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The question that many new penny auction bidders seem to ask over and over is…
How do you win more items and lose less money?
There really isn’t just one simple answer, but here are 10 tips that will help you spend less money while winning more penny auctions.
1. Bid on penny auction items that you really need – Even better, bid on buy-it-now items
Bid on items if you really need them or plan to purchase them outright at retail.
Many penny auctions provide “buy it now,” fewer offer a 100% buy it now. Make sure you know the difference before you bid or that item could cost you more than you thought it would.
There really are a few things that you know you need to buy – other things, not so much. Once you realize this you won’t bid blindly.
Becoming conscious of what you need makes spending money on penny auction bids a whole lot easier. By bidding until you buy it now you won’t step away from the computer empty handed.
When you just bid on things you need you’re less likely to have piles of boxes in your livingroom and overdue bills.
2. Keep track of your bid pack purchases – all of them
Yes, when you click send on PayPal or enter those digits from the shiny plastic card in your wallet again and again until you win, money really is coming out of your bank account. Or even worse, increasing the digits on your credit card bills. Hopefully you’re not spending more than you have. Keep track of your expenses. Purchase Quicken or try Mint.com.
3. Pay attention
Really pay attention. I’ve lost a good number of penny auctions because I got bored and distracted myself. I’ve answered e-mails. Checked out what was going on in the forum. Even just turned my head for a few seconds. Don’t take your eyes off of the auction if you’ve already invested money in it. Even if you’ve set a bid buddy/autobidder, watch the auction.
4. Make time
Don’t bid when you know you have a meeting to go to, class to attend, or a hot date. Even if you think it will only take a few minutes to win it. It won’t. Depending on what you’re bidding on you may need more than 8 hours. Trust me, I’ve been there. Done that. It’s not fun. Penny auctions may be fun, but losing you job, failing class and disappointing loved ones is not.
5. Check out multiple penny auction sites
Though many close on an almost daily basis, there are many new penny auction sites opening all the time. Since there are so many penny auctions out there many will provide bid pack promotions and discounts to get your attention.
Moving from different penny auctions will allow you to experience different sites. Plus, this will give you something to tell other bidders about about when you come back to post in our forum.
6. Buy seats
Try seat penny auctions. On these penny auctions you pay just an entry fee plus the final auction end price. Yep, there really are penny auction where you don’t even have to pay per bid.
7. Bid blind
Bid on the few penny auction sites that offer blind bidding. You won’t know who you’re bidding against, but neither will your competition. You might just win easier.
8. Take notes
Observe active auctions on the sites you bid on even if you’re not bidding. Jot down names, prices, items. Know your competition.
9. Do your homework
Research, research, research. Read everything you can about that new penny auction site. Ask us questions.
Check out who runs the site. If you use FireFox Flagfox is a great add-on that will not only show what country the penny auction site is hosted in, but whois data, malware checks, traceroutes, quick URL shortening and a few other neat features.
See if the penny auction site is listed, or even accredited by the Better Business Bureau http://bbb.org/. Encourage them to become an audited member of the Entertainment Auction Association.
10. Record the auction
Seriously, you won’t want to lose all of the money you invested in bids due to a glitch. Record penny auctions as you bid. A few free, awesome recording programs that we like: Jing, CamStudio.
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