Timerless penny auctions are a sub-class of penny auctions which are quite different from traditional penny auctions. There are several formats, the best being of the category of 'hidden price auctions'. This means, the final auction price can be anything between two limits that are predefined for every given auction. Every 'bid' in this case increases the price by a penny and if you are the one to stumble upon the 'hidden' price, then you win the item.
This of course doesn't need a timer. The auction length in-fact depends on the number of active members at a given time. So there could be auctions that end in a few seconds or a few days, you never know.
From the point of view of the owners, timerless penny auctions are less risky a business model because they already know their exact profit for every single auction. There is less uncertainty based on cash flows. However, at the same time, this reduces the thrill of a penny auction and bidders might prefer to buy the product at its retail instead.
One site that has mastered timerless penny auctions is PennyGrab. It is a relatively new site but has really done well for itself and the bidders. It has unusual features, like a chat feature that is absent from perhaps all other penny auctions. They also have good deals on buy now, which attract bidders. They also give away free bids often.
RockDawg is another timerless penny auction which is much older, but has less bidders. It has a smaller community of bidders and many penny auction bidders like it this way.
The other category of timerless penny auctions is what sites like BidWhammy work on. They tell you which bid number will win the product. So it says something like "Bid 54", so the 54th bid will win. The good thing is, in certain promotions, the cost of these bids will be less than the items sold, so you are guaranteed to come out on top if you win the auction, no matter how many bids you place.
Do you like timerless penny auctions? What are your thoughts?
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