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.

Quibids Review: Customer Service

Read my full Quibids review here. In this Quibids review, I discuss customer service at Quibids.

Customer service is a very important part of any business, and is especially so in case of penny auctions. Quibids, being the largest penny auction in the US, does take customer service seriously. In fact, I remember many months ago when Quibids wasn't really as big as it is now, they had representatives who would post on different forums and blogs (including this one!) to explain the penny auction model, dispel doubts and solve problems. Now, I don't see them doing this at all.

However, through the months and through the periods of great growth, it must be acknowledged that the customer service at Quibids still remains top class. If you have a problem and write to their customer service, you will hear back something. This is especially in cases of shipping and handling or other minor issues. They seem to have a good degree of freedom as well, which is very good. A long time ago, I remember I reported some problem with the auction clock and they promptly refunded me all the bids for the auction.

That being said, the internet landscape is changing and changing fast. I fear Quibids isn't really prepared for this. One very good thing that they did was to launch an aggressive Facebook campaign to attract masses through social media. Today, the Facebook page at Quibids has over 60K members and increasing. Plus, they are all enthusiastic bidders who remain active on the page as well. Quibids still runs its daily Facebook contest for 50 free bids, which keeps people active.

Social networks like Facebook can be a double edged sword. If handled poorly, they can lead to the downfall of huge companies. Quibids is just a small company compared to the giants around who couldn't control social media. I have a problem in my Quibids review of their overall Facebook campaign.

There are many people who raise concerns about Quibids on Facebook and the company usually doesn't address them. All the profile of Quibids does on Facebook is to comment on the positive experiences, which is NOT the purpose of having a Facebook page in the first place.

What I would like Quibids to do is to have a much more sophisticated social media team. If they need help, they should hire an expert, but the way things are going now, they don't look pleasant. For Quibids to survive and reach the next level, they do need a dedicated social media presence where they can address consumer concerns. I would like their customer service standards maintained on Facebook. It is really tragic that they are not.

Quibids Review compared to New Penny Auctions

Quibids review comparing it with new penny auctions is important because many bidders are in a dilemma whether to join Quibids or the tons of new penny auction sites that are coming up almost every day on the internet. How does Quibids review compare to new penny auctions?

Here are some things that will help you decide which ones to join. If you want a comprehensive Quibids review, read my post Quibids Review: Good, Bad and Ugly.

So getting back to comparing Quibids with others, here are some pointers:

Complete Quibids Review

I have several Quibids review posts all over my blog and thought I should compile them into one.

First, you might want to read a overview of Quibids review that discusses all the positive and negative aspects of Quibids.

Quibids is the largest penny auction in the US and it wants to take this concept mainstream. It is a long way to go, but Quibids does have the right ingredients, including size. However, there are still many problems with Quibids in general: There are some problems with bidding and some errors with updates.

Personally, I also find Quibids price information misleading. If Quibids really needs to establish itself as a dominant player and penetrate deeper, it needs to be much more open than it is currently. The BBB Quibids review isn't exactly the most trusted either.

In a nutshell, this is all I have to say: Quibids is legit in that it will send you won items. However, for beginners, it could be misleading especially if you believe all the advertisements and tall claims you see. At Quibids, you take on higher risk and thus higher chance of great deals. You are guaranteed nothing. It is possible to win a Macbook for a dollar but highly unlikely. What is more likely is that you end up not winning the Macbook but paying a hundred bucks in the process, trying to win it. That is why, it is extremely important to know about the penny auction model before you start bidding. This holds not just for Quibids but any penny auction in general.

Quibids Review by BBB: Why it cannot be trusted

BBB has a good Quibids Review. In fact, many penny auctions boast of a good BBB Review. In fact, it is one of the highlights on their site. A common symbol is "BBB Accredited" business. This certainly lends credibility. However, it may not be as safe as you would like to believe.

As it turns out, BBB is as sold as other ratings agencies. It was an interesting read, an article on LA times about BBB ratings. It appears that BBB had given an A+ rating to Goldline that was not deserved! This is blasphemous to say the least. You would be aware that GoldLine is under federal investigation of fraud and misleading customers into buying overpriced antique gold coins.

A lot of ratings agencies have lost credibility especially after the financial meltdown. I am certainly not suggesting that BBB accredition is pointless. However, I am saying that just because a penny auction has a good BBB rating, you should not trust that blindly. BBB has given Quibids review an A-, which is probably well deserved. However, the same cannot be said of all penny auctions.

To keep yourself updated, read my Quibids Review, BidHere Review, DealDash Review, ScoreLuxe Review, BidRivals Review and Penny20 Review.

Review of Quibids Strategies

This post gives a review of my Quibids strategies - a short overview of the bidding process and how you can win big on Quibids. Follow the main articles for a complete analysis.

The first post you need to look into is the Best and Worst Times to Bid on Quibids. This is perhaps the most important Quibids strategy simply because the difference can be significant. Very significant actually. The post discusses the times you should avoid and more importantly the times when you have the maximum chance of winning at Quibids.

Then, the overall bidding process can be broken down into essentially two Quibids strategies: The Waiting Game and The Volunteer's Dilemma. These two Quibids strategies are diametrically opposite but towards the same goal. It doesn't make sense to use both of them on the same auction. However, you can use them on different Quibids auctions. The whole trick is to know which auctions are well suited for which Quibids strategy.

The Waiting Game involves saving your bids and bidding at the last moment but it doesn't go well with the overall psychology of bidding at Quibids and indeed any other penny auction. On the other hand, the Volunteer's Dilemma is riskier and aggressive, and it plays very well with the psychology of bidders. However, you might lose more bids. The trick is to know how to reduce this risk.

Next, you need to know about improving your winning chances. The Quibids Bid Voucher Strategy deals with how to use bid vouchers effectively. It is a common misconception that you should go after bid vouchers - you can do just fine or better without them. For one, they are highly competitive. Also, you lose real bids for voucher bids, which increases the risk considerably. So you need to play tactically here.

You will then need to understand how different types of Quibids bidders behave and how to beat them. The aggressive bidders are hard to get rid of, so you need to devise a strategy to beat them. You need a Quibids Strategy Against Aggressive Bidders that doesn't have you spending all the bids that you have.

Another important thing that you should know is the Quibids Strategy of Winning Against Bidomatic. This is important because bidders get uncomfortable when they are pitted against a machine and they give up sooner. However, there is no cause for worry and you can use some strategies mentioned in the main post to beat the Bidomatic.

Finally, with some experience, you will be ready to win the big-ticket items like Macbooks and Plasma TVs. This is a different ball-game altogether though the basics remain the same. As a guide, I have written the Quibids Strategy of Winning Big Ticket Items that will help you in the process.

I hope this review of Quibids Strategies was helpful to you. Be sure to go through the resources here and also share your stories with all of us. Good luck bidding!

Quibids Review: Error with updates

This is my Quibids review regarding the Quibids error with updating auction information. The section Is Quibids scam discusses about Quibids in general (answer in a nutshell: Quibids is not a scam). Also, you can read my comprehensive Quibids review

I previously discussed an error with Quibids regarding display of double bids. The problem is not serious and hardly matters. However, today's error is far more serious.

Quibids is a penny auction site where every second matters. In fact, every 100 milliseconds matter because so many people bid at the very last moment. Therefore, it is very important that Quibids has a mechanism to handle several almost simultaneous bids without problem. However, this is not always the case.

Here is a Quibids review of the bidding process when there are multiple bids just when the timer is about to go to zero. See the image for yourself (you can click on the image to enlarge).


As you can see, this is an auction for a 250 bids voucher at Quibids. The information to the right hand side doesn't match the information shown near the bid! It is not very common but still it is a Quibids error that needs to be addressed soon and efficiently. So if the auction ends now, who is the winner - jthom19802 or dzrthart? I assume it is the one with the higher bid, but still, it can be confusing and misleading.

In Quibids and most penny auctions in general, the difference between winning and losing is everything. If you are playing the waiting game and looking to bid at the last moment, there are many who will do the same. A lot of bids at the same time is something which can be hard to handle.

In the end, however, I'll give it to Quibids that they are one of the most efficient penny auction sites I have seen in terms of handling huge bids at the same time. That being said, there is always scope for improvement and I hope Quibids corrects this error and I won't have to bring up another Quibids review for this purpose!

Quibids Review: Misleading Price Information

There are several posts where I talk about Quibids review. Quibids is a great penny auction site that is legitimate, which means they are not closing shop after robbing you, like so many other sites on the internet. However, that doesn't mean that everything they do is good. There are things I don't like about Qubids, which is the purpose of my series on Quibids review.

Here, I want to talk about Quibids price as shown for the items that are previously won. What I mean is, when you open an auction for say 100 Quibids bids, you will see, on the left hand side of the page, information about how much the item was sold for recently.


In the image above, you can see that Quibids 100 bids voucher shows for selling at $0.01. Wow, now that can be some misleading information! Of course, this is the lowest price it can go to, but as all Quibids bidders know, this is HIGHLY unlikely. Quibids wants to attract more people by showing cheaper prices for products. Of course they are not lying because there was an auction that did sell for so cheap - see the image below.


However, these events are extremely rare, and can easily mislead new Quibids customers into expecting this to be the price. Experienced Quibids users may easily see through this.

The average price, I am guessing, will easily be 500 times or more! Here is a typical Quibids 100 bids auction:


What I don't like is that Quibids changed this very recently. Up to a few months ago, they would never try to show the cheapest auction price in the 'Recently Sold for' section. This is a recent change. In fact, I remember at the very earliest times, they would deliberately put a very high price here! The reason I think was because if they put up a very low price, people might suspect it to be a scam. However, of late, more and more people seem to know about penny auctions.

I like Quibids because it is different from all the rest of these sites. However, by towing the line by showing the cheapest price as that for which the item was recently sold, Quibids is simply losing the tag being good and honest. There are many positive changes in Quibids too, which I like, but this is not one of them.

Quibids millionth auction winner

So Quibids has announced the millionth auction winner today in their newsletter. This was sent to all the Quibids members. Here is the winner - Mr. Josh Neifert. Congratulations!

Quibids announced this competition quite some time ago. For obvious reasons, the exact auction that was the millionth was not announced. Like with so many other things at Quibids, this dependent heavily on your luck :)

So what does the winner get: $10,000 in hard cash! Also, Quibids wants to donate $1,000 to a charity of the winner's choosing. I am hoping the winner reads this NY times article by Mr. Kristof discussing the truth about charities and steers clear of the scum.

I think this is a significant achievement for Quibids as a site and proving this to be a successful and sustainable business model. I also think that Quibids has a long way to go and many improvements to be made to the website with time. There are still issues that I will be discussing as I review different auctions at Quibids. However, Quibids seems to be the most promising penny auction site out there, and personally I think is way above the more famous competitor Swoopoo. It is only a matter of time that Quibids catches up.

Quibids also seems to be launching an aggressive Facebook campaign by enticing users with free bids. Perhaps a post is due discussing this.

Quibids Review: Problem with Bidding

Quibids review is needed periodically to check the site for bugs and errors. Quibids is one of the more famous penny auction websites on the internet. Quibids recently announced their millionth auction, which is quite an accomplishment.

A lot of people invest a considerable amount of time and money into the site, so it is important that Quibids be free of bugs and errors. Unfortunately, that is not the case as my Quibids review in this section reveals.

Today, I will discuss the problem with Quibids with respect to repeated bids. This is not very common, but that isn't the point - it is still a Quibids bug/Quibids error that needs to be rectified.

Usually, if you bid twice in quick succession on Quibids, the bid is still registered. Of course you would not ideally want to do that because you are losing a bid quite unnecessarily. But see what happens if you do.

The image below shows a screenshot of an auction that I was following for the purpose of this Quibids review: (you can click on the image to enlarge the picture)


As you can see, the Quibids user tomtomintx seems to have bid twice, but the price remains the same. This is not the rule - normally if you bid twice successively, the bid amount still goes up. Quibids has a problem with this, which is what I want to review in this post.

Quibids review is important because users need to be aware of any strange happenings on the website. This is because in any penny auction, the difference between winning and losing is a matter of seconds, which Quibids does realize. However, if such bugs are not corrected, it can be a problem for Quibids users.

This doesn't seem like a serious Quibids bug but it is important because Quibids has a problem with bids placed in quick succession. In my next Quibids review, I will discuss a more serious Quibids bug that I am well aware of and a lot of other Quibids users are aware of as well. That has to do with different winners at the same time!

Quibids Review: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Here is my first part of Quibids review for my readers:

Quibids is a penny auction site, which is unlike other traditional auctions. If you do not know what penny auctions are, you can read about it at Wikipedia. Remember, Quibids is not a traditional auction site.

For those of you who are looking to answer the question of whether Quibids is a scam or not, here is a simple one word answer: No. However, my Quibids review is not about whether it is a scam, which it is not. You can read my post here to see why Quibids is not a scam.

However, if you happen to try the site out without knowing that it is a penny auction site, you might think it is a scam. This is why, don't join Quibids until you are sure you know what you are getting yourself into.

All penny auctions including Quibids contain elements of luck and risk, and can resemble a lottery.

My Quibids review here is about what is good and bad in Quibids, assuming you already understand the risk in Quibids.

The Good:

• Not Scam!: This is the biggest good for Quibids review, simply because most penny auction sites are outright scams. Quibids has a sustainable business model. Quibids uses game theory and elements of psychology and economics and can make for a good business model, which it is. Quibids recently completed the millionth auction on the site. It is quite unlike sites like Swipebids/Swipeauctions that are outright scams.
  

• Real Auctions: Quibids has real auctions, which means the auctions are not all about bids and virtual products. By real auctions in my Quibids review, I mean that what you can win is real and tangible. You can win a Quibids macbook or Quibids iPad or something smaller, like headphones or mouse, but there are physical products that you use. Many penny auction sites only have points and coupons to win, which are seldom tangible. Thus they work akin to a ponzi.
  

• Fast Product Delivery: The product delivery from Quibids is fast. You will get what you win within a week or two. They are prompt with ensuring that the winners get their products well in time.
  

• The 'Buy it Now' Feature: This feature of Quibids is unique and can be highly useful for bidders. If you fail to win a product, you can use the amount towards the bids to purchase it at the market value. This is a good feature that greatly minimizes your losses, especially if you are interested to buy the product you are bidding anyway.

The Bad:
My Quibids review needs to be balanced and neutral, so here are some of the bad things about Quibids that might change with time.

• Weekend competition: The best time to participate in penny auctions is the weekends when people are relatively free. However, it seems that there are just not enough products for the weekend, and so everyone bids on the same few auctions. This causes immense amount of competition, and thus the customers end up losing a lot. Quibids is naturally aware that far more people participate in auctions during the weekends, but I guess they just want to book profits above the user convenience in this case.
  

• Hidden charges: Let me be honest - I hate hidden charges and hidden fees everywhere, not just Quibids. They have a delivery cost that be totally unjustified. For example, they charge $2 for adding bid after you win a bid voucher from Quibids. This is ridiculous as there is nothing physical being transferred. The bids are added immediately to your account, so why the extra fees?
  

• Misleading Information: There are several things in this category. For example, a lot of advertisements seem to be showing very high discounts without telling the users about the risk. This is why so many think Quibids is scam. I don't think withholding information is the right way to go especially at this stage. I'll probably write a whole post on this topic soon.
  

So that was my Quibids review and I hope to hear from you - what you like and what you don't, so I can take those into account for my next review.