tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38276622702554502192024-03-01T20:07:29.019-05:00Quibids Strategies, Quibids Review and Penny AuctionsFind Quibids Strategy, Quibids review and all other information on penny auctions. Read penny auction reviews, tips, strategies, coupon codes, offersSid Kalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16469738762979089255noreply@blogger.comBlogger284125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3827662270255450219.post-78727502980850590602014-11-29T13:29:00.000-05:002014-11-29T13:29:11.130-05:00QuiBids Advertorials: Is QuiBids Still Using Them? <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
When QuiBids started way back in 2009, it was still a niche site in a niche but exploding market of penny auctions. It did remarkably well during a time when much of the competition folded shop (or were outright scams) over the long term, but every business has a way to get its name out there during the initial days. Sometimes, these methods are not the most 'white hat' and the CEO of QuiBids, Matt Beckham is all too familiar with such tactics.<br />
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<b>Rise of the QuiBids Advertorials</b></h3>
QuiBids has used the advertorial model very effectively, especially during the initial days. An advertorial is a very frowned-upon tactic where an article appears like a news article, but is just an advertisement really. The advertorial links back to a site's landing page, where it is meant to convert visitors into customers. The advertorial itself is linked from various places online, from buying up Adwords ads to other pay per click advertising. The advertorial gives an air of legitimacy that doesn't actually exist, which is why it is considered quite shady. The advertorial-aggregating website doesn't do any editorial work, obviously, but will instead publish anything and everything that would pay money.<br />
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There was quite a controversy several years ago around QuiBids advertorials. QuiBids CEO Matt Beckham had a <a href="http://www.pennyauctionwatch.com/2010/06/quibids-ceo-allegedly-behind-misleading-weight-loss-marketing-testimonial-sites/" target="_blank">history in this field</a>, even before he founded QuiBids. And it was controversial. Here's an old QuiBids advertorial:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaRsRNVK5e9xWzXeOuK6pk05s7VabuGMduKujJP91tx_A2Wpqkg9ewcV69A5OpRMpYhzoXzWMdLJ7TY_MZqzZWaP3-fqvjGJ5j1H5PBsg5CxO0d-ug8f_CRaemAliFXMAthi-IwtfczHM/s1600/QuiBids+Advertorial+Old.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaRsRNVK5e9xWzXeOuK6pk05s7VabuGMduKujJP91tx_A2Wpqkg9ewcV69A5OpRMpYhzoXzWMdLJ7TY_MZqzZWaP3-fqvjGJ5j1H5PBsg5CxO0d-ug8f_CRaemAliFXMAthi-IwtfczHM/s1600/QuiBids+Advertorial+Old.png" height="320" width="308" /></a></div>
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">
Current Status</h3>
It appears that QuiBids hasn't stopped the practice of advertorials even now. Today, it seems like it's easier than ever to insert these ads, especially in the 'Around the Web' type of articles that you often see at the end of another article that you're reading online.<br />
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In this case, I saw a QuiBids advertorial linked to from <a href="http://247wallst.com/" target="_blank">24/7 Wall Street</a>, a financial news site. This was the ad unit:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ5lewANil2clk4Exo79bPM5MT8n_4-s88g-WgVwT7LeptXG6EyF6mkx3zH_68fe7wUNieECJWN555z_cH77AHj79lVxyrQZtKGDGpaMDkICYUsA9apF_Wsc6VMdY-K-4ETS03m6c7Us4/s1600/QuiBids+Advertorial+01.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ5lewANil2clk4Exo79bPM5MT8n_4-s88g-WgVwT7LeptXG6EyF6mkx3zH_68fe7wUNieECJWN555z_cH77AHj79lVxyrQZtKGDGpaMDkICYUsA9apF_Wsc6VMdY-K-4ETS03m6c7Us4/s1600/QuiBids+Advertorial+01.png" height="182" width="320" /></a></div>
and here's the screenshot for the full page:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhspMe65LW1bQGSCcSsk5YHDHexPYGkZZrj9Pwz5D-zezDMF5yoU8tEDZTEO6gYA2eQgmdBc59XaOUv1zPRqCPJPfRgnMadvL14_Es5Di6cBQ301w6KfEIdno-fJk8JXtmtpawEV8o8FFk/s1600/QuiBids+Advertorial+Full+Page.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhspMe65LW1bQGSCcSsk5YHDHexPYGkZZrj9Pwz5D-zezDMF5yoU8tEDZTEO6gYA2eQgmdBc59XaOUv1zPRqCPJPfRgnMadvL14_Es5Di6cBQ301w6KfEIdno-fJk8JXtmtpawEV8o8FFk/s1600/QuiBids+Advertorial+Full+Page.png" height="320" width="162" /></a></div>
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The ad read:<br />
<b>"Discount Site" Sells Apple Products For $20-$35</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
That does sound like a penny auction site. When I visited the site, it was an advertorial for QuiBids, titled: <b>How To Pay Just Pennies For Brand New Products. </b>The site links to a QuiBids landing page for Black Friday.<br />
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QuiBids is a big and mature company today, and has distinguished itself very well from most other penny auction sites, even popularizing its category as 'Entertainment Auctions', to distance itself from the 'penny auction' label. However, such advertorials don't always speak too highly of the business and the site. I think it should stop this form of advertising. What are your thoughts?<br />
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Sid Kalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16469738762979089255noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3827662270255450219.post-85198341738443152242014-11-13T21:57:00.003-05:002014-11-13T21:59:55.880-05:00QuiBids Expanding Into Women's Fashion? <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
As penny auctions fall out of favor, more or less, with consumers (yes, the industry is not even close to its peak in 2010-2011 where a new site opened up every day in all kinds of niches, without regard to potential profitability), QuiBids is one of the oldest and most trusted sites still standing and going strong. However, it knows that it isn't going to see an expanding industry anytime soon, so it makes sense that QuiBids is trying to diversify. And it is doing it well.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihoQiAdadu6lLwtkURkYDUGQhK8Wew4WgbP2MWEgWclMyuTb642YllIDCEUc-VFachKfBvKc8We1tmqyNrTk9nzZ6PTu8udkB4BjynyATDx6vY4nVvEVWm_7-14ikC1gDEOWY-RXXcuuA/s1600/Quibids+Women+Fashion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihoQiAdadu6lLwtkURkYDUGQhK8Wew4WgbP2MWEgWclMyuTb642YllIDCEUc-VFachKfBvKc8We1tmqyNrTk9nzZ6PTu8udkB4BjynyATDx6vY4nVvEVWm_7-14ikC1gDEOWY-RXXcuuA/s320/Quibids+Women+Fashion.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Recently, QuiBids started featuring more items in women's fashion world. This is significant for a few reasons -<br />
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Women's fashion items have a very high margin. This means the mark-up for Buy Now is significant. On an average, therefore, it is easier for QuiBids to break even and make a profit off these items. I can guarantee their profit margins on this category are significantly higher than say electronics. </li>
<li>QuiBids seems to be forming strategic partnerships. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if they are actually getting paid for the publicity or able to get really nice deals on the items themselves. Mind you, these aren't world renowned fashion brands but the ones I'd classify more as "upcoming". The exposure these brands get from tens of thousands of QuiBids shoppers is significant - they don't (yet) have much clout. </li>
<li>For the future, the fashion industry seems like a nice category to expand business in. It attracts a different set of users, who might be obsessed with a deal (if you don't believe me, check out a sample sale event in New York and you'll know what I am talking about!) in the fashion industry. They could then become regulars. </li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin5Zm6QF91WH2eEn0EmPmljJW5VcDRb-GUZwmHgzMHINMxIGg5AEAchR_0yhqiRZjv7Tcj7CYG3N6rArr_yKT7I-Bo77puD5Tbw9xu0A9fN4wZyjNxHITBTPXvzhT8MlwYgktoe-sHTlc/s1600/123+QuiBids+Fashion+Auctions.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="101" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin5Zm6QF91WH2eEn0EmPmljJW5VcDRb-GUZwmHgzMHINMxIGg5AEAchR_0yhqiRZjv7Tcj7CYG3N6rArr_yKT7I-Bo77puD5Tbw9xu0A9fN4wZyjNxHITBTPXvzhT8MlwYgktoe-sHTlc/s320/123+QuiBids+Fashion+Auctions.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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QuiBids is slowly moving away from the traditional penny auction model and towards more lucrative eCommerce type business. Time will tell how they succeed. </div>
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Sid Kalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16469738762979089255noreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3827662270255450219.post-78465487505590809662014-10-12T22:13:00.003-04:002014-10-12T22:13:50.582-04:00Why is QuiBids Showing Competitor Advertisements? <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Why is <a href="http://www.quibids.com/en/" target="_blank">QuiBids</a> advertising competitors? It's a weird business decision really. That too, using the plain old Google Adsense program, so the site has absolutely no control over what advertising is being shown. This means, if someone is searching for penny auctions in their Google history, they might be shown an advertisement of QuiBids itself. Or worse, a competitor.<br />
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As a general rule, if you're not an information-only website (e.g. this blog), it's a bad idea to have Google Adsense ads on the website. It's worse if you're in the e-commerce space, since you're most likely to see competitor ads on the site. When I tried it out, for instance, here's an ad that I saw on the QuiBids page:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirUhLZ-zcf5Kbtzcul2HCdwu6-pEk5sTbl6zmFXPZmc6ubIQfsPCn0ozF96aI3jjtWdshwI4eR_pQcNlZNsuhpJYsvQe8BW6yL1AFQNU1N-QZjg9v6frgV3FcjS969RQdkZMPffuBM6VE/s1600/120+Quibids+Competitor+Ads.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirUhLZ-zcf5Kbtzcul2HCdwu6-pEk5sTbl6zmFXPZmc6ubIQfsPCn0ozF96aI3jjtWdshwI4eR_pQcNlZNsuhpJYsvQe8BW6yL1AFQNU1N-QZjg9v6frgV3FcjS969RQdkZMPffuBM6VE/s1600/120+Quibids+Competitor+Ads.png" height="71" width="320" /></a></div>
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The site being advertised is <a href="http://buydig.com/">BuyDig.com</a>, which is an e-commerce site (not a penny auction). However, Google is well known to track clicks and shows relevant advertising. It wouldn't be hard to imagine that other people might actually be seeing competitor advertising on this space. It's even harder to understand when you consider the fact that this is a prime advertising location, above the fold.<br />
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Here are some competitors using Google Adsense text ads (and possibly the banner ads too):<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOAq9EeckLqZiQpcRCvsf8Pkz_ZRelEFO7bqSJWXKFoIqL1gUvZovXP-bsdcOzaurFeRyq0sMSBTeiBmzSSkFy_DMHD1XeSl_dn7iYopnO7R6dHQ-KHeNi84mCAZHZ9sJ4lOxpx6o4WwA/s1600/121+Penny+Auction+Ads+Google.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOAq9EeckLqZiQpcRCvsf8Pkz_ZRelEFO7bqSJWXKFoIqL1gUvZovXP-bsdcOzaurFeRyq0sMSBTeiBmzSSkFy_DMHD1XeSl_dn7iYopnO7R6dHQ-KHeNi84mCAZHZ9sJ4lOxpx6o4WwA/s1600/121+Penny+Auction+Ads+Google.png" height="147" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinu9qMb6VhMW6zU9HMYNryV-smqWlcFAJDYmwyHb_OH7FUfBafk5I0Wg9anw40qzsreeeZAVGxFGdRhcVqOXohDUriQ5QpMR9SfDAbO8kYDed-2u5xrUZbrdOvHxNjBejuesnLn8l0VOM/s1600/122+Penny+Auction+Ads+Google.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinu9qMb6VhMW6zU9HMYNryV-smqWlcFAJDYmwyHb_OH7FUfBafk5I0Wg9anw40qzsreeeZAVGxFGdRhcVqOXohDUriQ5QpMR9SfDAbO8kYDed-2u5xrUZbrdOvHxNjBejuesnLn8l0VOM/s1600/122+Penny+Auction+Ads+Google.png" height="320" width="123" /></a></div>
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Normally, if companies want to advertise on their homepage and every other page, they might like to use a non-competing advertiser, instead going through marketplaces like <a href="https://buysellads.com/" target="_blank">BuySellAds</a> which give more freedom in choosing what advertisement will be shown. Going with Google Adsense is a bit naive, in my opinion, because it opens up the possibility to show ads for direct competition.<br />
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It might also mean that QuiBids is not doing as well as we think, and needs the extra revenue, even if it means a direct reduction in its overall sales and customer retention (as some customers would go off to competing websites). Otherwise, it might be that QuiBids gets so much traffic, that it feels like this would add a significant source of revenue for the website.<br />
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What are your theories for this behavior? </div>
Sid Kalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16469738762979089255noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3827662270255450219.post-80291099300919348952014-06-21T13:03:00.002-04:002014-07-17T23:03:35.639-04:00Vidfall Review: A New Penny Auction Like Group Buy Site<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This Vidfall review with explore all the features of a new penny auction-like website, which allows you to buy discounted gift cards and other discounted products, but crucially, <b>without paying for bids</b>. It's a new site that I find very promising in this space. More technically, <a href="https://vidfall.com/" target="_blank">Vidfall</a> is a "Group Buy" website which isn't a traditional penny auction, but the basic idea is similar - you get products at a discount, and the discount is applied through the efforts of the group but there is only one winner. However, Vidfall is far less riskier, since you don't pay for the bids. Let me explain how the process works.<br />
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<h2>
How Vidfall Works</h2>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>The price starts at the market rate, so $10 for a $10 Amazon gift card. </li>
<li><b>'Bids' are video ads watched</b>. Each video advertisement that you watch on the website, you get one 'bid' which is then automatically placed on the auction. Each 'bid' reduces the price by $0.01. So after you watch the video ad, the price of the above Amazon gift card would be $9.99. </li>
<li>There could obviously be multiple 'bidders' on the auction. Lets say there are 10 people, all watching ads and reducing the price. This means, on an average, the price of the gift card is dropping by $0.10 each duration of an ad. </li>
<li>Anyone can jump in at any time and just buy the deal. Lets say people collectively watched 100 ads, so the price dropped by 100X$0.01 = $1. This means the $10 Amazon gift card is now selling at $9. Someone thinks this is a good deal and buys it. That person gets the $10 Amazon gift card for $9, and rest of the bidders get nothing (just like in penny auctions). </li>
<li>Each auction, just like in penny auctions, has one winner. However, unlike penny auctions, all the other auction participants only pay with their time rather than money. The losers in the auction don't really lose money at all. 'Bidding', therefore, is completely free. Instead of paying with your money, you pay with your time/attention by watching advertisements. </li>
</ul>
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If you want a more visual explanation for this, check out the <a href="http://vimeo.com/84588387" target="_blank">official Vidfall video</a> to learn more. Also, if you want to keep up with the latest news from the site, check out their <a href="http://blog.vidfall.com/" target="_blank">official blog</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGksK7Bvlvky-FqrVDeqv641DDf0sch3-2mNP03DVt0jR4MSNLZ4npSp60AJCi5hJ54ei3tSYihyphenhyphenqwCTd750WUyo4TT7zEN-C2MwzSkY89y8tvuaNUXhKpM3t2EHzKehdBH0SkX8Z4hjk/s1600/Vidfall_Penny_Auction_Videos.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGksK7Bvlvky-FqrVDeqv641DDf0sch3-2mNP03DVt0jR4MSNLZ4npSp60AJCi5hJ54ei3tSYihyphenhyphenqwCTd750WUyo4TT7zEN-C2MwzSkY89y8tvuaNUXhKpM3t2EHzKehdBH0SkX8Z4hjk/s1600/Vidfall_Penny_Auction_Videos.png" height="163" width="320" /></a></div>
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<h2>
How Vidfall Makes Money</h2>
I always like to discuss how the site makes money, because if the business model isn't sustainable, it might very well close down, especially in this space (although in this case, people won't lose money if they shut down, just lost time and lot so frustration).<br />
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The way Vidfall makes money is very simple - through selling video ads on its website. Right now, it needs to get at least $0.01/ad from advertisers, which is a little high in my opinion. They'll need to make something a little more sustainable. However, that being said, also remember that gift cards almost always sell at a discount to their market value, so they have some leeway there.<br />
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However, I also believe that if Vidfall can gain more customers, it can find other ways to monetize the site for itself. Besides, right now, Vidfall seems to be a funded startup, so they shouldn't be thinking about their bottom lines at such an early stage. The bottom line is, if the model turns out unsustainable and the site closes down, you won't lose any money.<br />
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<h2>
More About the Company Vidfall</h2>
Vidfall is very different from many other penny auction sites, in that it is being run more as a tech startup than a get-rich-quick scheme. This means there's a lot more room for organic growth and exploring new business models and ideas.<br />
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Vidfall is being funded by <a href="http://www.wasabiventures.com/" target="_blank">Wasabi Ventures</a>, which means they should be able to spend money and expand their business without thinking about profits from day one. The site is started by Joel Robinson, who is <a href="http://www.wasabiventures.com/static/view/team.html" target="_blank">one of the 'Entrepreneurs in Residence'</a> at Wasabi Ventures.<br />
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Vidfall just completed their alpha testing in May 2014 and the results seemed very promising. They also <a href="http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20140515/GJNEWS04/140519749/0/SEARCH" target="_blank">won $30,000 in a startup competition</a> recently, which should give them money to expand their user base. They were also on the top spot on<a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/startups/comments/1z8nc6/share_your_startup_march_edition/" target="_blank"> Reddit's r/startups for March</a>. All this is a very promising start for a young company and hopefully they can keep the momentum going (I've seen too many promising ideas in this space that have now gone into the history books, but I think Vidfall might just pull it off if it can make its long-term business sustainable).<br />
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<h2>
My Experience</h2>
I tried Vidfall, and won a $5 Starbucks gift card for $2.54. Not too shabby I would say.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ4Ugf8NQT0Lx7pVyVJLJaBg8CDlAex4W7-tvbuvUITpN8db5rnJvt3wrtI_nWnFitEtENJspeynUum_2xvrP7QH5VfwuFzjYIDXvf_HHs8vzBp6M6GdPIdY68xXrYVZIDqUa_VuKdZWM/s1600/Vidfall_Starbucks_Gift_Card.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ4Ugf8NQT0Lx7pVyVJLJaBg8CDlAex4W7-tvbuvUITpN8db5rnJvt3wrtI_nWnFitEtENJspeynUum_2xvrP7QH5VfwuFzjYIDXvf_HHs8vzBp6M6GdPIdY68xXrYVZIDqUa_VuKdZWM/s1600/Vidfall_Starbucks_Gift_Card.png" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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Right now, there seems to be low competition, so it's possible to get some nice deals, especially on gift cards. The site is very new, so don't expect a lot of variety of products, but my guess is, this will change soon in the future. There's no downside to it, really, so you should definitely <a href="https://vidfall.com/" target="_blank">give Vidfall a try</a>. </div>
</div>Sid Kalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16469738762979089255noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3827662270255450219.post-11507447363200166932013-09-23T20:27:00.000-04:002013-09-23T20:27:20.287-04:00Beezid Back to School Offer: Promo Code Expires October 1<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Beezid has a new promotion that is going to expire soon though - on October 1st at 12am. Beezid occasionally has these promotions that are great for you because you can end up saving more money and lowering your effective cost per bid. This gives you more ammunition to bid on a penny auction site and you can afford to spend more bids to come out ahead in the game. Anyway, here's the promotion straight from Beezid:<br />
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<a href="http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=UMoOG0t0Opw&offerid=287225.10000084&type=3&subid=0">Get An Extra 250% In Bonus Bids With Purchases of $70 Or More. Promo Code: B2SBIDS</a> <br />
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Do you bid on Beezid? Please take the poll to the right hand side of the page and tell us where all you bid and on which penny auctions you're active. Or just drop a comment. <img border="0" src="http://ad.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/show?id=UMoOG0t0Opw&bids=287225.10000084&type=3&subid=0" height="1" width="1" /></div>
Sid Kalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16469738762979089255noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3827662270255450219.post-19230717562664910062013-09-16T18:10:00.003-04:002013-09-16T18:10:53.549-04:00Why so Many 'Free to Bid' Auctions at QuiBids? <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4h-TKR6Gf2BkxSEzVeXRifM6pJ93iqY4Ye2K2oMBqnU06XAea7mU9ioa702dJJgqn_z-B831hGu_V5ZwcYTBAt9QBOqJZeXbvUS4K6xyqmox1uFN_LYijA_PXpd11-DRp_QPxBK1z86U/s1600/Free+to+Bid+Auctions+QuiBids.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4h-TKR6Gf2BkxSEzVeXRifM6pJ93iqY4Ye2K2oMBqnU06XAea7mU9ioa702dJJgqn_z-B831hGu_V5ZwcYTBAt9QBOqJZeXbvUS4K6xyqmox1uFN_LYijA_PXpd11-DRp_QPxBK1z86U/s320/Free+to+Bid+Auctions+QuiBids.png" width="320" /></a></div>
You may have noticed the 'Free to Bid' auctions at QuiBids. Those are about 40% of the live auctions at this moment and show no sign of abating! Look at the number of bids just the three auctions above together have gotten so far: 3,478, 1,922 and 958 and of course, still counting.<br />
<br />
The rules are simple: You got 10 free bids to use during a gameplay. Depending on the auction, you'll win some multiplier. For instance, you might win 100 free bids, which is not atypical. Remember, these are free bids, which means you don't lose anything bidding on these auctions, and one lucky winner takes it all home.<br />
<br />
So why is QuiBids doing this? What's in it for them? It's simple - if you read the fine print,<br />
"To be eligible, you must be a QuiBids user, and have purchased a bid pack."<br />
This means, these gameplay auctions help hook the bidders on to the other QuiBids auctions where they directly make money. If you don't know the <a href="http://quibidsblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/quibids-strategy-best-time-for-bidding.html" target="_blank">basic QuiBids strategies</a>, for example, then you might end up losing money on bids which means QuiBids ends up making good money on them.<br />
<br />
These are fun and you should definitely give these gameplay auctions a try. However, don't be a sucker and know the whole game before getting on with it. Read the ENTIRE <a href="http://quibidsblog.blogspot.com/p/complete-penny-auction-strategy-guide.html" target="_blank">QuiBids strategy guide</a> before you get started.<br />
<br />
Of course, like any other site, QuiBids wants the site to be sticky with the users, i.e., they should return and then return again to the site to bid and buy. That's how they make a profit. QuiBids has been incredibly good not only with attracting new bidders but also with keeping existing bidders loyal to the brand. The gameplay auctions only add to their 'stickiness factor' and make you want to visit them even more and buy from them.<br />
<br />
What do you think of these gameplay auctions at QuiBids? <br />
<br /></div>
Sid Kalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16469738762979089255noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3827662270255450219.post-31035262296047412182013-09-10T22:52:00.000-04:002013-09-11T20:58:55.668-04:00Beezid Coupon Codes<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Here are some <b>Beezid Coupon Codes</b>.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=UMoOG0t0Opw&offerid=287225.10000058&type=3&subid=0&LSNSUBSITE=subsite" target="_blank">Beezid</a> is one of the <a href="http://www.quibidsblog.blogspot.com/2013/09/list-of-surviving-penny-auctions.html" target="_blank">few surviving penny auctions</a> that has been around for a while now. It is known for creating buzz with advertising and is one of the few penny auctions that takes its marketing beyond the traditional circles to the mainstream audience. I remember watching a Beezid commercial during the University of Michigan vs. Notre Dame football game this weekend. Owing to this, Beezid coupon codes are pretty common and change regularly. <br />
<br />
If you are looking to win on penny auctions like Beezid, check out my <a href="http://quibidsblog.blogspot.com/p/complete-penny-auction-strategy-guide.html" target="_blank">Penny Auction Strategy Guide</a>. My <a href="http://quibidsblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/quibids-strategy-best-time-for-bidding.html" target="_blank">general QuiBids Strategy</a> works for Beezid too, with some modifications. <br />
<br />
Working Beezid Coupon Codes:<br />
1. <a href="http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=UMoOG0t0Opw&offerid=287225.10000058&type=3&subid=0&LSNSUBSITE=subsite" target="_blank"><b>GET25BIDS</b></a>. This coupon will give you 25 free bids when you purchase a standard bid pack. This helps you get more bids and decrease your average cost per bid.<br />
2. <a href="http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=UMoOG0t0Opw&offerid=287225.10000058&type=3&subid=0&LSNSUBSITE=subsite" target="_blank"><b>B2SBIDS</b></a> to get an extra 250% in Bonus Bids with purchases of $70 or more<br />
<br />
Know of any more Beezid coupon codes? Let me know in the comments and I'll add them here. </div>
Sid Kalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16469738762979089255noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3827662270255450219.post-11019927734800828492013-09-09T23:06:00.000-04:002013-09-09T23:06:01.116-04:00How to Get Your QuiBids Account Banned<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Hopefully you're not looking to get your QuiBids account banned, but you might invariably do so. There are plenty of things that are against the QuiBids Terms and Conditions that can potentially get you banned. Here's a short list.<br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>Collude with others</b>: If QuiBids finds out that you're colluding in any form with another bidder, you can be banned. </li>
<li><b>Use a third party bidding software</b>: Auto-bidding bots are prohibited. If QuiBids finds out you're using these, you might get banned from the site. This is understandable as it can provide you with an unfair edge over the other bidders. </li>
<li><b>Use a third party bid-tracking software</b>: I don't think there is a clear definition of 'bid tracking software' but I assume this is similar to the one above. </li>
<li><b>Create multiple accounts</b>: You are not allowed to create multiple accounts. If you're caught doing this, prepare yourself for a ban from QuiBids. </li>
<li><b>Be a family member of a QuiBids employee</b>: Well, nothing much to do here, except family members of the employees are strictly forbidden from bidding. </li>
</ul>
For a full copy, read the <a href="http://www.quibids.com/en/help/terms.php" target="_blank">QuiBids Terms and Conditions</a>.<br />
Am I missing anything? </div>
Sid Kalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16469738762979089255noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3827662270255450219.post-57798819736946664942013-09-09T23:00:00.002-04:002013-09-09T23:00:46.359-04:00New QuiBids Coupon Code for 5 Free Bids<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Use the code SIZZLE to get 5 free QuiBids bids. Enjoy! </div>
Sid Kalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16469738762979089255noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3827662270255450219.post-13196503412973027892013-09-08T14:43:00.004-04:002013-09-08T15:19:05.247-04:00List of Surviving Penny Auctions<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The Penny Auction industry is on the decline - there is no question about that. Here's a Google Trends report for search volume of the phrase "Penny Auction:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix-wTNtWRZXLJCD3xxcGoRysbyvxjt9aEvAvng8qrfOeXFNdXn7RPFdVCLvfOx7w-l-Ss8Z3w85bqQgF56LgY28rn1nVB4-u_evimUX-bfro06q6Y7KNr0Zin9CLSdjBX-859HGPJt_Ik/s1600/Penny+Auction+Google+Trends.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="102" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix-wTNtWRZXLJCD3xxcGoRysbyvxjt9aEvAvng8qrfOeXFNdXn7RPFdVCLvfOx7w-l-Ss8Z3w85bqQgF56LgY28rn1nVB4-u_evimUX-bfro06q6Y7KNr0Zin9CLSdjBX-859HGPJt_Ik/s320/Penny+Auction+Google+Trends.png" width="320" /></a></div>
The volume peaked in 2011 and never really came back. That was the time where every Tom, Dick and Harry thought starting a new penny auction site was the way to riches. However, like any business, this is hard work and you cannot slap together a site with a pre-canned script and expect to make money. A number of scams and <a href="http://quibidsblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/swoopoo-oohilove-closes-entertainment.html" target="_blank">popular sites closing down</a> didn't help either. It was probably a fatigue, but the industry never saw it's previous highs.<br />
<br />
The one good thing with the drop in popularity of Penny Auctions is that now you there is less competition with other bidders and indeed you can end up winning some cool items. I remember times when popular items like iPads would go on for more than 24 hours, which is insane. That madness has reduced and therefore dedicated bidders can now hope to win some good items using <a href="http://quibidsblog.blogspot.com/p/complete-penny-auction-strategy-guide.html" target="_blank">Penny Auction Strategies</a>. <br />
<br />
Anyway, here are the list of surviving penny auction sites that have been around for a while now and saw the downturn in the industry but are still in business and have no intention of closing down. They are doing something right, obviously.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.quibids.com/" target="_blank"><b>#1 QuiBids</b></a>: Yes, this is still on the top of my list. QuiBids is the largest penny auction site in the world and it's crown is certainly well deserved. It has kept it's cool and flourished where others have floundered. It has a very strong commitment to keeping bidders happy and always has a Buy Now option so you don't have to lose any money at all. The QuiBids store is a great new resource that has helped the company survive and <a href="http://quibidsblog.blogspot.com/2012/12/quibids-store-review-pricing-and-utility.html" target="_blank">sometime the price is less than Amazon</a>!<br />
<br />
See how QuiBids does on the Google Trends for the search word 'QuiBids': It's peak is after the crazy 2011 period.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcv0yxqitq3xGQVFmqej7l1YF9FbygkK-xYLwJ_eqKZ2kNxz_tkIlSoSu9A_WXmMBNqiWGdB4PG7eNGZ92P0_L1tqaNBQdrRzfA3YXJvLIJByv_8mKgcFdrrSF5Ue3ASl8YKcCnJZIWq0/s1600/Quibids+Google+Trends.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="103" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcv0yxqitq3xGQVFmqej7l1YF9FbygkK-xYLwJ_eqKZ2kNxz_tkIlSoSu9A_WXmMBNqiWGdB4PG7eNGZ92P0_L1tqaNBQdrRzfA3YXJvLIJByv_8mKgcFdrrSF5Ue3ASl8YKcCnJZIWq0/s320/Quibids+Google+Trends.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=UMoOG0t0Opw&offerid=287225.10000058&type=3&subid=0&LSNSUBSITE=subsite" target="_blank"><b>#2 Beezid</b></a>: Beezid is well known for making penny auctions more popular than the niche of bidders. They run <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkUZzNfyn20" target="_blank">commercials</a>, even today, on TV which is a strategy that didn't seem to have worked out too well of QuiBids but Beezid has perfected marketing. They have special events and extraordinary promos that keep bidders in the loop and wanting to come back. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://happybidday.go2jump.org/aff_c?offer_id=1&aff_id=1033" target="_blank"><b>#3 HappyBidDay</b></a>: This has always been a surprise entry. On the surface, this site looks like any of the thousands of penny auction sites that had been around during the boom times. However, the business end is extremely dedicated and the site has only grown in popularity over time. It's almost incredible what you can accomplish if you're dedicated to your business and can stick through the tough times. As the business flourishes, bidders are rewarded with great deals, special promos and all the other goodies.It recently broke the Alexa traffic stats to be in the top 15,000 websites visited in the entire US. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.pennygrab.com/" target="_blank"><b>#4 PennyGrab</b></a>: PennyGrab was a late entry to the world of penny auctions and it doesn't run traditional penny auctions, rather running the <a href="http://quibidsblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/rise-of-timerless-penny-auctions.html" target="_blank">timerless penny auctions</a>. It has done surprisingly well and was always a well run penny auction company.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=UMoOG0t0Opw&offerid=265102.2&type=3&subid=0" target="_blank"><b>#5 DealDash</b></a>: DealDash is another popular penny auction site that has seen ebbing and rising fortunes even during the boom times. However, the site has kept true to its word of serving the consumers first and therefore was able to survive. It has a loyal customer base and they didn't seem to have defected because they got all the good deals here. <br />
<br />
What are your favorite penny auctions?</div>
Sid Kalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16469738762979089255noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3827662270255450219.post-59316563978075076482013-01-02T10:41:00.000-05:002013-01-02T10:41:00.242-05:00Should you Bid on Quibids? A Case Study<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It is profitable to bid on QuiBids? What are your chances of winning and losing? I will try to answer a few questions in this post through a case study.<br />
<br />
As part of year end blog posts at QuiBids, they released <a href="http://blog.quibids.com/quibids-biggest-wins-of-2012/" target="_blank">this blog post</a> which talks about the "biggest wins" of 2012. I couldn't find anything about the "biggest losers" of 2012, so I thought I'll go find some auctions where this disparity is high. I don't have access to the full database of course, so this is more of a trail and error for me. If you have a better example, let me know in the comments.<br />
<br />
First off, the product: Panasonic Massage Chair. There are several models but QuiBids doesn't mention that on the auction page for some reason. To make sure I was looking at the right model, I Googled for the reviews posted at QuiBids and went to the appropriate Amazon page. Here is that product at Amazon:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg61HaXNvfSCkxKt4Og9ltWz98qWnoTurnnZuPixbP-pQpdmAiN3kzTLT-e3_e0_7gx2P9NKWw8SxN_uQpUusH1a-1wvJou_sIzniRwnSLn18O1PRCQq3KhssEHD5Ydo0ZGSg5ejzI_NO4/s1600/117+Massage+Chair+Amazon.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg61HaXNvfSCkxKt4Og9ltWz98qWnoTurnnZuPixbP-pQpdmAiN3kzTLT-e3_e0_7gx2P9NKWw8SxN_uQpUusH1a-1wvJou_sIzniRwnSLn18O1PRCQq3KhssEHD5Ydo0ZGSg5ejzI_NO4/s320/117+Massage+Chair+Amazon.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
As you can see, at Amazon the cost of this chair is <b>$2037.98 with free shipping</b>. I am also noting the shipping costs because these definitely add to your final price that you as a consumer pay. If there were no QuiBids i.e. you are not looking to purchase this at a regular ecommerce website, chances are you'll go to Amazon and spend $2037.98 for this chair.<br />
<br />
Now, enter Quibids. You either have a chance to win this product at a discount, which can range from ridiculously cheap to barely scraping a profit. <b>How competitive the auction is impossible to predict</b> because every auction is unique. Here are two extreme scenarios -<br />
<br />
Here is an <a href="http://www.quibids.com/en/auction-994051008US-11822-panasonic-massage-chair" target="_blank">auction that ended ridiculously cheap</a> so the winner ended up with a huge discount.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyoUfjmo9Vad3HWmwtJF5d16CLPpxXVQaI1W_sGJ2FnIToGYId0WkuHjKXMmeWI4TMVai3MfWXtJ5My7ds01UnzxnCWmViQTFU9vczrP_XviAXpW_dzaPyYISkqM7ezxS8PXvx0uAQu1M/s1600/118+Massage+Chair+Quibids+Cheap.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyoUfjmo9Vad3HWmwtJF5d16CLPpxXVQaI1W_sGJ2FnIToGYId0WkuHjKXMmeWI4TMVai3MfWXtJ5My7ds01UnzxnCWmViQTFU9vczrP_XviAXpW_dzaPyYISkqM7ezxS8PXvx0uAQu1M/s320/118+Massage+Chair+Quibids+Cheap.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
The product sold for $1.85, i.e. 185 bids in all. Valuing voucher bids the same as regular bids, the total revenue through bids for this auction was 185X$0.60 = <b>$111</b>. The winner used just 7 voucher bids! Most certainly, <b>QuiBids lost money on this auction</b>. However, the beauty of this model is, on an average, QuiBids comes up on top.<br />
<br />
Here is another <a href="http://www.quibids.com/en/auction-955927528US-11822-panasonic-massage-chair" target="_blank">auction that ended ridiculously expensive</a> for the same product above.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNbE9mpmuduOHleEXI-6oxHWuBZf9NKJ1lt9TAx-x1YXzd53zLN8HsZqy1qXyU8ppRWfY19x449Otw41ZGfpHCPIbk0o-0rvbuI4L2INhbBx4ewnw9VA8LTNNWW0pDn64UkpDppHa3BJA/s1600/118+Massage+Chair+Quibids+Expensive.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNbE9mpmuduOHleEXI-6oxHWuBZf9NKJ1lt9TAx-x1YXzd53zLN8HsZqy1qXyU8ppRWfY19x449Otw41ZGfpHCPIbk0o-0rvbuI4L2INhbBx4ewnw9VA8LTNNWW0pDn64UkpDppHa3BJA/s320/118+Massage+Chair+Quibids+Expensive.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
In the above auction, bidders placed a total of 34,462 bids. Valuing voucher bids the same as regular bids, the total revenue through bids for this auction was 34,462X$0.60 = <b>$20,677.20</b>. <b>QuiBids made a killer profit</b> here. The profit from this auction would have covered them from ten of above auctions that ended up cheaper.<br />
<br />
The more astute among the readers would now ask, <b>what about Buy Now?</b> That is a great question because we, from the outside, will not have statistics for how many people end up buying the product at its full retail price after bidding on the auction. This is never revealed by QuiBids. I don't want to make an uneducated guess at this number.<br />
<br />
However, let me claim something better - QuiBids makes a profit irrespective of how many people exercised their Buy It Now option! Look again at my first picture, where I show this chair at Amazon. Now look at the QuiBids Buy It Now price - it is invariably higher.<br />
<br />
By buying in bulk, I assume QuiBids gets a better discount, but the purpose of this post isn't to try to figure out how much money QuiBids makes but how much you can save. So your best bet is the Amazon price. Here are your options, then assuming you didn't win the auction and want to use the Buy It Now feature at QuiBids:<br />
1. Buy at Amazon and spend $2037.98<br />
2. Buy at QuiBids and spend $2185.99 + $29.99 (shipping) = $2215.98<br />
A <b>difference of $178</b>.<br />
<br />
This means if you use the Buy It Now feature, even then you end up losing $178 on this product compared to the market price. I haven't even tried to explore things like flash sales, other discount online stores in addition to Amazon, and other options. I don't know what the best deal online would be.<br />
<br />
In a nutshell, for this product, you are paying $178 for a chance to win it at a price lower than the retail price at Amazon. Whether this is good or bad, I leave such judgments to you. It worked out really well for the winner in the cheaper auction and still worked out quite alright for the winner of the second auction, but not so well for all the other bidders who lost.<br />
<br />
Also, lets not forget a time investment. In the second QuiBids auction, a total of 34,462 bids were placed. Now I don't know the average time between bids because it depends a lot on the <a href="http://quibidsblog.blogspot.com/p/complete-penny-auction-strategy-guide.html" target="_blank">bidding strategies</a> that people are using. I didn't personally follow the auction either to know how long it lasted. Assuming an average of 3 seconds between bids, the total time investment would be 34,462X3secondsX1hour/3600seconds = <b>28.72 hours</b>. That's a lot of time spent by a lot of people (of course not everyone will stay from the beginning to the end).<br />
<br />
This post also highlights the role of luck no matter how much you know your <a href="http://quibidsblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/quibids-strategy-best-time-for-bidding.html" target="_blank">QuiBids strategies</a>. Of course, the real strategy is first to shop and bid wisely - know what you want and don't want and look up its price on alternative sources. Know the risk you are taking and make a judgment whether it is worth it or not.<br />
<br />
What are your thoughts on this?<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Sid Kalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16469738762979089255noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3827662270255450219.post-86564508994186719242012-12-29T18:32:00.001-05:002012-12-29T18:32:03.627-05:00Penny Auctions in France<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The EU as a whole had a love/hate relationship with Penny Auctions. The whole concept and thus the industry originated in Europe and became popular in America later on. After all, it was Swoopoo which started the whole concept of penny auctions and took it mainstream. However, <a href="http://quibidsblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/swoopoo-oohilove-closes-entertainment.html" target="_blank">Swoopoo is bankrupt now</a> and of course a lot of very unhappy customers.<br />
<br />
There were a few other penny auctions in the EU area like BidYes is right now - based in France. However, that doesn't even come close to the scale of Swoopoo. Then there was BidRivals that was really big in the EU area but <a href="http://quibidsblog.blogspot.com/2012/04/bidrivals-closes-bidrivals-scam.html" target="_blank">they too are closed now</a>. BidRivals was kind of big in France too.<br />
<br />
So what's next for France and EU? Looks like Quibids! Yes, Quibids, the site that perfected the penny auction model in the US (and always moving away from branding itself as one) is now expanding into the EU. They <a href="http://blog.quibids.com/quibids-to-open-shop-in-france-and-germany/" target="_blank">started off with France and Germany</a>.<br />
<br />
This is big for the French penny auction industry because Quibids has withered the whole storm very well and is going as strong as ever even when most well known penny auctions all over the world close down. If Quibids can convince the French bidders that they are different from BidRivals and Swoopoo, they can strike it big there. It's quite exciting for both Quibids and French penny auction bidders. </div>
Sid Kalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16469738762979089255noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3827662270255450219.post-73512589249731616782012-12-26T23:11:00.003-05:002012-12-26T23:11:22.641-05:00Matt Beckham, CEO of Quibids, InterviewedThis is kind of old news, but I just saw the video now and I am sure many of my readers would have missed it too. This is a short 25 minute interview of Matt Beckham, the founder and CEO of Quibids talking about his business. This is conducted by the State Chamber of Oklahoma. It is an interesting interview and a nice take on the whole business and auction model.<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Ar98hhrAry8#!" target="_blank">Here is the video</a>.<br />
<br />
What do you think? Sid Kalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16469738762979089255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3827662270255450219.post-21468736716956877432012-12-19T20:52:00.000-05:002012-12-19T20:52:00.257-05:00Quibids Store Review: Pricing and Utility<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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.<br />
<br />
<b>Background</b><br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
As penny auctions' fortunes waned, only one site remained strong - Quibids (some <a href="http://quibidsblog.blogspot.com/2012/10/happybidday-turns-2-and-yes-it-is-big.html" target="_blank">smaller ones survived</a> 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.<br />
<br />
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 <a href="http://blog.quibids.com/how-quibids-store-and-auctions-complement-each-other/" target="_blank">official blog post on Quibids store</a>.<br />
<br />
<b>Why Use Quibids Store? </b><br />
<br />
I don't care about their official policy, but the only reasons that interest me are <b>price and rewards</b>. 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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
<b>Case Study - Cannon Lens</b><br />
<br />
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 -<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPMWBHZwXm212h2OK0wjZ3hnJxZwLFdSg4FlJxEG5OHX9bd2uB0F2xd7rc6Kj2JLlKqY_hV0DVEBMax8p-ucaypLjlKAPztGJPH3JDG12S5_6t7ZAzLIloikquSZQ9eHL3SNdIwVUtvLE/s1600/114+Amazon+lens.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="116" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPMWBHZwXm212h2OK0wjZ3hnJxZwLFdSg4FlJxEG5OHX9bd2uB0F2xd7rc6Kj2JLlKqY_hV0DVEBMax8p-ucaypLjlKAPztGJPH3JDG12S5_6t7ZAzLIloikquSZQ9eHL3SNdIwVUtvLE/s320/114+Amazon+lens.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq-PkaUGYQDH86tK8BflcFynVbj-62rIwOw5NV_Q6QNnMFl-AyxMhxrO_flt41qWUNIKIwzY6c6ebOoLhE-zeW0C_JzJh8zxlAu9tnsdXq4dDP2TO6-Fb9jV1XNbH48b4WA5QNdZvIEC4/s1600/116+Target+lens.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq-PkaUGYQDH86tK8BflcFynVbj-62rIwOw5NV_Q6QNnMFl-AyxMhxrO_flt41qWUNIKIwzY6c6ebOoLhE-zeW0C_JzJh8zxlAu9tnsdXq4dDP2TO6-Fb9jV1XNbH48b4WA5QNdZvIEC4/s320/116+Target+lens.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigsM4u3_0DibbfwM21cV30FX0vW3hIdQd9T1Fvq904msTyJ6G06FfMEBFnmqW3oOlWYYbv_nvcQljri4iJk42isQ73_BwALUaFrWhdBRwrxlZF_Bv7R10SaZqUU40EE8am0kudcOj_clU/s1600/115+Quibids+Store+lens.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigsM4u3_0DibbfwM21cV30FX0vW3hIdQd9T1Fvq904msTyJ6G06FfMEBFnmqW3oOlWYYbv_nvcQljri4iJk42isQ73_BwALUaFrWhdBRwrxlZF_Bv7R10SaZqUU40EE8am0kudcOj_clU/s320/115+Quibids+Store+lens.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
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 <b>cheaper and provides voucher bids</b>. That's both price and rewards packed into one.<br />
<br />
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. </div>
Sid Kalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16469738762979089255noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3827662270255450219.post-8949743225852887432012-12-17T19:58:00.000-05:002012-12-17T19:58:01.469-05:00Quibids - Is it Possible to Use Voucher Bids First?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
At Quibids, is it possible to use voucher bids first, before using your paid bids? Or the other way - use real bids first and not use voucher bids at all? Quite a few bidders have asked me this, and I wanted to write a post about that.<br />
<br />
Some of the reasons you would like to change the default ordering of the bids that get used up are -<br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>If you are just bidding for fun to test out your luck because you have quite a few voucher bids in your account, then you need to be careful not to use up your real bids. It is best to use real bids when you want to buy the item at full retail if you don't win. Voucher bids don't count towards your buy-now price. </li>
<li>If you are bidding on a gift card and you are prepared to buy it at full retail and the auction is fairly competitive, then you may not want to use voucher bids at all because those could be wasted. Instead, you want to use only the real bids and if you lose, just buy the item at full retail. This is also the case with other high-end electronics. </li>
</ul>
<div>
This can actually be a neat addition to your regular <a href="http://quibidsblog.blogspot.com/p/complete-penny-auction-strategy-guide.html" target="_blank">Quibids strategy</a>.<br />
<br />
Ok, so now coming back to the original question - can you order your bids in Quibids as to which ones should be used ahead of which ones? The simple answer is no. This is unfortunate - I would actually like to see them be more flexible here and give users the option to use whatever kind of bids they want to use. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Currently, here is how the bids are used - in the order of expiration. The bids that expire soonest are going to be used up first. I would ideally like this to be the default behavior but give the user power to change it easily. From the <a href="https://www.quibids.com/en/help/terms.php" target="_blank">Quibids Terms of Conditions</a>, </div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"When You place Bids, the first Bids used will be Bids from Bid Packs, starting with the Bids that are going to expire the soonest. After Bids from Bid Packs are exhausted, Free Bids will be used, starting with the Bids that are closest to expiring. After Free Bids are exhausted, Voucher Bids are used, starting with the Bids that are closest to expiring. At QuiBids sole discretion, You may be given an opportunity to select which type of bids to use on an auction."</blockquote>
</blockquote>
So there you have it. Unfortunately for bidders, there is no good way to order which bids you want to use. That being said, read the last line - At Quibids' discretion, this can be changed. If you have been bitten by a situation as this and you didn't realize and ended up wasting a ton of bids, real or voucher, it might help to contact their help team and try to ask them to change this. I am not sure if they will oblige.<br />
<br />
Did you ever run into this situation where you wanted to order your bids differently, like using virtual bids first or using real bids first? </div>
Sid Kalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16469738762979089255noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3827662270255450219.post-60485727930346960472012-12-02T22:16:00.003-05:002012-12-02T22:16:38.616-05:00Overview of Penny Auctions<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b>This is a Guest Post by Adeel of LimitlessBids</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<i>Summary </i><br />
In this article, we will be comparing the difference between regular online
auctions, and penny auctions. We will also find out whether or not it is
always a good decision to use one service or the other and lastly, we’re
going to figure out how we can earn a profit from using both penny
auctions and traditional auctions.<br />
<br />
I know that the majority of the people that will be reading this
already understand how penny auctions work, let me start off with a
little review in case we have some new users on the site. When bidding
in a penny auction service, you are going to have to pay for the bids
beforehand. The price per bid ranges from between.50 to $1.00 a bid.<br />
<br />
Unlike traditional auctions, every single time a bid is placed, the timer is
once again restarted to allow for another bidder to bid. Now, if you are not
the last person to bid on an item, you in essence helped pay for someone
else's merchandise, a problem that does not exist in traditional auction
houses. However, there are some companies such as that allow all users
the option of using the buy it now option for any product AND having
their bids cost count towards that amount! Check and make sure that the
buy it now price that is listed on the penny auction site you are using is
comparable to other online retailers. Sometimes penny auction companies
will try to overinflate their prices so they can turn an even larger profit when
you “Buy it now.”<br />
<br />
Another problem that has plagued the penny auction world is that
there are groups of people, who combine their funds, and purchase very
large amounts of bids and effectively bid you off of whatever item you are
interested in winning, making it very difficult for you to win as a new user.
Some websites however do have a winner tiered limit, for example, only
1 win for any user over $500 in a week, or month, etc. This will ensure
that there is a fair playing field for everyone, and so that everyone may win
products that really are for far less than retail.<br />
<br />
Lastly, look for a penny auction website that is not interested in reaping
huge profits, but instead look towards companies that will keep their
profit margins low. How do you do this you ask? Just see how many free
giveaways they have, free bids are good but free items are just amazing.
For example, zBiddy.com offers you the chance the spin their wheel and
win between 1-10 bids for FREE, this can be done daily. Another website
LimitlessBids.com actually just gives away items, like the Samsung Galaxy
S3 they have up for this month. There is a catch however, you must
be a registered and paid member of both of these websites to reap the
dividends. marketing done quickly, and as soon as possible.<br />
<br />
Finally, another few tips that I have for users who are interested in learning
more about Penny Auction services, or want to know about how to make it
easier to win, these are the tips I have for you. Firstly, I think that you make
sure that a site is reputable. It has SSL security when you attempt to make
a purchase, and all of your questions are responded to immediately when
you e-mail them. Next, the newer a site is, the less members there will be
available on the site to bid and for this reason, you will be able to get a ton
of products for very cheap, before everyone else finds out about the site.<br />
<br />
Okay, so when you locate a site that is new and does not have many
users, you are going to want to bid, and bid heavy on the items on the site.
Make sure the site is Paypal verified, Verisign verified and has SSL on
the purchase page. Once you go through that checklist, check which high
price items you should be able to win, use the techniques we discussed in
earlier articles about bidding later on in an auction and then finally, when
you know you want the auction, MAKE SURE YOU WIN THE AUCTION.
There’s no way you’ll pay anywhere near retail if you follow this to the T.<br />
<br />
Next, all that is left to do is set up your account over at ebay.com,
or amazon.com and resell the items that you just won. Since most penny
auction websites offer items that are brand new, this will give you the
chance to sell brand new items on ebay or amazon, for a fraction of the
price that you paid. If you follow this advice, to the T, and make sure to
be a shark, not a minnow when bidding, you will be able to make a fast
amount of money using both Penny Auctions and Traditional Auctions.<br />
<br />
I
myself was able to rake in about $10,000 extra profit this year alone doing
this.
That is all I have for you in this installment hopefully I have been
helpful in allowing you to gain more knowledge about penny auctions and
how to be successful in winning auctions to get items you want, for 90+%
off retail and then reselling them for a profit with ease! </div>
Sid Kalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16469738762979089255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3827662270255450219.post-62905892066703660422012-11-03T20:57:00.001-04:002012-11-03T20:57:18.308-04:00CharityTick Penny Auction Opens<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It's official - a new penny auctions <a href="http://www.charitytick.com/" target="_blank">CharityTick</a> has opened. It tries to combine the auction model of penny auctions with giving to charities. It's a neat concept and this blog wishes them luck with the site considering how many penny auctions have closed shop in the last couple of years.<br />
<br />
For now, the site is quite new, so it might actually help to join early and try to win some products. You get to support your choice of charity, which is also quite cool. Here's a page about <a href="http://www.charitytick.com/howitworks" target="_blank">how it all works</a>.<br />
<br />
Good luck bidding! If you've tried the site, don't forget to tell everyone in the comments section about your experience. </div>
Sid Kalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16469738762979089255noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3827662270255450219.post-86820559274710830312012-10-31T18:40:00.000-04:002012-10-31T18:40:02.442-04:00HappyBidDay Turns 2 (and yes, it is a big deal)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://happybidday.go2jump.org/aff_c?offer_id=1&aff_id=1033" target="_blank">HappyBidDay</a>, an alternative to Quibids, turns 2 years old next month. In case you didn't already notice, these are highly turbulent times for the whole penny auction industry and it is quite an achievement that HappyBidDay has stuck it through and made it this far while several other large penny auctions have closed shop. Today, of all the legit penny auctions, HappyBidDay can truly stand as an alternative to Quibids.<br />
<br />
In order to celebrate this event, HappyBidDay is giving away <b>25 free bids to all members</b> for use in the regular penny auctions. That's right - just register and get 25 free bids deposited on November 7. There is no reason to miss this at all. 25 free bids is a lot of bids to use to try out a site.<br />
<br />
If you are serious about penny auctions and winning on them though, you should buy a bid pack and reduce your average cost even further. This way, you can afford to outbid your competition and therefore win products. As a general tip, keep an eye out on beginner auctions and Amazon gift cards - they usually have less competition.<br />
<br />
As an additional bonus, there is a special coupon code that you can use, which is for the readers of this blog: <b><a href="http://happybidday.go2jump.org/aff_c?offer_id=1&aff_id=1033" target="_blank">QBSPECIAL</a></b> that expires in a couple of weeks from now, so combine your free bids with discounted bids and you cannot go wrong! Join the site today to make use of this great offer. Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments. </div>
Sid Kalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16469738762979089255noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3827662270255450219.post-89138667883294014412012-10-14T18:51:00.000-04:002012-10-14T18:52:46.333-04:00500,000 Page Views!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
That's right folks, it's been a great journey so far, writing this blog and sharing with everyone what I think about the world of penny auctions.<br />
Although I haven't been very active with this blog for the past couple of months, I intend to change that. And, today I realized this blog has reached a really cool milestone already - <b>500,000 page views</b>! That's a lot of information shared with a lot of people.<br />
<br />
What do you think about this blog? What do you like to read in the future? </div>
Sid Kalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16469738762979089255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3827662270255450219.post-64495927618351327552012-10-13T13:53:00.001-04:002012-10-13T14:02:47.279-04:00Special Coupon Code for my Readers<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
There is a <a href="http://happybidday.go2jump.org/aff_c?offer_id=1&aff_id=1033" target="_blank">special coupon code</a> especially for the readers of this blog. This is courtesy of HappyBidDay. This is a penny auction like Quibids, and has been around for a while, although not as old as Quibids. Even as so many of the penny auctions closed down, HappyBidDay is going strong because it still offers something to the bidders and the owners have a good sense of this business. I have previously written about winning on HappyBidDay but in a nutshell, look for gift cards and if you are new, always look for the beginner auctions.<br />
<br />
Anyway, the coupon code is <b><a href="http://happybidday.go2jump.org/aff_c?offer_id=1&aff_id=1033" target="_blank">QBSPECIAL</a> </b>(Click to redeem) and will give you a 30% discount on your first bid pack. This is a significant discount from regular packs and I encourage you to use this to lower your average cost of bid, which will have a positive impact on your profits of wins. If you buy the biggest pack, then you'll get a 40% discount. Although I don't always recommend buying the biggest packs, in this case, a 40% discount is quite significant, so it is definitely worth considering.<br />
<br />
<b>Specials</b>: Gift cards and Silver Coins<br />
<b>Competitive</b>: Electronics (I suggest bidding on Amazon gift cards and using them to buy electronics)</div>
Sid Kalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16469738762979089255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3827662270255450219.post-35328864608945888282012-07-06T19:35:00.003-04:002012-07-06T19:35:37.768-04:00PennyGrab Coupon Code<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
PennyGrab is having a great promotion to celebrate their 1 year in existence! Use the code <b><a href="http://www.pngtrack.com/click.track?CID=205865&AFID=204751&ADID=738582&SID=" target="_blank">PENNYDOZER</a></b> to get 10% off your bid packs, and also participate in games. Yes, exciting games, and win bids in the process! (the site is trying to promote the game angle, so the bids are quite generous. I am not sure how long that is going to last). You should be able to find these under the Games tab. </div>Sid Kalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16469738762979089255noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3827662270255450219.post-31256905646957319122012-05-20T23:26:00.001-04:002012-05-20T23:26:42.169-04:00Exciting Penny Auction Variations<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
If you are bored of traditional penny auctions with a timer that increases each time a bid is placed, you should check out other forms of penny auctions. The industry has a come a long way from the traditional model and some of you will find that more fun and better returns.<br />
<br />
My favorite is <a href="http://www.pngtrack.com/click.track?CID=205865&AFID=204751&ADID=738582&SID=" target="_blank">PennyGrab</a> simply because they have a Buy Now and gifts at regular intervals. This means most bidders actually win something, and it is not hard to formulate a good strategy for almost guaranteed wins. The site has grown into a very loyal bidder community who actually help each other out (no power bidding, for example). Another great feature is you can chat with your fellow bidders which is really cool.<br />
<br />
Do you know of other exciting penny auctions with different models? </div>Sid Kalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16469738762979089255noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3827662270255450219.post-45696190584172444142012-05-15T21:38:00.000-04:002012-05-15T21:38:01.623-04:00Nebids Interview with Larry NeJame<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This is my nebids interview with the co-founder Larry. <a href="http://www.nebids.com/" target="_blank">nebids </a>is a promising new penny auction which aims to bring a complete marketplace to the penny auction industry - you can both buy and sell items based on the penny auction model. If implemented well, I think the idea has great potential for bidders. The site is yet to go into beta but the founders are excited and you can sign up now for bonus giveaways. Here is the interview:<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Sid</b>: nebids is centered around a penny auction marketplace. Tell us a little about how nebids is supposed to work.<br />
<b>Larry</b>: The simple of it is nebids will provide a platform for anyone to buy and sell using the penny auction format; just as eBay allows people to buy and sell using a traditional online auction format. Virtually anyone will be able to shop and sell through nebids and they will be able to sell pretty much anything they want.<br />
<br />
<b>Sid</b>: When is nebids going to be live?<br />
<b>Larry</b>: We plan on going live with our Beta Launch around mid to late June. This is barring any unforeseen road blocks. The first version of the site will be launching very shortly after the Beta Launch.<br />
<br />
<b>Sid</b>: Why do you think bidders will be attracted to nebids as compared to say bidding on Quibids?<br />
<b>Larry</b>: One of the key things we are offering bidders is lower bid prices. Bid prices will be set at $.50 per bid which is the lowest we’ve ever seen. We also allow bidders to purchase any number of bids they want; we are doing away with bid packs. So if someone wants to buy 83 bids, they can. One last thing that we are going to try to bring to the table is a larger variety of items that shoppers can buy. We hope to provide as many different shopping categories as an eBay or Amazon.<br />
<br />
<b>Sid</b>: Do you think you can get enough sellers especially in the initial stages, considering it would be risky for them?<br />
<b>Larry</b>: That of course is one of the major challenges to the launch. We have been working tirelessly to get the word out there about nebids as best we can to create as much buzz as we can about the site. In the past few weeks we have been taking signups and getting feedback through our Facebook page and we have been getting a ton of positive responses and participation so far, so we think there is going to be no shortage of bidder/shopper participation.<br />
It’s our goal to make sure everyone has a pleasant experience on nebids either shopping or selling. So especially in the early stages we are going to try to work very closely with the sellers and give them as many guarantees as possible, to make sure they are making money on their auctions.<br />
<br />
<b>Sid</b>: How do you plan to prevent problems with sellers like not shipping items?<br />
<b>Larry</b>: We will have a built in system that requires the sellers to fulfill an auction order once the auction is completed. If they seller does not fulfill the auction order they will be heavily penalized, either by being banned from the site or incurring negative feedback on their account, which will hinder them from selling effectively.<br />
The system will also require the buyer to finalize the auction by paying the ending auction price and shipping. At that point the seller will be responsible for shipping the item/fulfilling the order. Nebids will be the facilitator for this transaction, similar to how Amazon works; it will not be a transaction directly between the buyer and seller. This will ensure that both parties are protected.<br />
If a seller does not ship the item the money paid by the winning bidder will be refunded. Also all bids placed on the auction will be refunded to all participants in that auction. The seller will of course not receive any distribution of money from that sale.<br />
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<b>Sid</b>: Will there be any restrictions on what items can be put up for auction?<br />
<b>Larry</b>: For the most part anyone can sell anything. However there are some standard restrictions, such as, no pornographic material or paraphernalia, also things that you might not have the rights to sell.<br />
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<b>Sid</b>: Tell us a little about the people behind nebids<br />
<b>Larry</b>: Nebids has 3 founders: Larry, Marcus and Scott. All three of us grew up in Florida and we have worked with each other for a number of years. Larry handles most of business operations of the company and Scott and Marcus handle the technology and development aspects of the company. Each of us have extensive experience with other business ventures in different fields such as, telecommunications, ecommerce websites and software.<br />
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<b>Sid</b>: Do you think other penny auctions will copy this model? Are you aware of any other live penny auctions who have implemented such a marketplace?<br />
<b>Larry</b>: It’s certainly possible for other penny auctions to copy this model. Our hope is that people looking to get into the penny auction business choose to sell through nebids as opposed to starting up a website themselves. We think it is a beneficial scenario all around, sellers will not have to worry about the overhead of starting a website and marketing it, they can simply list items and market to nebids built in customer base.<br />
To our understanding there have been some attempts at an eBay –like penny auction before, however they seemed to charge outrageous commissions on the auctions making it virtually impossible for sellers to generate a profit. There are other marketplaces out there, however they do not use a standard penny auction format.<br />
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<b>Sid</b>: Is nebids open to international bidders or just US residents?<br />
<b>Larry</b>: To start nebids will only be open to US residents only. The goal is to expand to other regions at a later date, if possible.<br />
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<b>Sid</b>: Do you think the penny auction industry in general should be regulated more closely?<br />
<b>Larry</b>: That’s an interesting question. With some of the practices utilized by some penny auction sites that we’ve seen, like shill bidding and not shipping products, the quick reaction to that question is “YES”. However one of the primary goals with the nebids marketplace penny auction format is to eliminate those bad practices that are being demonstrated today, which the marketplace format inherently eliminates or at the very least dramatically reduces. We really think this format is going to be a game changer.<br />
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<b>Sid</b>: What kind of auction models do you plan to implement? Just the traditional timer auctions or something more?<br />
<b>Larry</b>: The initial plan is to offer a traditional timer penny auction where a bid increases the auction price by $.01. We feel like this is the simplest and easiest to understand model for both shoppers and sellers. We will constantly be updating the site with new features and options, such as, a buy it now option. However the core model will be a traditional timer based penny auction.<br />
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<b>Sid</b>: What do you think is the main reason behind so many seemingly successful penny auctions closing down, like Swoopoo, BidRivals, etc.<br />
<b>Larry</b>: Sometimes companies simply overextend themselves, which is a common reason why established companies go under. From what we’ve seen over the last couple of years there have been a lot of small penny auction startups that have come and gone in almost the blink of an eye. It seems most new penny auction site owners do not realize what it takes to get a successful website off the ground, let alone a penny auction. It requires a lot of work and a lot of capital and resources at the beginning to be successful, which is something most people do not account for.<br />
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Check out <a href="http://www.nebids.com/" target="_blank">nebids</a> today.<br />
</div>Sid Kalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16469738762979089255noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3827662270255450219.post-48987350084586170182012-05-04T20:04:00.001-04:002012-05-04T20:04:54.261-04:0010% Off Bids: PennyGrab Coupon Code<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
PennyGrab has a great offer - save 10% off any bid pack you purchase with the code <b><a href="http://www.pngtrack.com/click.track?CID=205865&AFID=204751&ADID=738582&SID=" target="_blank">STARWARS</a></b>. PennyGrab runs one of the most interesting campaigns and it is a pleasure to read the witty emails. So what was it today? May the 4th be With You! That of course is something all the sci-fi star war fans or any geek reading this would immediately appreciate, from the famous 'may the force be with you' statement. And what better time to talk of sci-fi and celebrate the inner geek than a day after the release of the Avengers! (Yes it is awesome and you should see it irrespective of whether you like "that kind" of movies or not)<br />
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<a href="http://www.pngtrack.com/click.track?CID=205865&AFID=204751&ADID=738582&SID=" target="_blank">Redeem STARWARS coupon</a> and get 10% off your bid packs. </div>Sid Kalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16469738762979089255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3827662270255450219.post-55155583768359305702012-04-30T15:45:00.000-04:002012-04-30T15:45:00.803-04:00Largest Penny Auction Site<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">What is the largest penny auction site? A lot of bidders wonder about this. The answer is <a href="http://www.quibids.com/?refer=1299592" target="_blank">Quibids</a>. It is actually by far the largest penny auction in the world. It has always been at the forefront of penny auctions, even though initially <a href="http://quibidsblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/quibids-penny-auction.html" target="_blank">Quibids did not identify itself as a penny auction</a>.<br />
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As an industry veteran, I am impressed by how Quibids survived and thrived as plenty of new penny auctions came and went bust. Even as <a href="http://quibidsblog.blogspot.com/2012/03/are-penny-auctions-losing-their-charm.html" target="_blank">other penny auctions were dying</a>, Quibids was building a mark for itself. It has a nice, slow and steady progress growth.<br />
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What's also impressive is that the growth of new bidders has slowed at almost every site except Quibids. It still attracts a good amount of traffic every single day. You can look at the Alexa rank of Quibids and you will know just how impressive it has been all the while. No other single penny auction even comes close to being the industry heavyweight. I think Quibids does some things just right, e.g. Buy Now on all the auctions from a very long time, so it couldn't be criticized as gambling.<br />
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That being said, the obvious drawback is everyone knows about Quibids! This means increased competition because there are not enough products for everyone to bid on. This of course works against bidders. Worse, Quibids separates bidders as new, experienced, etc. and the more winnings you have, the harder your competition gets.<br />
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So which penny auctions do you bid on? </div>Sid Kalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16469738762979089255noreply@blogger.com1