books (www.betterworldbooks.com) and was with them as they grew from 2 employees to close to 300 employees, a 260,000 sq ft warehouse, and were in Times Magazine recently! Fantastic company and I learned so much in my time there.

Thank you for your time Sid! I appreciate all the questions and to any new users who have not tried MyPadiddle yet, please come by and try us out!! You can use the promo SID2011 to receive 10 extra bids on your bid pack purchases. Good luck and remember to always have fun!

I hope you enjoyed the interview with David.

Scooter on Quibids Featured Auction of the Week!

I have previously written how Quibids can get boring with Featured Auctions and have the same product again and again. Well, this week there is a refreshing change: A Scooter!

Now though not everyone would like to own a scooter, it is a nice change and brings some excitement. A scooter auction had already taken place at Quibids that ended just yesterday at $83.97

This particular scooter is priced higher at $2400. You can check out the Scooter Auction at Quibids here.

How do Penny Auctions Differ from Ordinary Auctions

How do penny auctions differ from ordinary auctions? This is an important question to answer because it determines what penny auction strategies you should use to win these auctions. The strategies of penny auction are vastly different from strategies of winning on say eBay.

First, you should read my post on How do Penny Auctions Work to fully understand the kind of business model penny auctions use.You might also like to read my Quibids Review, which is the largest penny auction, to get a perspective. My post on Quibids vs eBay is also a good read for beginners and pros alike.

Now, back to the topic of how penny auctions differ from ordinary auctions. Here are some major differences that you will notice:

Paid Bids at Penny Auctions 
At every penny auction, the bids are paid for in advance, You can only place as many bids as you purchase initially. This is quite contrary to a site like eBay where bidding is completely free. There are a few sites like HappyBidDay that give you a ton of free bids when you register but usually you need to buy bids in advance.

This is perhaps the most important aspect which beginners should really know about. If you want to bid at penny auctions, you need to buy bids. You might or might not win the auction, but every bids needs to be paid for. Thus, the losers of an auction lose more than just the product - they lose money. The upside of course is that if you are indeed the winner, then you will end up with a huge discount in most cases.

The Timer Increment, and Not Knowing When an Auction Ends 
The timer increment is also a confusing feature of penny auctions for beginners. People new to penny auctions think that the timer run down will show when the auction ends. However, at every such site, the timer will be reset every time a bid is placed. This is to ensure that the maximum number of bids are placed, which make the site profitable in the first place.

This is also the reason why you should never bid hours in advance - simply because others will outbid you. Of course if it is a new penny auction, you might do so but don't even try in established penny auctions.

Potential Losses: Part and Parcel of the Game 
In penny auctions, you can always have potential losses. This mostly happens when you fail to win the item you are bidding for. You will spend money on the bids you place and don't win the item, so you are at a loss here. Some sites like Quibids offer a Buy Now feature but even this is restrictive, like not working with voucher bids and overpriced items like Quibids jewelry.

You should know the risk before joining and investing money in any penny auction. Different sites have different rules, so make sure you know them. Be prepared for losses as well. Of course if you follow my penny auction strategies, your chances of a loss will be greatly reduced but no one can ever guarantee a win at a penny auction. Ever.

HappyBidDay Coupon Code: 50 Free Bids!

Here is a HappyBidDay Coupon code for use: MEMORIALDAY (click to activate). If you are not yet a member of HappyBidDay, you should definitely consider becoming a member as it gives much better deals than Quibids, at least for now (far less competition). Do note that the auctions start at $1.01 instead of $0.01 and you can see so many auctions ending within a few bids placed. Plus, almost every product has some free bids attached, so you win the product and also get back your bids in most cases!

The current offer is valid on a 100 bid pack: If you buy 100 bids, you will get 50 bids free! It is valid only till 31st May, so do hurry and join HappyBidDay now!

RockDawg Interview with Diane

This is my interview with Diane, the co-founder of RockDawg. RockDawg is a new penny auction site that has many exciting features that regular penny auction bidders will like. There are two types of auctions - the regular penny auctions and "unleashed auctions". I'll let Diane do the talking now, to tell you how awesome RockDawg is!

Sid: So you have Unleashed Auctions in addition to the regular penny auctions.  Can you tell us more about it?
Diane: At RockDawg we feature both Unleashed Auctions as well as regular Timed Auctions.  An Unleashed Auction is an auction which puts everyone on a level playing field.  Our Unleashed Auctions have no win limits.  Whether you’re a power bidder or a brand new user, everyone has an equal chance of winning.  For example, a bidder could win a $100 gift card with only one bid.  For those who are still big fans of the timed auctions, we are continuing to feature Timed Auctions randomly.

Sid: Why did you choose to have both of these models?
Diane: We chose to make the site more interesting to our users.  In the Unleashed Auctions, every user has the same chance of winning.  Some users prefer this as opposed to Timed Auctions which can sometimes be dominated by power bidders.  Many users feel intimidated and shy away from entering into the auction because they know the power bidders will continue bidding even to the point where the item cost is pushed up to way above retail.

Sid: Do you think in the future, one model is going to be more popular over the other?
Diane: We believe the randomness and the thrill of winning the Unleashed Auctions combined with the various contests we offer will prove to be the most popular with our users.

Sid: Are you planning some other auction models like lowest unique bid?
Diane: We are not planning any other auction models at this time.  However, we like to stay flexible to the needs and wants of our users.

Sid: Any thoughts on the recent lawsuits against penny auctions?
Diane: Our thoughts on the recent lawsuits against penny auctions are that the suit will not prevail.  There is no merit to their allegations.

Sid: Do you think ‘Entertainment Shopping’ is in its nascent stage, or do you think it has already peaked, considering there are so many auctions sites online today?
Diane: We believe that penny auction sites have not hit their peak.  We believe that there is a big demand for entertainment shopping and we feel the industry is headed for additional growth.

Sid: Why do you think a lot of penny auctions just close shop within a few months of starting?
Diane: We believe that a lot of penny auctions close shop with a few months of starting because they have not done their homework prior to opening their doors.  Another big problem is that they do not have enough capital to fund their operation and do not have the proper marketing set in place to direct traffic to their site.  Therefore, they go out of business very quickly.

Sid: What attracted you to the penny auction model?
Diane: The partners at RockDawg were attracted to the penny auction world by the excitement of the industry.  We wanted to provide shopping and entertainment to others from the comfort of one’s own living room.  

Sid: How is RockDawg different from other penny auctions online?
Diane: RockDawg is different from other penny auction in that we have a dog theme and all three business partners have dogs and love animals of all kinds.  Users will sometimes send in pictures of their own dogs to be featured in some of our Unleashed Auctions.  The comments we have received from our users are very positive.  They love seeing their own dogs in the spotlight.  We are known for our fair prices and our honesty.  We excel in customer service and expedient shipping times.

Sid: Tell us something about the people who started RockDawg. How big is your team?
Diane: We are three women who are friends.  All of us have dogs and all of us love animals and shopping.  Each of us bring something different to the table and we all complement one another in different areas of this business, which together makes us a strong team.

Sid: What are your plans for the medium term?  Any exciting news or promotions you can share?
Diane: Our plans for the medium term are to continue with both the Unleashed Auctions and the Timed Auctions.  Who knows, we may try different models in the future…That’s one thing that we can say about RockDawg, we are very flexible and sensitive to our user’s requests.  But for now, we have a new contest coming that should be a lot of fun for our users.  We will be running a dog show featuring 10 pictures of our user’s dogs.  All of the auctions will be will be set to go off at COMPLETELY random prices within a one or two hour time period.  After ALL ten of the Auctions are closed, three dogs will also be randomly chosen for the position of “Win”, “Place” and “Show”.  The “Win” dog will receive a $50 card of choice, the “Place” dog will receive a $25 card of choice and the “Show” dog will receive a $15 card of choice.
So, in addition to winning the regular auction, every winner in this contest also has the random chance to win an additional prize.  It is our goal to have as many users playing together during the same one time period as possible.  This not only makes for more fun, but it also spreads the cost of the auctions among many users.  We think the dog show will be a big hit and so much fun.


Sid: Have you started companies/online ventures in the past?
Diane: Some of us have started business in the past, but nothing as fun and unique as RockDawg.  We are truly enjoying the adventure.  We love our users and the people we meet through this business every single day. We hope to make loyal customers of every single users and to be in business for a long, long time to come.  Rock on!


Check out RockDawg here!

How Do Penny Auctions Work?

How do Penny Auctions work? How can penny auctions offer such deals? These are some of the natural questions that arise when one first hears about penny auctions. However, before you decide penny auctions are scam, do learn about their business model. You will then know how penny auctions are able to advertise 95% off on goods without making a loss.

First off, penny auction advertising is misleading. Though it is true that you can get 90% or 95% or 99% off, it is just a chance. That is like a casino advertising "Get 1000% return on your money!" Well, technically he is not wrong - you might end up getting 10 times the money you "invested" but that is not the whole story.

How Do Penny Auctions Work: Business Model 

Penny auctions follow the business model of "Bidding Fee" auctions. This is a whole class of auctions in which there is a fees for bidding. In these auctions, unlike traditional auctions like eBay, every bid you place needs to be placed in advance.

Now, there are many different forms of bidding fee auctions. Penny auctions are the most popular. Other forms include lowest unique bid auctions or hidden limit auctions as well. In all these auctions, bidding isn't free. However, penny auctions are the most popular and this is exactly how they work:

• Bidders buy bids priced usually from $0.50 to $1.00 
• The items usually start at $0.00 and increments by $0.01 each time a bid is placed. 
• Each time a bid is placed, the timer increments by 10-30 seconds. 

So now, let us understand the business model from the point of view of the penny auction.
When an auction is started, it starts off at $0.00. Now bidders start placing bids and the price of the auction increments only by a penny (thus the name penny auction). This looks great because the real money is coming not from the auction price but from the bids used on the auction. A penny auction can afford to give away the final item for free, it doesn't matter!

For example, say there is a $10 gift card and the bids cost $0.60 (e.g. at Quibids) Suppose the auction ends at $1.00. This looks like a great deal, with 90% off retail, but look at how much the penny auction has made - 100 bids X $0.60/bid = $60. $60 on a $10 gift card that appears to be 90% off retail! That is how penny auctions work!

Are Penny Auctions Gambling? 

Now, comparing penny auctions to gambling is only natural, but I don't think that is the full story either. Penny auctions like Quibids allow you to use the money you lost towards buying the item at full retail. Casinos would go bankrupt if they did so. There are, however, some similarities. This is what prompted the decision in South Africa to consider penny auctions as gambling (and later revoked) and this is what the lawsuit against penny auctions was based upon.

If a penny auction has the Buy Now feature like Quibids does, then it is really hard to argue that penny auctions are gambling. However, without this feature, there are some arguments that do seem convincing. This is really a gray area and there is no definite answer to this question that is universally accepted.

Do Penny Auctions Always Make a Huge Profit? 

Not necessarily. New penny auctions do indeed struggle to make money initially. This is because they want to auction off big items like iPads and Macbooks in order to get the required publicity but in doing so, there are not enough bidders so these auctions can end really soon. This is also a nice strategy to use as a penny auction bidder: If you find new penny auctions that are not scam, then you can get really great deals in most cases.

Also, penny auctions with the Buy Now feature don't make a killing. In the previous example of $10 gift card being sold for $1, imagine that all the losers used their Buy Now and got this gift card at full retail, which is $10. In this case, the penny auction actually ends up making a loss. This is what happens at many auctions at sites like Quibids.

So now that you know how do penny auctions work, I hope you are in a better position to look for deals on penny auctions and deciding whether penny auctions are really for you or not. Like I mentioned, if you look for new and legit penny auctions, you will have a good chance of winning great deals.

Joining Less Competitive Penny Auctions

Less competitive penny auctions open every single day as the penny auction industry grows, but you need to be careful because some of them might turn out to be scams. What you need is a penny auction which is low competition and also has a sustainable business model so it doesn't scam you out of your money.

Many new penny auction sites are risky to join, which is why I recommend penny auctions which are of medium duration in existence - which are old enough to be trusted and new enough to be less competitive.

The one penny auction that I do like is HappyBidDay. This is operated by very trusted owners so it is completely legit and it is relatively new and has great products, so you can get some great deals, in most cases, better than Quibids. I have had readers tell me that this is a great site to be in, so you might like to check it out too.

Join here and get 15% off your first bid pack purchase!

Another Niche Penny Auction Opens

I have long predicted that the next step in penny auctions will be sites catering to a very specific niche. This way, the penny auction can establish itself instead of competing with industry heavyweights like Quibids. There is already ScoreLuxe for luxury penny auctions and CrazyCigarDeals for cigar penny auctions. Now, there is one for hotels!

BaiduHotels is a new penny auction that actually uses a reverse penny auction model. The site is specially made for travel auctions and hotel stays. It is selling gift certificates at popular hotel destinations.

Travel and hotel stays is a very specific niche and unless the site offers gift cards of hotel chains and not specific hotels, I doubt it will generate enough bids to come out profitable. However, since it uses the reverse penny auction model (price ticks down instead of up) it is quite possible that the site ends up not making a loss. That of course doesn't mean that users will like to be a part of the site though. In any case, it is a good attempt to enter a niche penny auction. 

Huge Promotion at OrangeBidz

OrangeBidz is a new penny auction with lots of great products (some, like silver bullion, are not even offered by Quibids!) You can read my OrangeBidz review for reference.

This post is about OrangeBidz promotion. There are lots of giveaways for both new and existing members, so hopefully some can make use of it. Here are all the amazing deals and offers that you can get -

• For existing users, simply log in today and you will get 3 free bids! 
• For new users, register today and get 10 free bids (no coupon code necessary) 
• For everyone, there is a special Second Chance Bid Pack, an amazing deal from OrangeBidz. If you buy a 100 bid pack today and use all your bids by Sunday, 5/29, and don't win any auction, then you will get all your bids replenished for one time! This means when you buy a 100 bid pack, you will either win an auction you like or get a complete bid refund if you lose, provided you use all the bids by 5/29. It is a great offer for many bidders. 
• There is also a $25 discount on 200 bid pack. 
• Everybody wins auction: Bid on this $75 Amazon gift card and all users, winners or losers, will get all their bids back! 

Some recent deals on OrangeBidz: 

Yesterday new user royalosaze won a Wii Console with only 62 bids.
twofar2quit won a 35 Olive Garden Gift Card with 1 bid.
iPod nano  - $1.25
Apple TV - $0.03 ( Idontbackdown with 1 bid!)
$50 Best Buy Gift Card - $0.05   (WillNotStopBidn with 1 bid)
2011 American Eagle - $0.21
Amazon Kindle Graphite $0.39 (16 bids)
$50 Walmart - $0.59
Apple iPod Touch - $1.96
Nintendo 3DS  - $0.07
Xbox 360 -$ 0.60
Statue of Liberty Gold Bar - $0.05

Quibids Poll Results

I had the Quibids poll running for a while now on my blog. Now, it is time to move on! Thanks to everyone who voted - I really appreciate it. I am closing the poll now after 500 votes. Here are the results:

Quibids Poll Results

Here are some more details:
Of the 500 people who voted,
126 - 25% made a profile using Quibids
162 - 32% made a loss using Quibids
107 - 21% ended up about even using Quibids
105 - 21% have never bid on Quibids

These are some interesting statistics as it shows that many people make a loss on Quibids. That is why, it is very important that you read the Quibids strategies, Quibids alternatives and other information on this blog. Also, never forget to use the Buy Now option and only bid on those products you want to buy.

I am starting a new poll, so do vote on that. Feel free to comment on any of the posts and I will get back. You can also reach me through email at quibidsblog@gmail.com

Please Vote!

I have had the Quibids poll (to the right of this page) for a while now and I will close it soon. I would really like to get over 500 votes, and hopefully 600 :) So just a quick note to everyone reading my blog: Please Vote!

Quibids is Fascinated with Apple Products!

So once again, the featured auction of the week at Quibids is a bundle of Apple products. This is becoming routine now.

Quibids is the largest penny auction in the US and it has a very good cushion of cash to absorb losses. I would like Quibids to be more risk-taking and adventurous in this regard and at least for the featured auctions of the week, it should try to include something more fun and exciting. There were some great auctions in the past - holiday packages, vacation tours, cruise trips, a car, to name a few. However, of late, I don't see any of these exciting products on Quibids and it is fast losing its sheen.

Quibids should realize that it is big now, that doesn't mean it can be lax. A lot of smaller nimbler penny auctions out there are innovating more than Quibids and offering great deals to their bidders (e.g. HappyBidDay) Quibids needs to be careful if it wants to retain its position as the superior penny auction. Already, many are looking for alternatives to Quibids because the smaller, lesser known penny auctions are less competitive and can offer better deals.

BidRivals Introduces Collection Gift Cards

BidRivals is a big global penny auction. The best aspect of BidRivals is that it is operated in several countries, so if you live in Finland or India, you can use BidRivals. In contrast, Quibids is operated only in the US.

BidRivals has introduced Collection gift cards that have been present for some time now. So what are BidRivals collection gift cards? Well, they are gift cards that give a discount towards the actual product. This is in contrast to the regular gift cards at penny auctions like Quibids.

So how do BidRivals collection gift cards work? Well, there are several high-end items like iPads, Vespa scooter, Macbooks etc. on BidRivals and these collection gift cards are specific to these items. They will have a value, say $10. So when you win a $10 collection gift card of an iPad, what it means is that you can now purchase your iPad at a $10 discount. However, for this to work, the total value of all the collection gift cards you win at BidRivals must be more than 10% of the retail value of the product.

As of now, collection gift cards at BidRivals are not very competitive and I see them being sold out for just a few cents. However, the catch is easy to figure out - if many people are collecting these gift cards, they will soon be pitted against one another and drive up the price. Someone who has collected a few of these gift cards will be forced to keep winning them because if he doesn't make it to 10%, then he has just wasted all the previous wins. Nevertheless, if you see the closed auctions at BidRivals, collection gift cards are selling for a very cheap value - most under 10 cents. So if you have a particular item that you are looking for, you might consider this option.

Let me know your thoughts on this new idea.

iPad2 on HappyBidDay

There is an iPad2 Auction on HappyBidDay! Quibids is yet to have an iPad2 auction and it is good to see a smaller penny auction like HappyBidDay to take the lead. I think it will be interesting, because this site is much less competitive than Quibids, which means the final price will be quite small.

If you are still not a member of HappyBidDay, Join here and you will automatically get 15% off your first bid pack purchase and 50 free Happy Bids as well! This is a great offer that you should make use of.

Also, there is a Samsung NC110-A01 Netbook auction as well which is going on now, so it is a good time to join this site. I think there are some great items lined up for the future too, so if you are a penny auction enthusiast, don't miss joining HappyBidDay!

Twist to Penny Auctions in South Africa

Penny Auctions are very popular in South Africa. Recently there were some lawsuits against the biggest penny auction players in South Africa like Smokoo. This hasn't really deterred people from trying out new innovations to the existing penny auction model. The bidders are already there and some new innovation can help them get back.

Here is a new innovation: Bidding with SMS! Text messaging is very popular in SA and people are comfortable with it. In the new model, you don't need to give out your credit card details - you just SMS a code to bid on an auction. Also, you don't need to register on the site to bid - your phone number is all the information that the site needs! The model is still the same: the cost per bid is R5 and this is the charge you incur for that SMS.

The site is called Yastic and it does have some good features like Buy It Now and free delivery of products. After you win, the site will contact you at the phone number you use to place the bids through SMS.

Can we see such innovation for US based penny auctions as well? I am not too sure. It will be a good way to connect with the younger generation. Personally, I don't think I'll use this feature even if available, but that's just me.  It sure could be helpful for some.

Penny Auctions: When to Buy Bulk Bids

Many penny auctions provide bids in bulk. The most famous example is at Beezid where bids are priced differentially. This is contrast to penny auctions like Quibids where there is a simple flat rate for every bid. For example, at Quibids, every bid costs $0.60 irrespective how many you buy. This keeps accounting straight both for the bidders and the penny auction.

However, there are many sites that like to use differential pricing of bids. The way it works is that as you buy bigger bid packs, you get bids at a cheaper rate. This is used to promote their site, but should you, as a bidder, buy bulk bids at penny auctions?

There are some caveats that you should look out for. The first thing you should do is to look for the products at the penny auction. Are they interesting? Can you bid on these products and win many of them without getting into the "buying for the sake of buying" mode. One good way to look out for is to see gift cards at the site. If there are gift cards, you can win these to buy anything that you want.

Then, you should see if the penny auction is trusted. Very new penny auctions give great deals but you should be sure that they are legit. If they are not and they decide to close their doors soon after, it is really pointless to buy bids and lose money in the process.

However, once these issues are satisfied, you can go ahead and buy bulk bids, which will be a great strategy to reduce your overall costs and improve your overall profit from the penny auction.

Let me give you one example of a penny auction which has differential priced bids and where you should buy bids in the bulk. HappyBidDay is a penny auction that is much less competitive than Quibids and gives you great offers. They have ample number of gift cards like Amazon which you can win to purchase anything at Amazon. If you buy their smallest bid pack of 80 bids, the bids cost you $0.60/bid, as much as Quibids. However, if you buy the bigger bid pack of 225 bids, you get the bids only for $0.51/bid, which is a 15% saving right off the bat.

Quibids vs HappyBidDay: Where can you get the Best Deals

Both Quibids and HappyBidDay are great penny auctions that provide ample opportunities to win products at huge discounts. So which one should you choose to join? Here are some pointers:

Just because Quibids is the largest penny auction site out there doesn't naturally make it the best. This is not hard to understand: everyone is on Quibids and the site can get really competitive. Plus, being the industry leader, they seldom bring in huge innovation which smaller penny auctions do.

Competition: 
HappyBidDay wins. The competition at HappyBidDay is less than Quibids and even moderately experienced penny auction bidders can have a field day at this site. One of the reasons is that not many bidders know about HappyBidDay and Quibids is more famous. So if you are looking for low competition penny auctions, forget Quibids and try out HappyBidDay.

This is the auction that just finished as I was writing this post. You can see a $50 Amazon card and 50 bids all going for just a little over $1. This is the norm at HappyBidDay. With a little experience, you can win great stuff. 

Testing Waters: 
When you join Quibids, you will get 10 free Quibids bids if you use the right Quibids coupon code. When you join HappyBidDay, you get 50 free bids just during the registration process! In addition, you will get 3 free bids every day that you log in. This is a lot of bids to try out the site. However, the use of free bids is limited to certain auctions, so if you are serious about winning on this site, you should buy a bid pack and win the better products on offer. In any case, HappyBidDay gives you a lot of opportunity to test the waters before you invest a lot of money into the site.

Cost of Bids: 
At Quibids, bids cost a constant $0.60/bid. At HappyBidDay, bids cost less at $0.53/bid. This is a 12% saving right away. In addition, for a limited time, if you use the coupon code HAPPY, you get bids for $0.51/bid. You can redeem this coupon here. This would represent a 15% saving right off the bat. In the long run, it does make a difference.

Special Auctions: 
HappyBidDay is better in innovating and keeping it more exciting. There are special auctions to use all your free bids only and also auctions there you will not need to pay the final auction price! This is a nice innovation so that winners don't get burdened by extra costs. Such a feature is unavailable at Quibids.

Win Limits: 
I have to say, even a little experienced bidders have great winning chances at HappyBidDay. HappyBidDay win limits are 30 wins/month, which is very good, as opposed to 12 wins/month for Quibids.

Auction Variety: 
Here, there is no doubt that Quibids is better in that there are many more auctions available. However, if you win an Amazon gift card at HappyBidDay, you can buy anything that you want. HappyBidDay does have many popular items but it is no match for Quibids on this front.

If you fancy good winning chances and are fine with good gift cards, I highly recommend joining HappyBidDay. Just register here and get 20% off the first bid pack purchase.

BBB Warning on Penny Auctions

BBB has issued a warning against Penny Auctions in general and some tips to protect yourself. Of course the tips are not always practical and hard to implement, but the article is still worth a read. Remember not to trust BBB ratings blindly. There are many factors you need to consider.

One problem with waiting for a BBB rating is that new penny auctions usually offer the best deals and bidders are naturally inclined to join them. Of course they also carry a higher risk, hence the warning. In any case, you should definitely be careful of the bad apples who bring a bad name to the entire industry.

I do hope that the penny auction industry is better regulated. 

Here is the BBB warning on penny auctions. Thoughts?

More Quibids Free Bids

There is an announcement for more Quibids free bids through video testimonials. Here is the actual announcement from Quibids:

Just send in your 30 second video having yourself and your product(s) represented. Have fun and be creative. You might end up being a featured customer of ours! If we choose your video, you'll receive 50 FREE bids and a Quibids t-shirt!

So you now have a chance to get 50 free Quibids bids for a video testimonial. You should also read my post on 50 Free Quibids bids through Facebook and 10 free Quibids bids for registering.

I have a couple of comments to make. You may have a chance doesn't seem to gel well with me. They should at least specify that if the video is good and creative it will definitely be selected. Also the wording is not very clear: how many can people a featured customer? I think Quibids should definitely choose all the good videos and give them free bids.

And a Quibids t-shirt does sound cool :)

I don't know if this is in response to the lawsuit against Quibids or they just wanted more marketing and PR for their site.

iPad2 Auction on HappyBidDay with Free Bids

HappyBidDay is having its first iPad2 auction today. You can join HappyBidDay here.There are also some great promotions that you can make use of:

HappyBidDay is a new penny auction that gives some great discounts and is less competitive than Quibids. For those interested in an iPad2, this is a great time to check out the site.

                        100 Bid Package:
                        Receive an Additional 50 Bids
                        Bonus Offer Code: 100MOTHERSDAY

200 Bid Package:
Receive an Additional 100 Bids
Bonus Offer Code: 200MOTHERSDAY

Quibids Breaks 3000 Alexa!

Quibids Alexa rank today reached below 3000 for the first time! At the time of writing this post, the Alexa rank of Quibids is 2998. This is a significant achievement for Quibids, especially considering how new the sites is.

For those who don't know, Alexa is the accepted standard on the internet to know the popularity and traffic to a site. This means all over the world, Quibids is one of the top 3000 visited websites. Another remarkable thing about this is that Quibids operates only in the US. I think it is a testimony to the increasing popularity of the penny auction model and Quibids. I only hope Quibids can change with time to adapt itself to the divergent needs of the consumers. It is still a new company and does have a lot to learn.

You can download the Alexa toolbar to know the Alexa rank for websites and other interesting information on the bar.

Quibids Review: Product Selection

This Quibids review is with respect to Quibids' product selection and variety that is available to bidders. You might also want to read a comprehensive Quibids Review, Quibids Review Compared to New Penny Auctions and Quibids Review Customer Service.

Quibids is the largest penny auction site in the US, and therefore it is not surprising to see that it offers a very wide variety of product selection. However, how good is it really?

Electronics: 
I think in the electronics section, Quibids does quite well. It has many popular products like iPhones, iPads, HDTVs, Kindles etc. Also, one good thing is that it also has some new electronics products which many haven't really tried. This is good because it gives bidders a chance to catch on to the next good thing in electronics and try out some cool gadgets. Some examples include Livescribe Smartpen and Night Owl 8 Camera Video Surveillance

One common complaint though is that Quibids doesn't have an iPad2 auction yet. This is a genuine and legitimate complaint. Many penny auctions have iPad2 auctions  and I don't see a good reason why Quibids should shy away from this product. It is quite in demand, after all.

Apart from these, Quibids also has many featured auctions of the week that are electronics. It has had a Macbook Pro bundle and this week there is a full Cannon Camera set. These are good products for the interested. This is a positive Quibids review with respect to its electronics products and I hope it maintains it in the future.

Jewelry: 
This is something that Quibids has recently started in the last few months. I don't remember seeing an auction for jewelry before that. I don't much like this product selection at Quibids for many reasons. Firstly, there are many good places to get cheap jewelry online and Quibids can be the costly way out. You can read my post on Quibids vs Ebay with respect to jewelry to know why it might be a better option to try out eBay instead of Quibids for jewelry. Also, I don't know much about sites like Bidz which specialize in jewelry but my guess is they might give better deals to bidders.

Niche Products:

This is an area Quibids will need to work in. This is because Quibids cannot take its position for granted. Sure, it is the industry leader today but it also needs to maintain its stand. Thus it needs to innovate better in terms of products it offers. This is my advice in the Quibids review for product selection.

There are several niche penny auction sites coming up every day. For example, many sites are opening that cater exclusively to the luxury segment and there are hardly any such products at Quibids. 

A possible future inclusion will be bullion. It turns out that it is a coveted item in penny auctions and it could be a good idea to include some gold and silver coins and bars at Quibids. There are specialized penny auctions coming up with the products but they are still far off.

Sites Like Quibids

What are sites like Quibids? People want to know because Quibids is getting more and more crowded and thus competitive. Sites like Quibids should have the desirable features of Quibids, such as product selection and being 100% legit. However, these sites shouldn't be like Quibids in terms of the competition. The best bet is to look for new penny auctions.

Quibids follows the model of penny auctions and there are many such sites that are coming up. Of course you should be very careful when you are looking for sites like Quibids because many penny auctions can be scams and they will not send you the product after you win. Therefore you need to look at trusted sites where there is not too much competition and you have a good chance of winning.

One good site like Quibids is HappyBidDay. I like it because it is relatively new and has some good product selection as well. In addition, they have a ton of free bids that you can use, so if you invest a little money in the bids, combine them with free bids and you have a winning formula. Right now, you get 50 free bids on registering!

I am not sure if this new penny auction can remain attractive forever. This is why I will update this information with various other sites. This is a very dynamic area when you are looking for sites like Quibids because sites and competition change all the time. You should be updated in order to get the best deals online on penny auctions.

Jewelry on Quibids

At Quibids, jewelry is becoming more and more common these days and I see lots of auctions for these items. These can range from necklaces to earrings. I have absolutely no problem with jewelry but I think they are misleading.

Jewelry is one of those few items that are hard to price and not uncommon to see ordinary auctions offering 70-80% discounts on the "retail" price. I think it is a marketing strategy: When you see a $100 necklace being sold for $20 you sure are tempted. This is bad enough in ordinary auctions but becomes worse in penny auctions like Quibids.

So when Quibids auctions jewelry, it shows the full retail as the buy it now price. This price is grossly inflated. This means people who don't win and want to buy it now might be paying 4-5 times the actual cost of the item! This is certainly not pleasant.

If you really want to know the "real" price of a piece of jewelry, you should visit ordinary auctions like eBay. For example, eBay has a section on Daily Deals. Here you can scroll down to best deals on jewelry and you can immediately see discounts of up to 85%! This means the real price you should be comparing with when you bid on jewelry items at penny auctions like Quibids is the price at sites like eBay. Of course Quibids isn't going to make it easier for you, so I urge you to do your homework before you jump on jewelry auctions at Quibids. There are many places where you can get great discounts without the risk of penny auctions like Quibids.

New Products at CrazyCigarDeals

I have previously written about a penny auction CrazyCigarDeals. This is a niche penny auction that mainly sells cigars. However, now this penny auction has several other products that might interest non-smokers as well. For example, today there is an auction for a coffee system valued at $120.

The reason why I like this site is because of the competition. There are several auctions every day and really few members who have really joined and are active. This means there is a very high chance of you winning this auction with little investment. I like new penny auctions that are honest, and CrazyCigarDeals is certainly one of them. It is backed by a 10 year old internet cigar company TBS Cigars, so you don't have to worry about any scam. It is certainly the best place for online cigar auctions but now it is also becoming a great place for other items.

Another great reason why you should consider joining CrazyCigarDeals is because of the free bids that you get during registration. If you join now, just use the coupon code SIDSDEAL and get 20 free bids! I wouldn't be surprised if you can win this coffee system or really even the other cigar auctions using just your free bids, considering there is low competition. Even otherwise, you can buy a bid pack and you can get enough bids to win. The site does look promising and I hope my readers think the same.

The cost of the bids is also lower than any other penny auction. For example, you can get 50 bids for just $20 (compared to the price of $30 at Quibids) and 100 bids for just $35 (compared to $60 at Quibids). I would suggest go  ahead and get some bids and then use them for products like Coffee system or even other cigar packs (they can make for a good gift too!) 

Visit CrazyCigarDeals here.

Quibids Featured Auction: Photography Set

This week's Quibids featured auction is a complete photography kit from Canon. I think it is a good product to have if you are interested in photography. The retail price is put at $2700 at Quibids.

The auction is about a day away but still over 500 bids have been placed! This is not a very good strategy and if you see the people who have placed the bids, they are all beginners with no wins. If you do not understand the penny auction model, it is very important to know about Quibids strategies and everything else because otherwise you can lose a lot of money. Quibids does make a lot of profit on the featured auctions as they are very competitive with tens of thousand of bids being placed.

Be sure to read the Quibids strategies and tips on getting free Quibids bids. In addition, also read my full Quibids Review so you know what you are getting yourself into, especially if you are new to Quibids.

Awesome Promotion at HappyBidDay

The new penny auction site www.HappyBidDay.com is providing an awesome promotion. Here you can get some really great discounts on bid packs by using the following HappyBidDay coupon codes. HappyBidDay is a new penny auction that is less competitive than Quibids and you can really get some awesome deals. As the members increase, they make sure to increase the number of auctions too, so you really get some great deals.

Anyway, here are the coupon codes that you can use:

30% off on 100 Bid Pack: 30PERCENT

40% off on 200 Bid Pack: 40PERCENT

50% off on 300 Bid Pack: 50PERCENT

If you just want to try out the site and want to win small gift items, I'd suggest the smaller bid pack of 100. However, if you want to win big-ticket items then you should purchase the bigger bid packs.

In addition, you get 50 free bids on registration! Join HappyBidDay here

50% Bonus Bids at 7thBid

7th Bid is a new penny auction that has a lot of exciting features for bidders. You can read my complete 7thBid Review.

The site has announced a new promotion on its bid packs: 50% bonus bids on every bid bundle purchase! This is a great offer that should definitely consider. 50% is a huge bonus indeed. Being a new penny auction, 7thBid has less competition than established sites like Quibids and you have a good chance of winning.

The offer is about to end at the time of writing this post. However, you can email 7thBid and they will extend this one time offer just for you :) I think this is a very good promotion to try out this site. And don't forger to share you experiences on the blog later!

Check out 7thBid here.