Penny Auctions are the New eBay Alternative
It is most likely you have heard about the new alternative to eBay known as Penny Auctions that enables regular people to buy famous label products at huge discounts. The wise buyers are participating in a new sales process called Penny Auctions, where bidders place bids to get unbelievable deals and save hundreds of dollars off the standard retail price of top quality items.
So how do Penny Auctions work?
A prospective bidder signs up for an account with a Penny Auction site and purchases bids to use in the auctions. The cost to buy bids differs on each Penny Auction site, and is also different for each country. For example, in the US, a bid on a particular Penny Auction site might cost 60 cents, whereas visitors from New Zealand may pay 90 cents per bid. This is due to currency exchange rates. In the end, all visitors pay approximately the same amount for each bid. For the purpose of simplicity, all figures used in this article will be in US dollars except where stated otherwise.
How much does it cost?
Penny Auctions differ from old fashioned auctions in that you do not necessarily bid what you think a particular item is worth. There are several auction formats, but generally you try to bid as late as you can in order to lead the bidding when the countdown timer runs out. The winning bidder is then able to buy the product for the Final Price of the auction, which is often hundreds or even thousands of dollars below the retail price. In some cases, you might win a product simply by placing the last bid, and have nothing else to pay to get the product, not even shipping!
Auctions start at $0.00, and each bid increases the final price by 1 cent. So an auction that gets 50 bids will have a final price of 50 cents.
Auctions have a countdown timer, usually set to start at 10 or 20 seconds, depending on the Penny Auction site involved. The timer is bumped up by 10 or 20 seconds respectively each time a bid is placed. So that on an auction that begins with 10 seconds on the clock, if that timer has run down to 4 seconds and a bid is placed, the timer will bump back up to 14 seconds, and the countdown immediately resumes from there.
The auction is done when the countdown reaches zero seconds and there are no more bids.
What happens at the close of a Penny Auction?
If you are the winning bidder of a Penny Auction, you generally have two options.
1. You can go ahead and pay the Final Price of the auction, at which point the product you bought will be shipped direct to you. In some cases, you do not need to pay anything, and your item will be shipped to you automatically;
2. OR, you can swap the item for more bids, and then go ahead and bid on another item.
Who is entitled to participate in Penny Auctions?
The specific eligibility terms of each Penny Auction site vary, but at the end of the day the criteria on each site are pretty much the same. Here are some general guidelines.
You need to be at least 18 years old and able to legally enter a contract. This is a standard rule for any online auction site. What this means is that if you are 17 years old you may not join, but once you turn 18 you may.
Only people living in approved countries may bid. Most Penny Auction websites are only viewable in the counties where participation is allowed, i.e. The USA, Europe, Australia and New Zealand plus others. For various reasons, some countries are currently excluded from most Penny Auction sites.
Every Penny Auction site has their own set of rules, so make sure you read them before signing up.
How to Stay Safe When Signing up on Penny Auction Sites.
As with any type of online auctions, it is important to know how to protect yourself when signing up to Penny Auction sites. Pick sites that absolutely guarantee that they do not use any automated bidders to swing the outcomes of auctions, and also those that do not allow their own employees and their families from bidding in auctions. It is imperative to protect yourself against scams. Sticking to the larger sites is the best way to do that.
So, next time you are considering buying some high quality products online but want to avoid eBay, consider the benefits of using Penny Auction sites, and have some fun while you save hundreds or even thousands of dollars on great products.
Michael Nunn is a former eBay user who now believes in the power of Penny Auctions. For more information on Penny Auctions, visit 2bit.co – The Source of Everything
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