If your plan is to spend a little money in hopes of getting a deal for an item you wouldn’t have purchased at retail price, then the Penny Auction is for you. You just have to make sure that you keep in mind that even though you buy bids, you are not guaranteed to have the winning bid in the end. So something you end up putting money into, you may just not get anything in return. If your goal is to win a highly expensive item for less, and then turn around and sell it for more elsewhere, then you’re in luck; you can do that too.

Now that you have the plans to buy and/or make money from the Penny Auction, you have to learn what you should look for when it comes time to choose the right website for you. Before we dive into that, you should be aware of the scam sites that exist. Because of the popularity of the business, scam sites have been on the rapid incline. Owners will open a site, advertise sale items and wait. You come along, bid on the item, and once you become lucky and win; you turn out unlucky and never receive the item you though you won.

Other sites, called ‘shill sites’, are run by corrupt auctioneers who bid on their own items. They do this when some products aren’t selling. When you bid on it, the auctioneer will bid also, making the price rise every time you try to bid again. While these types of scam sites get reported quickly, it is still a good idea to watch out before you get caught up in the excitement of bidding.

Now that you know what scams to look for, here a few other things to look for:

Make sure the Penny Auction delivers to your country. The last thing you want is to win your item and find out it doesn’t ship to your country. You can find more information on that on the given website you visit.

Keep in mind of the items you wish to purchase, whether it is for you or for an attempt to resell for profit. The site should have the products you want, and if not, it would be best to find the site that ‘delivers the goods’, pun intended.

Features are a big plus on Penny Auction sites, so the site you choose should have plenty of them. Most of them offer automatic bidding, or various other auction styles to choose from. These would all be listed on the website in the ‘Auction Details’ section.

A quick read of the Terms and Agreement always helps, and you should do so to avoid any mishap or circumstance that rears its ugly head in the future. Knowing the rules and guidelines will make the site you frequent a much better experience overall.

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.

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.

It could be that need an extra blender for the kitchen, or a new flat-screen television may just be what your living room is missing. Bidding on Penny Auction sites are almost a sure-fire way of getting what you want, without actually spending too much on it. Of course, you are bidding against people who want the same items, and that is where bidding becomes a challenge –turned habit.

To avoid getting caught up in the mishaps of bidding woes and failures, one of our Featured Penny Auction sites, GoBid, has some tips for you when you are sitting down to place that very important bid.

Set Limits

Before entering the auction, you should set a limit on how much you’re willing to spend on a particular item. This amount should include the final amount and any shipping costs as well. Even an online auction has to be approached with a solid plan ahead of time so you don’t spend more than you expected. In some cases, you might continue to bid on an item before you actually realize that you’ve won it and are spending more money than its retail cost.

Check the Item

Continue to check the item, and make sure you keep track of how many times you’ve actually bid on it. There is normally an Auction Price calculator you can use to tally up the total cost of bids plus the auction price. This will help you compare it to the retail price and keep you from going over.

Walk Away

If all else fails, just walk away. Don’t let ‘auction fever’ get the best of you. If you start to go over your limited budget, or you become too competitive with another bidder, it’s never a bad idea to just leave the bid all together. Most items will be offered again, so just keep that in mind. Never worry about losing an auction. It’s not like a game and people are keeping score of your wins and losses. If you do happen to lose, just try to improve your strategy for the next time around.

The real answer lies in the very fabric of what a Penny Auction truly is, and how it plans to profit as a business selling products well under suggested retail prices. It is this that raises the legitimacy of the auction. What a participant is actually doing is bidding a small amount for an opening bid. After that, the amount and time for the item increases slightly. So your next bid will end up being a little more than the opening bid for the item. Understand? So the auctioneer can actually profit from selling an item lower than normal because of the increases in bids overtime.

Bidrodeo, one of the longest running Penny Auction websites available, is known for dealing in honest and reliable auctions. However, this isn’t the case with some. Scamming sites have popped up around the clock, trying to trick participants out of their money. They will set up a website, get your bids, and once time expires, take your money and you will never receive the item you thought you were bidding on. The only thing you can do is email them, but you will never get a reply. The best thing to do if this happens, is alert people of the scamming site, and report it to the webhost.

Some scamming websites are known as ‘shill’ sites. These sites are trickier to spot, because the auctioneer actually takes an active role as a participant in their own auction. So as you casually bid on an item, the auctioneer comes in and bids on it as well, hoping to raise the price more. After all, higher price equals more profit for them. The best way to avoid from making the mistake of bidding against the owner is to check the bids often, and see how many times a certain individual is bidding.

While there are risks with everything you do online, there are a few Penny Auctions out there that are still in business. It is relatively new, having only been started in Europe in 2009. Once you know what to look for, and how to go about it, you will find yourself right at home in one of these addictive auction sites. Just remember, even if it is a legal penny auction site, there are still chances you will lose some of the bids. Nothing is guaranteed. Happy bidding!

Most people, whom invest time and money in online auctions, do so in hopes of getting a better deal than buying the item for retail. In these cases, Penny Auctions work well for that, and there is little risk involved (that is if the website is legit, but more on that later). The standard auction usually starts an item out at zero dollars, and every bid after it increases slightly, usually a penny. Every time a bid is placed, time is allocated to the auction. This does two things: Gives the item more time for people to bid, and keeps people from placing a last second bid and snatching your winning bid.

The scamming sites are normally created in order to take the money you spend on bidding, making sure you never receive any item in return. Other sites, known as shill sites, will have the owner actually placing bids on their items in hopes of raising the price, thus making more profit. While these sites are usually reported fairly quickly, new ones pop up every day so it’s best to review sites you come across before you actually invest your money in them.

It is not a guarantee you will make money, or even win the bid in order to make that money. You are competing with other participants bidding on the exact same item as you, and this is where the real test of your patience and willpower come into effect. You can actually lose money by bidding on a lot of items, because you end up losing the auction to people willing to spend more than you. Your budget is the key to the plans of making money with online auctions.

The more bids you are willing to purchase, the better the discount will be for them. When it comes to making a profit, buying in bulk is the way to go. If your budget is high, then buy many. Just remember that what you put in may not come out as expected. There are ways to make the money; you just have to make sure you don’t spend more than can bring in. If you bid on higher priced items, the greater the chance you have to win fewer bids.

Once you learn what site is legit and worthy of your time, the object turns from bidding to profit. The best way to take advantage of these Penny Auctions is to bid on fairly prized item, such as a television, win the bid, and then turn around and sell it for more on another auction site like eBay. Because the Penny Auction is where you can buy brand new retail items for discounts up to 99 percent, selling it for more on a site dedicated to used items like eBay is where the profit secret lies.

No, wait a minute. Let’s focus on this a little more, shall we? Penny Auctions are more than just simple bidding. They are auctions for people looking to get anything from a television, game console, gift cards and many more retail items for much lower than suggested retail prices. There are several bidding websites one can go to and try out, and most have the same features offered elsewhere.

When looking at a Penny Auction site for the first time, you will have to know what the different kinds of auctions they have available. These include:

• Penny Auctions: The bid starts at zero dollars and increases per each bid.

• View Price Auctions: The price is hidden, and you have to pay a fee in order to view the current price.

• Reverse Auctions: The item starts at retail price and decreases per bid.

• Lowest Unique Bid Auctions: Participant with the lowest unique bid wins the item.

• Seat Auctions: You must purchase a seat before you are allowed to bid on an item.

As with most of these auctions, they are timed, and once you place a bid, more time is allocated to the auctioned item. They also have expiration dates, so it is possible that no one bids on an item, and it is removed from the auction area.

In case you are familiar with other bidding sites, and try to get your last bid in moments before the time elapses, the auction time is extended by about 15 seconds when a new bid is given. This way, no one will feel cheated out of a bid they placed near the end. The winner is the person who places the bid once the time has run out. Once you win your first item in a Penny Auction, you will have to pay the final auction price, plus any additional costs for shipping and handling.

Listed below are the secrets to your success while bidding in a Penny Auction. Once you read this, grab your favorite beverage, set your budget and get ready to win that prize!

1. Prepare your budget. While it’s not a good idea to spend your life’s savings on a bid, it’s also unlikely that you will win anything of great value for only two or three dollars. The website is setup to make you think it’s easy to win and that you will win with hardly any money involved. That is because they want you to sign up so they can make money. The truth is, there is a lot of patience you will need, and timed strategy you will have to create in order to win the big money prizes.

2. Since bidding at the auction is almost like a game, you should be a spectator before rushing into the actual lineup. If you check out how it’s done first; how each bidder reacts when the price increases, which items are more sought after, then you will begin to see strategies unfold before your eyes, and you can adopt those strategies with your own.

3. Before you enter the auction, be fully informed of the bidding process, and what the actual retail cost of the item is. You don’t want to bid more than the item is worth just because you’re addicted to bidding against someone else. Take your time, and study as you go.

4. Look around at multiple auction sites, and don’t allow yourself to get caught up in only one. Your chances of winning will increase with the more you visit, and you won’t risk the ‘bad luck’ syndrome wondering why it is you can’t win at the auction. You will find yourself becoming so estranged to the site; you will forget there are others that have a higher probability of winning.

5. When bidding on an item you really want, there are chances other people will want the same thing. Your chance of winning dramatically decreases when more people are bidding on an item. If you want to increase your chance of winning a flat screen television, you have to bid high and often. Bid on less expensive items if you want a higher chance to win. Also, if you haven’t won in a while, doing this will help boost your confidence to go after the big prizes again.

6. Once you are prepared to bid, make sure you have purchased enough bids to last the entire auction. If you are engaged in an ongoing bid with others, chances are that if you have to buy more bids, the item will already have been won by someone else.

7. Plan to spend a while learning how the site works, and read over the Terms and Agreement so you know what you’re getting involved in. Find out if you win, does the site deliver to your country. You never want to win and find out you can’t even receive your prize.

8. Don’t be afraid to walk away from a lost cause. If you know your chance of winning has passed you by, don’t keep bidding just because of the excitement of bidding. Losing a bid never counts against you, so keep that in mind.

9. If the site has a special deal, take that advantage and purchase those bids. The goal is not only to win the item, but to spend as little as possible in order to do so.

10. Last, but not least, make sure the website is legit before you bid. Read reviews, or talk with others who have experience bidding on that site. There is always looking to scam you, so be aware. If you read over these tips, you should be well on your way to winning your first bid and building a good winning streak.

In a standard Penny Auction, the price for an item begins at zero dollars, and will normally increase by a penny with each person bidding. This does not mean you can’t bid more per bid, because each bid will vary depending on the various penny auction sites out there. At one of our Featured Penny Auction websites, GoBid, each bid costs 95 cents, and will raise by one cent every bid thereafter.

In most auctions, the bidders are required to pay a non-refundable fee, and those bids can then be spent on the auction. With each bid, it lowers the value or the prize. The last bidder who places the bid will win the prize. Once the auction is through, the auctioneer will collect the final costs of the item, along with the money that was gathered by the selling bids.

There are several types of Penny Auctions, including the standard Penny Auction (written mostly about in this article), the View Price Auction (a fee must be paid in order to see the current price), The Reverse Auction (price starts close to retail value and decreases with each bid), the Lowest Unique Bid Auction (the person with the lowest unique bid wins), and the Seat Auction (one must purchase a seat in the auction before they can bid on the prize).

Because these auctions are a fun and addictive way to win prizes, some websites are purposely created to steal your money. These scam and shill websites are set in place to con people out of their money, either by purposely raising the price as you bid, or simply taking your money and never sending you the winning prize. While there are many good Penny Auctions websites available that are legit, you will have to be wary and mindful of the scammers that may still be out there.

Below, you will find many terms associated with a Penny Auction website, and detailed information about that topic. Each feature and term is alphabetized for your convenience.

Auto Bidder – This is a commonly found feature on various Penny Auction websites that allow automatic bidding. It is setup for you to enter your total budget, and in what increments you plan on bidding. The main reason for this feature is to keep you in the auction even if you are unable to actively participate in it yourself. Something always comes up, so if you need to leave for a while, you can be sure the Auto Bidder will continue your bid. It can also spend your money quickly, so it’s best to read how to set it up properly.

Beginner Auctions – Because most people have been bidding long before you, this feature is handy for those wanting to learn the system without the risk of being shamed by a seasoned veteran. Overly aggressive bidders can ruin a good auction experience for someone new, and in a beginner auction, it allows you to learn the system and how to bid properly before going against the bigger crowd.

Buy It Now – With some Penny Auction sites, you are given the option to purchase an item before the actual auction expiration. It may appeal to you, but it is usually offered at retail price, so you won’t necessarily be walking away with a deal. Sometimes, you are allowed to use your lost bids in order to reduce the overall price.

Charity – If you want to give to a charity through your active bidding, some auction sites will provide that option. Reading through the site’s terms and conditions will give you all the relevant information, from what charities are offered, and how much of a percentage you are able to donate.

Free Bids – Free bids are an easy way for the website to attract new visitors. When participating in a free bid, you don’t have to purchase any bids, but in most cases you have to use those free bids within a certain time period. Free bids are also a nice way to go ahead and jump in and try to win an item, without the risk of losing more money you would with other bids.

Free Shipping – When it comes to shipping costs, most sites will charge them. However, a few sites will offer free shipping, which comes in handy if you win larger, more expensive items. Not only will you be paying the final cost, including the bids you used in the auction, but you will also be paying for shipping and handling. It will be a good idea to read through the terms and conditions for more information on the given auction site of your choosing.

Trade Items For Bids – An interesting feature some auction sites give is the ability to trade in an item you won for bids. If you win a 200 dollar item and decide you don’t want it, you can trade the item in for retail price, and receive 200 dollars in bids to use towards your next auction. This is a great feature, and should be looked at closely while reading the terms and conditions on the website.

Use Lost Bids – Because this feature varies from site to site, it is best to read over the terms and conditions to better understand what it entails. In most cases, the Use Lost Bids feature allows the user to use bids in a losing auction towards the retail price of an item he/she wishes to purchase. Sometimes, you will be allowed to use the lost bids toward the price of the next auction item.

Win Limit – To keep the auctions fair, some sites incorporate a win limit feature that keeps some overly aggressive bidders from winning more items than others. It can be a certain amount of wins per a number of days. This keeps the auctions steady, and ensures people who rarely win have a fair opportunity to win an item as well. Some aggressive and experienced participants can ruin an auction for some people, thus the website loses more participants than it gains. This win limit helps keep the balance.

*Below, you will find details about specific types of auctions and what they entail. Each auction is alphabetized for your convenience.

Lowest Unique Bid Auction – This type of auction allows the user with the lowest unique bid to win. An example of this would be:
2 users bid – 5 cents
1 user bids – 7 cents
4 users bid – 3 cents
The user with lowest unique bid wins the auction. Because there is only one user who bid 7 cents, they win the auction because it was the lowest unique bid available.

Penny Auction – This is the typical auction people participate in. The bid usually starts at zero dollars, and from there, increases incrementally by a penny or more. Each new bid increases the time allotted, giving more people a chance to bid in the last seconds. This also allows the auctioneer the chance to make more profit in the end.

Reverse Auction – This auction starts an item off at retail price, and each bid reduces the overall cost. However, if you wish, you can purchase the item at the current price if you find that it is a good deal.

Seat Auction – The only way you can participate in a Seat Auction is if you purchase a seat first. These auctions usually offer bigger prizes, such as cars, real estate and more.

View Price Auction – With this auction, the current price is hidden from view. In order to see the price, you must pay a fee. Each time you wish to view the price, a new fee will have to be paid.

*Below, you will find topics of common interest including costs, payments and shipping. Each topic is alphabetized for your convenience.

Cost Per Bid – In order to bid in a Penny Auction, you first must buy bids. Each auction you wish to bid in costs money. There are many sites that offer discounts if you purchase a higher cost bid pack, which may significantly lower your cost per bid. If you check with the site’s terms and conditions, you will understand how that site works with bid costs.

Free Bids at Join – This is a common method for Penny Auction sites to attract new visitors. Free bids are exactly that, free, and cost no money in order to begin bidding. The free bids usually expire after a given amount of days, so you will have to use them soon.

Monthly Visitors – This is the number of members or visitors a Penny Auction site has currently. This helps keep you aware of the amount of people you may be bidding against, which drastically reduces your chances of winning a particular item. The less attractive an item is, the better your chances are of winning; however, most people bid on items of great importance, thus knowing the amount of people bidding is crucial to a good auction.

Payment Method – Because Penny Auction sites are about making money, they usually accept most major credit cards, even PayPal. The best way to find out if the site accepts your payment method is to check with the terms and conditions of the website.

Ship To Country – The most important thing you can possibly do before bidding on an item is to check whether or not the site can deliver to your country. Before spending money on an item you will never receive, check if your country is on the list. If not, it would be wise to find another auction site.

Site Name – If you are ten pages within the auction site and quickly want to return to the home page, clicking on the site name at the top will do so.

Site URL – By clicking the URL link, you will be automatically sent to the website’s address.

The terms and conditions of the website is an important section to read through, and you should do so thoroughly. It will answer any questions you may have, and keep you from getting headaches later if a circumstance should arise.