Are penny auctions worth it?
By Interlude
@Interlude (88)
United States
June 1, 2010 3:03pm CST
I just saw an article today about penny arcades. I spent a fairly large chunk of time looking around at different places, and I actually joined one called quibids.com. Basically, they start off at $0, and you bid in increments-- $.01, $.02, or $.05, usually, until the timer runs out and the last bidder wins. You see people winning iPads for $78, or $50 gift cards for a buck. However, you have to pay for each bid you place. At quibids, it is $.60. Many places seem to charge a dollar. When you purchase bids, they come in a package deal-- such as 45 bids for $27.00, which is what I paid.
The thing is, it is very difficult to win an actual item. Many people are placing bids, so chances are you won't win. If you do, hey, you can come out with a great deal. One person today won a $50 Kohl's gift card for $5.74. That person bid 13 times, which means the amount they spent on bidding was $7.80 (two cents per bid). All in all, this was a savings of $36.46, or 73% savings, according to the site. However, I bid quite a bit myself, with a total cost of almost $22 just for bidding. Many other people bid even more than me, which means those people lost even more money.
What do you think? Is the chance of winning worth the amount it costs to actually bid? Have you ever tried any of these sites, or would you recommend any of them?
6 responses
@tomcat23 (622)
• Old Forge, Pennsylvania
8 Jun 10
It seems they have actually found a way to make more money than what the actual item is worth. The person winning the bid may have only paid a portion of the price, but think of all the money everyone else spent and got nothing. Sure it would be great to win the bid, but how do we know the winning bidder isn't associated with the site? A part of the team? I honestly haven't met anyone who has won a bid at these kinds of sites. The whole idea seems to be based on a way to make money and they are really nothing like a real auction where you only spend money if you buy the item. The person running the site could ensure that nobody ever gets the item, because the person who wins the bid could very well be part of the "team".
@Interlude (88)
• United States
22 Sep 10
It's actually a clever way of making a profit. Still, I agree-- there's no way of knowing that the people bidding aren't actually associated with the site. When I've tried bidding, people were going crazy for a gift card I was trying to get. Not ten minutes after I gave up on it, I noticed that another gift card, exactly the same as the one I had been bidding on, had practically no bids. It seems a little fishy.
@Interlude (88)
• United States
22 Sep 10
That would probably be the case. I've read about that happening with people who have dial up. Even with a cable modem, I was worried about that happening.
@puppynut (370)
• New Zealand
1 Jan 12
My husband and I have been researching two sites in particular that ship to New Zealand where we live. Bid rivals and Bid fun. We have also looked at Save Big. It seems that a lot of people feel the sites are scams because it is difficult to win, but a few people love penny auctions and have figured out how to do them well. I wonder if anyone knows anything about these sites. The main concern we have before buying in is whether the sites are indeed using robots or 'bots' to rig or 'shill' the bidding. It's difficult to tell as some people probably have 100's of bids to spend that they have won on a bid card or free bid auction. I think there is luck and experience and skill factors involved in being successful at winning bids. Some people are more concerned with what the sites are making but do we question casinos about what they make or other legitimate companies about what they make. It does seem to prey on people who rush in without thinking or understanding the system, but most of the information is there if you look. Hope it worked out for you.
@tvdsoccer (63)
• United States
16 Aug 10
yes it does, i have bough many products with 90% savings... great stuff.. next step would be a car. go to my website of my profile, there is a link to the best penny auction site ever.. it's based from america. did you all know that this site also give you free bids... i like that. sometime you can buy stuff with out spendin a dime of your on on bids..
@Cherish2004 (183)
• United States
3 Jun 10
Many around the State are very cheap about their stuff and money. They would try cheap games to have fun to have something to do when they get bored. I think it would be a good idea to have. Im for it in order cheaper stuff and it can go the long way in time with your money and the stuff you have gotten
@Christinelle (396)
• Greece
30 Sep 10
I've tried Bidster and it was obviously a scam. The usernames of the competitors were ALL German (I don't live in Germany or anything) and looked like they're made up. I didn't lose any money because I used a paysafe card that I won online and was worth $50. I spent $50 and 2 hours trying to win something but with no luck. I believe that most of the auctions are rigged, in the sense that they only occasionally allow real users to win and most of the time they use bots to make bids higher. I won't use such sites ever again.
