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Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Quibids Store Review: Pricing and Utility

I am going to discuss Quibids store review, mainly with respect to its pricing and how it compares to other ecommerce websites. I'll do a small case study as well for this purpose.

Background

So it's official - the Quibids store is in full swing and has been operating smoothly. For those who have followed this blog or the penny auction industry in general, this would have come as no surprise at all. The penny auction industry took the world by storm after the great recession and recessed away equally fast. People seemed to have a limited appetite for this "revolutionary" way to "shop" online.

As penny auctions' fortunes waned, only one site remained strong - Quibids (some smaller ones survived and are going strong, which is impressive in their own right) and it is the leader and almost a monopolist in this area of penny auctions, at least in North America. The competition isn't even close. It is huge and it survived. It did many things right. However, it cannot rest on its laurels. It appears that users and visitors aren't that hooked on to auctions taking forever and waiting for several hours in front of their computers.

As users move away from the penny auction model, it is very natural that the leader diversify its fortunes. It was already in the ecommerce space, so it was only natural to have a fully functional ecommerce store. That has been official - called the Quibids store. You can see the official blog post on Quibids store.

Why Use Quibids Store? 

I don't care about their official policy, but the only reasons that interest me are price and rewards. Something has to be very attractive. Either Quibids has to give me the product really cheap or give me really good rewards. This is the only reason I would buy from Quibids instead of, say, Amazon.

Quibids actually makes it good on both these fronts. I was honestly surprised by this. I've always assumed, by default, that Amazon would be the cheapest option anyway. I think Quibids store, at least at this stage, is here to compete to provide for a great shopping experience, holiday season and beyond. I don't know if the prices are low now because it is new and then will increase in the future or not, but I think it is a legitimate option to consider.

Case Study - Cannon Lens

So I did a small study and found a few items on Quibids store and Amazon and found that Quibids store actually had the product at a lower price than Amazon. I am a photography enthusiast, so I picked up a camera lens (sorry Quibids, I am a Nikon person, not Cannon, so I won't buy the lens you're offering!) and compared the prices at three places - Amazon, Target and Quibids store. Here are the details -



As you can see above, it is the same lens, and it sells for $299 on Target, $255 on Amazon and only $239 on Quibids store. That's a significant saving. Even if you add the shipping costs, it is cheaper than Amazon. For this product, Quibids store offers the lens cheaper and provides voucher bids. That's both price and rewards packed into one.

Of course I would suggest you do your own research for the products that you want to buy, but Quibids store seems like a legitimate option his holiday season and with the inclusion of voucher bids, all the better for shoppers. 

4 comments:

  1. I really love quibids, i tried this other penny auction called parentpenny auction and they were bad!!!! i try addressing some issues with them and they blocked me from facebook and closed my account they were using faults advertising .. i will never try another penny auction.. quibids are the best!!

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  2. I enjoy Quibids, however, contrary to the above about camera lenses, check out their TV prices. Very very expensive, compared to other retail outlets. They, for some reason, have done away with gift cards over $100.00. No more $250.00 cards, and the selection right now is very poor. Sears is all but gone, and Tim Hortons max card is $10.00, so by the time you bid, win and pay shipping on a $10.00 card, it's already cost more than the $10.00 you'll receive. I've enjoyed Quibids, won some great items, but Quibids seems to be cutting back on everything. I'm wondering if they are doing well, financially, thus the cut backs. They are very fair, good honest people to deal with, you just have to watch yourself, and not get caught up in the moment.

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  3. bvc, I agree, it isn't every item that's for sure. My only suggestion is this - if you do want to buy something, it is worth the effort to check it out in Quibids store first instead of heading directly to Amazon. For the lens, for example, you not only get a better price but also voucher bids that are free.

    About your comment on gift cards, there are options to replace any gift card that you win, did you try it out? I think they have quite a good selection now. They are not actually cutting back from what I can tell. Their gift card replacement is actually pretty neat. And with the Quibids store, I am assuming they are doing even better.

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