When things are highly popular online, and there is a good chance you’ll make money from them, there will be times when certain people come along and try to scam or con the system (and people) out of their money. Con artists have become quite stealthy at this game, and will set up websites having you bid on items you will never receive. Some auctions are rigged by people attempting to drive up the price.

Scam sites only want to steal your money, so it’s best to know what you are getting yourself involved in before you actually sign up and start throwing your money around. If you really like the idea of Penny Auctions and want to play it safe, it is wise to look around and find out the best websites available for this. We cover this more in depth in our article ‘What To Look For When Choosing A Penny Auction.’

With scamming websites, you will bid, but will not receive your items. They steal your money, and regardless how many times you email them, you will never get an answer. The only good that comes from this is that the sites usually never last very long because of the quick ‘word of mouth’ and people alerting others ahead of time. Unfortunately, those protecting others have learned the hard way first.

When you encounter shill bidding, you are usually bidding against the owner of the site who is actually driving up the price of the item as you bid on it. It is a given that some auctions won’t be as popular due to the specific item; therefore, the owner risks losing money. So, in order to help themselves to a nice profit, they drive up the price of what would normally be a deal to the bidders.

It never feels good to be cheated, and if you are a victim of a scam, you should quickly alert others from taking part in the site, and also contact the hosting service that is providing the website. Chances are they will close the site given its purpose and intent.

You would think the differences between a Penny Auction and eBay would be minimal, giving the fact they are both bidding sites, and deal with many of the same items. However, there are very many differences between both of these websites, and in some aspects, the Penny Auction site looks to be a far more opportunistic way of bidding. Let’s learn why.

When it comes down to the bare-bones of bidding, the cost one would have to pay in order to bid plays a big factor in deciding if it’s worth it or not. When you bid in a Penny Auction, each bid requires you spend money. With eBay, there is no cost to place a bid. With that, eBay leads 1-0.

Next up is the items for sale on these two auction sites. When participating on Penny Auctions, you are bidding on brand new items that include the original manufacturer’s warranty. With eBay, most items you bid on are used and have no warranty whatsoever. The bidding game is tied here, 1-1.

The starting price for an item on Penny Auctions usually starts at zero dollars with absolutely no reserve. On eBay, the amount can start very high and normally involve reserve prices. The Penny Auction takes the lead, 2-1.

Because you are bidding on brand new items at discounts up to 99% on the Penny Auction site, you will have bidders from all over trying to get that deal, thus increasing competition two-fold. On the eBay site, you are usually bidding on used items with a discount that is equal to similar used items in that genre. There are usually more of these items to bid on at eBay, making bidding less competitive; however, they are used, not new. The Penny Auction is looking very good now, 3-1.

If you’re worried about sniping (a term given when a person bids on an item at the last second, winning an item you thought you won), the Penny Auction has the answer for that. When you place a bid, the time will extend, usually around 15 seconds. This keeps someone from sneaking in at the last second and snatching your item. On eBay, the time is not extended with every bid, and it is very common for an item to get bid on the last second causing you to lose out on it after hours of bidding. Penny Auction 4-1.

Of course this isn’t a true game of who is better, but hopefully this article has given you the differences between the two, so that you can judge for yourself. Both have their positives and negatives, and both allow you to get great items at great deals.