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Showing posts with label how to win on quibids. Show all posts
Showing posts with label how to win on quibids. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Quibids Strategy-6: How to Win Big Ticket Quibids Auctions

A Quibids strategy for winning big-ticket items can be quite different from the ones that you might use for a $10 Walmart card. This post will help you to win big-ticket items like Quibids Macbook or Quibids iPad. In fact, there are not the only big ticket items. A non-exhaustive list of these auctions include -
  • Quibids Macbook
  • Quibids iPad
  • Variety of Plasma TVs
  • Variety of high quality cameras
  • A number of Netbooks and other Laptops
  • Occasional Quibids treats like Honda Civic car and a Caribbean Cruise!
As a general rule, anything that costs more money is a big-ticket item and naturally has more competition.

Not all Quibids strategies are applicable to these items. For example, you cannot use the Volunteer's Dilemma Quibids Strategy throughout the bidding process because there are too many bidders around and the chances of this game-theory like classic dilemma situation is rare. However, it can be used in certain phases.

So here are the list of tips to win Quibids Macbook or other big-ticket items:

Quibids Tip-1: Timing is the Key to Winning

First, you should read my post on Best and Worst Times to Bid on Quibids, which is a post on Quibids strategy that discusses the least and most competitive times at Quibids. If you want to win a big-ticket item like Quibids Macbook, it is very important that you bid during the least busy times. I cannot over-emphasize the importance of this. If you bid at the wrong times, your probability of winning can drastically decrease.

I want to demonstrate this with an example. Here are two auctions of the same product. One of them is during a good time and another during a bad time. This is exactly as is mentioned in my post. Can you see the difference?

Cheap Plasma TV for $4.10, bidding during the best time mentioned in my post:


Costly Plasma TV for $170.36 during the worst time mentioned in my post.


You should now be convinced how important bidding at the right time is to win on Quibids.

Quibids Tip-2: Decide if You can Pay the Full Price to Cut risk

Why are you at Quibids bidding for this item? Sure, you would like to get some cheap items but are you ready to pay the full market price. I know most bidders don't. However, your winning Quibids strategy depends on this decision, so you need to make a choice right now.

  • I can never pay the retail price: In this case, you should invest in bid vouchers. Read my post on How to Win Quibids Bid Vouchers to learn about this. Remember that there is no universal Quibids strategy that will ensure you will win. There is risk involved in Quibids and indeed any other penny auction. You can lose all the money that you invested in and for a big-ticket item this can be quite high. You should be willing to take on this risk if you want to follow this path.
  • I can pay the full retail price if it comes to that: Good! You are using Quibids to see if you can get a great deal but if not you are still ready to pay the full retail price and get the product. In this case, you should NOT use your real bids and bid on voucher bids. This is because voucher bids do not count towards your Buy It Now feature. If you lose the auction, you do not really lose any money because all the 'lost' money can be used towards buying the product at the retail price.
Quibids strategies are all about probabilities. Without a doubt, there is luck involved. You will find a number of Quibids tips and strategies throughout my blog but all they can do is improve your probability of a win - they cannot guarantee a win.

Remember that when you lose an auction, you lose money. This is not eBay. If you are seriously trying for a big-ticket item, you will need a lot of bids. If you lose, all this money is lost. Be aware of the risk before you venture out.

Quibids Tip-3: Use the Waiting Game

For big-ticket items, you should use my Quibids strategy on Waiting Game. This will help you to use minimal amount of bids. However, remember that while this is a theoretical best strategy to use, there are many practical constraints. This works very against the psychology of a bidder. No one likes to sit for hours in front of a computer and track every second and every bid.

If you belong to the category that can afford to pay the full retail price, you should also use the Volunteer's Dilemma Quibids strategy during the bidding process. This should never be used on a continuous basis. Rather, you should use it when there are no aggressive bidders around.

This is a high-risk high-return strategy. If you are able to create a classic game-theory dilemma situation, you can end the auction then and there and win the item. If not, you will end up losing more bids than usual. It can work well if you study the nature of bidding of your fellow bidders. If they appear meek and less aggressive, there is a higher probability that you win using this strategy.

Quibids Tip-4: Use the Bid-o-Matic Option

This is an important Quibids strategy from a practical point of view. We are all humans, after all, and we cannot sit for hours together in front of the computer without missing a single bidding chance that occurs once every few seconds. We need some rest and time off.

It is very risky to just stop bidding during a time window. This is because someone else might win the auction in this time and if he does, you will lose all the money you invested up to that point in the form of bids. This can be a very nasty situation.

Therefore, just use the Bid-o-Matic option which will allow you to place bids automatically without the need to be present in front of your computer.

However, remember the limitations of this method. For example, the maximum number of bids that can be placed through this is 25. You should read up about Bid-o-Matic first before you start bidding. The information can be found at the Quibids Help Section.

Quibids Tip-5: Avoid Bidding at the Start

This is a great Quibids strategy that a lot of bidders neglect. Big-ticket items can be highly competitive at Quibids and there are hundreds of bidders trying to win it. It is highly unlikely that you will win the auction for a few cents or even just a few dollars.

Therefore, it is best that you do not bid during the starting part of the auction. It is highly unlikely that you will be missing something. If in the rare case the auction ends during this time, try it the next day again. But following this Quibids strategy can save you hundreds of dollars.

One estimate is to use the 'Recently Sold for' amount for this product. Of late (last few months) Quibids has been using the lowest amount for this number that has occurred in the last few weeks. Therefore, totally avoid bidding till the price reaches this value.

Even after reaching this value, it is highly unlikely that it will end soon. You can wait longer. It is really hard to say how long - impossible in fact. Take a calculated risk in this aspect. However, remember that once you start bidding, you cannot give up half-way because if you do, you will lose all the money invested.

Quibids Tip-6: Be Prepared for a Long Haul

When you want to win a big-ticket item like a Quibids Macbook, you need to be prepared for a really long haul. No one can predict how long the auction can go. In the pictures shown above, the difference in time between the two auctions was several hours. You cannot really predict the time-frame.

Sometimes, items go late into the night and continue even up to the next day morning. We are talking here in the order of 6,8,10 hours at times. I know this can be really long but that's the price you got to pay.

Being prepared for this is important, not just psychologically but also physically. Have something to eat and munch on during the auction. While eating, use the Bid-o-Matic as described in the previous Quibids strategy. However, don't doze off to sleep before the auction ends!

Quibids Tip-7: Never Say Die

So finally, the last in the list of to win Quibids macbook and other big-ticket items! This is very important because a lot of people just don't realize it. If you are not going to be prepared to buy the product at the retail price, you might just lose a lot of money trying. This is the risk that you should be prepared to take.

If you quit halfway, you lose the product and also all the bids that you placed till that point. This can mean a lot of hundreds of dollars. Therefore the best strategy is to stick through with bidding and trying to win.

Also, at each stage reconsider your decision of whether to use the Buy It Now feature. For example, if you have spent $1000 on bids on a Quibids Macbook, it is much better that you put in a few hundred more dollars and buy the product than lose all the $1000.

I hope these Quibids strategies help you win big on Quibids. Good luck!
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Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Top 7 Quibids Tips and Tricks

These Quibids tips and tricks will help you make the most of your bidding experience at Quibids.

If you are looking for my Quibids strategies, you should read my previous posts to see the various ways on how to win on Quibids. You can use the Volunteer's Dilemma Quibids Strategy to win smaller items, or the Waiting Game Quibids Strategy to win bigger items. You should also be well aware of the Best and Worst Times to Bid on Quibids which is probably the most important thing to know before you start your Quibids journey. You should know the power of Bid Voucher Quibids Strategy especially for the big-ticket items. You should also be aware of How to Win Against Aggressive Bidders

With this background, let me summarize all the important Quibids tips and tricks you will need on your Quibids journey.

Quibids Tips and Tricks-1: Set Realistic Goals
This might sound like Grandma's advice but I wish to include this first on my list because it is really important and often neglected. Penny auctions like Quibids can suck in a lot of your money if you are not careful. This can be addictive. No, it is not like gambling but the thrill of winning and the rush of adrenaline are all there when the timer approaches zero.

I would therefore advise you to strictly impose limits on your spending. Also, never bid on items that you don't need just because you might get them a little cheaper. This is not the right way to win at Quibids.

Quibids Tips and Tricks-2: Understand the Penny Auction Model
There is no dearth of people complaining how bids cost money and they are non-refundable if you lose. Yes, this sounds unfair but you really did not think that Quibids will give away a Macbook for $100 and pay the rest from their pockets did you?

Yes, the profits are huge. Humongous perhaps, but that's the auction model. If you do not like it, don't bid on Quibids. It is very important that you understand thoroughly how penny auctions work. No amount of Quibids tips and tricks will help you realize this if you fail to understand the model of the auction at Quibids. Here is a very quick summary, which is by no means comprehensive -
  • Timer increases each time a bid is placed. It is not exactly a countdown in the traditional sense like eBay.
  • Bids cost $0.60 per bid. You can check out my previous posts on how to get some free Quibids bids but these are still limited. You need to pay for the bids you place.
  • Bids once placed cannot be redeemed for money. If you purchase more bids and don't use it, you can always get a refund but not if you use them.
  • Yes, items do sell for 90-95% discounts but you need to pay through the bids used. The cost to you is not so much through the price of the item but through the bids that you place.
  • There is exactly one winner and everyone else loses money on an auction in the form of lost bids. Fair? I don't know!
Quibids Tips and Tricks-3: Know your Bidding Timing
The best time to bid on Quibids can help you win auctions much cheaper. However, it is not just the final cost that is different. When you bid on items during the least busy times i.e. least competitive times, you have a very strong chance of winning if you follow my winning Quibids strategies. If there is huge competition, things can get really very difficult.

If you haven't already, read my post on Best and Worst Times on Quibids and note the times when the site is least busy. An important point to remember is that it is not just about the number of people online but also the number of auctions open for bidding. Therefore it can happen that there are an awful lot of people but there are plenty of auctions for them all, so the competition tends to distribute away, especially for smaller items.

Quibids Tips and Tricks-4: Use the Buy It Now Option to Cut Risk
Quibids has the most wonderful option of Buy It Now. Using this, you can use the money that you spent towards an auction to go towards buying it at the retail price if you fail to win the auction. In fact, I think this is the most important of the list of Quibids tips and tricks that you should know and use.

Penny auctions are inherently risky but using this option you can greatly reduce the risk associated with bidding on Quibids. This is why it is all the more important that you want and like to have the item that you want to bid on.

Ask yourself this question: If I don't win the auction, am I willing to pay the market price for this item? If the answer is a big no, avoid bidding on the item. If you lose, you will lose all the bids along the way.

Quibids has a number of different auctions and I am sure you can find auctions that you really want to win.

Quibids Tips and Tricks-5: Bid Vouchers can be Useful
Bid vouchers are a great way to multiply your bids. You have a number of Quibids voucher bid auctions and you can win some of them.

So how are Quibids voucher bids good? If you win a Quibids bid voucher auction, you will be credited with the bids immediately. Suppose you spent 40 bids to win a 100 bid Quibids voucher. Effectively, you have won 60 extra bids at the site!

What if you lose? Don't worry - just use the Buy It Now option and buy the bid voucher right at the site! Read the previous Quibids Tips and Tricks point for this.

Voucher bid auctions are usually competitive. Don't expect them to be easy.

Warning: You should remember that Quibids voucher bids do not count towards the Buy It Now feature. Therefore bid voucher strategy is a double edged sword that you need to decide for yourself whether you want to invest time and money in them or not. If you are strictly bidding on the items that you want, you should try to avoid them. If not, go ahead and win a few.

Quibids Tips and Tricks-6: Get Free Quibids Bids

There are many ways to get a few free Quibids bids. These Quibids tips and tricks on finding free bids can be found on my blog, so be sure to follow this blog to keep yourself updated!

If you are new to Quibids, learn how to get free bids on registration. If you are already a member, there are many other ways in which you can get your free Quibids bids. Try out some tips on getting free Quibids bids. You also get some free Quibids bids on your Birthday.

These free bids help you on your path of winning Quibids auctions and can be very useful. For example, if you are new, there are certain beginner auctions that are only open to beginners. This way you can win auctions easily as there is less competition and newbies seldom know all the Quibids strategies needed for winning.

This is the reason I also encourage my readers to check out other penny auction sites. You get some free bids on registering and if you are lucky, you can win a small gift card using just the free bids.

Quibids Tips and Tricks-7: Big-Ticket Items are Very Different
Quibids has a number of big-ticket items like Quibids Macbook, Quibids iPad, laptops, netbooks, holiday cruises, etc. Therefore it is important that you understand the strategies to win these are very different from the ones you use to win $10 Amazon gift cards. Without appreciating this difference, you might wrongly apply the same Quibids strategy to both of them and end up losing a lot of bids.

My post on Volunteer's Dilemma Quibids strategy should be used for smaller items and occasionally for bigger items when there is reduced competition.

In addition, you should remember that the Bid-O-Matic Tool is a good resource to use in big-ticket auctions that last for a very long time. On the other hand, it is a bad idea to use this tool for smaller items, especially if you are using my Waiting Game Quibids Strategy.

Also, you should try to avoid bidding in the initial stages of a big-ticket auction as there are many naive aggressive bidders. Let them all run out of gas before you swoop in.

Quibids Tips and Tricks-8: Losing is Not an Option
If you follow this maxim, you will not lose money at Quibids. No, this is not some New Age maxim I am throwing at you. Instead, if you firmly decide that you will bid till the end i.e. till you win, you can be the winner. You will be surprised by the number of bidders who do not persist enough.

Remember to use this particular Quibids strategy only when you are sure to use the Buy It Now option of Quibids. Without this, it is best to know when to quit.

You can also get aggressive to scare away the small time Quibids bidders so you can emerge the winner. This works very well when there are very few professional Quibids bidders.

In summary, I have given my list of Top 7 Quibids Tips and Tricks. If you have something to add, be sure to add a comment. Winning on Quibids is an art and you should learn before you can apply this art. I hope this blog post was useful to achieve this goal.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

How to Win on Quibids: Part - 1

Learn how to win on Quibids before you spend money on the site. This is an extension post to my existing post on Quibids strategy-1: Volunteer's Dilemma. The purpose of this post is to make things simple and explain once more, in detail, how this works.

When deciding strategies or how to win on Quibids or any other penny auction site, it is important to consider 2 factors:
1. Economics
2. Psychology

People tend to ignore the last one, but it turns out that the psychology of the bidders plays a more important role than the economics of the situation. This is why, there is no universal Quibids strategy that will always win. However, you can maximize your chances depending on the auction at hand. Any person with some experience on Quibids or a similar penny auction site will tell you the same.

The Quibids strategy based on the Volunteer's Dilemma works because you are being aggressive. Highly aggressive. This tends to scare bidders, especially the careful ones. This is important to remember because most of the bidders at Quibids are simply looking to get lucky - place a bid and pray no one outbids them. This is ridiculous - Quibids is famous and has many people at any given time. You can easily beat most of the Quibids bidders this way by being aggressive.

When 2 people are being aggressive simultaneously, only one can win. The person who can remain tenacious longer will be the winner, as simple as that. This is how to win on Quibids - you have to hold your own against aggressive bidders. If you are looking not to waste bids, then you will end up winning almost nothing while spending a few bids on all auctions, thus losing a lot in total.

When you start out on an auction, you should make sure that you never quit. If you do, you will end up losing much more than what you bargained for. However, if your total bids exceed the price of the item, you can as well stop and use the "But it Now" option of Quibids. This is great so that your losses are limited but your profits are not.

I have a whole series on how to win on Quibids and Quibids strategies, so make sure you understand the rules of the game before going out there and winning. Good luck to all my readers!