ajzepp Posted December 26, 2010 Share Posted December 26, 2010 A friend of mine told me about this concept a few weeks ago, and I decided to look into it. I was hearing about iPads and flat screen tvs going for like $20, which obviously sounded ridiculous so I wanted to find out what was going on. As it turns out, it's a very controversial means of auctioning off items, but for those who are smart about how they go about their business it can make for some pretty nice buying opportunities. The site that I've been playing around with is www.quibids.com and so far it's paid off. Basically what happens is you pre-purchase bids for $.60 each, and then find the auction item you wish to bid on. As the auction progresses, every time a bid is placed the price of the item goes up by $.01. When someone bids, the timer is reset for another 20sec, and it continues until no further bids are placed and there is a winner. Once you think about all this, three things are clear: 1) the site can make a ton of money, often times receiving many times what an item is really worth, 2) the consumer can get some fantastic deals if they're smart and practice restraint, and 3) the consumer can throw a lot of money down the drain by bidding multiple times on items they don't win. I've tried to be smart about it, and so far my out of pocket expense has been about $50-60. For that expenditure, here is what I've won thus far: - $15 Home Depot gift card (received) - $25 Home Depot gift card (received) - Cuisinart mini-prep food processor (received) - 14 pc Pyrex set (shipping soon) - Dirt Devil upright bagless vacuum (shipping soon) Thus far, I've won about $175-200 in merchandise and paid about a quarter of that. I pretty much burned through my first $20 trying to get a feel for how things worked, or I'd have spent even less. The Dirt Devil is my best win so far, having won it for $.13 and $10.99 shipping. Have any of you guys ever heard of this, or other similar sites? Although I've found a way to utilize it to my advantage, I don't necessarily recommend that others spend money here. If you do play around with it, I highly recommend you do your research and be smart about it, cause the potential for throwing a way a lot of money is there for sure. It's much more like gambling than shopping, IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Poojer Posted December 26, 2010 Share Posted December 26, 2010 can you set it up to automatically bid for you up to a certain amount or do you phyiscally have to re-bid durning that 20 second interval? A friend of mine told me about this concept a few weeks ago, and I decided to look into it. I was hearing about iPads and flat screen tvs going for like $20, which obviously sounded ridiculous so I wanted to find out what was going on. As it turns out, it's a very controversial means of auctioning off items, but for those who are smart about how they go about their business it can make for some pretty nice buying opportunities. The site that I've been playing around with is www.quibids.com and so far it's paid off. Basically what happens is you pre-purchase bids for $.60 each, and then find the auction item you wish to bid on. As the auction progresses, every time a bid is placed the price of the item goes up by $.01. When someone bids, the timer is reset for another 20sec, and it continues until no further bids are placed and there is a winner. Once you think about all this, three things are clear: 1) the site can make a ton of money, often times receiving many times what an item is really worth, 2) the consumer can get some fantastic deals if they're smart and practice restraint, and 3) the consumer can throw a lot of money down the drain by bidding multiple times on items they don't win. I've tried to be smart about it, and so far my out of pocket expense has been about $50-60. For that expenditure, here is what I've won thus far: - $15 Home Depot gift card (received) - $25 Home Depot gift card (received) - Cuisinart mini-prep food processor (received) - 14 pc Pyrex set (shipping soon) - Dirt Devil upright bagless vacuum (shipping soon) Thus far, I've won about $175-200 in merchandise and paid about a quarter of that. I pretty much burned through my first $20 trying to get a feel for how things worked, or I'd have spent even less. The Dirt Devil is my best win so far, having won it for $.13 and $10.99 shipping. Have any of you guys ever heard of this, or other similar sites? Although I've found a way to utilize it to my advantage, I don't necessarily recommend that others spend money here. If you do play around with it, I highly recommend you do your research and be smart about it, cause the potential for throwing a way a lot of money is there for sure. It's much more like gambling than shopping, IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chilly Posted December 26, 2010 Share Posted December 26, 2010 One of the other ways these companies make money is by putting an expiration date on bid purchases. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted December 26, 2010 Share Posted December 26, 2010 A friend of mine told me about this concept a few weeks ago, and I decided to look into it. I was hearing about iPads and flat screen tvs going for like $20, which obviously sounded ridiculous so I wanted to find out what was going on. As it turns out, it's a very controversial means of auctioning off items, but for those who are smart about how they go about their business it can make for some pretty nice buying opportunities. The site that I've been playing around with is www.quibids.com and so far it's paid off. Basically what happens is you pre-purchase bids for $.60 each, and then find the auction item you wish to bid on. As the auction progresses, every time a bid is placed the price of the item goes up by $.01. When someone bids, the timer is reset for another 20sec, and it continues until no further bids are placed and there is a winner. Once you think about all this, three things are clear: 1) the site can make a ton of money, often times receiving many times what an item is really worth, 2) the consumer can get some fantastic deals if they're smart and practice restraint, and 3) the consumer can throw a lot of money down the drain by bidding multiple times on items they don't win. I've tried to be smart about it, and so far my out of pocket expense has been about $50-60. For that expenditure, here is what I've won thus far: - $15 Home Depot gift card (received) - $25 Home Depot gift card (received) - Cuisinart mini-prep food processor (received) - 14 pc Pyrex set (shipping soon) - Dirt Devil upright bagless vacuum (shipping soon) Thus far, I've won about $175-200 in merchandise and paid about a quarter of that. I pretty much burned through my first $20 trying to get a feel for how things worked, or I'd have spent even less. The Dirt Devil is my best win so far, having won it for $.13 and $10.99 shipping. Have any of you guys ever heard of this, or other similar sites? Although I've found a way to utilize it to my advantage, I don't necessarily recommend that others spend money here. If you do play around with it, I highly recommend you do your research and be smart about it, cause the potential for throwing a way a lot of money is there for sure. It's much more like gambling than shopping, IMO. I've heard of them, and looked in to some. It's tough to find a reputable one, as it's a very easy process to scam (and lots of those penny auctions are scams) - since they make their money off the bids, not the merchandise, they have a vested interest in making you make as many bids as possible, so will frequently bid against you simply to make you rebid (knowing you will, because "It's only another penny.") Like you said, it's more like gambling than shopping, in that it taps the same basic skewed risk/reward psychology that makes gambling so appealing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajzepp Posted December 26, 2010 Author Share Posted December 26, 2010 I've heard of them, and looked in to some. It's tough to find a reputable one, as it's a very easy process to scam (and lots of those penny auctions are scams) - since they make their money off the bids, not the merchandise, they have a vested interest in making you make as many bids as possible, so will frequently bid against you simply to make you rebid (knowing you will, because "It's only another penny.") Like you said, it's more like gambling than shopping, in that it taps the same basic skewed risk/reward psychology that makes gambling so appealing. I read a lot of the feedback left in consumer forums and a lot of people are pissed off at their experience. That almost deterred me until I read more about their account of the site. When I was trying to figure things out, my plan was to stay well away from the "sexy", bigger ticket items. I had some needs for some average, less exciting things like a vacuum and cookware, lol, and the plan has paid off. In my opinion, people should only bid on the iPads and the 55" televisions when they are in the market for that item anyway and prepared to pay retail. That way, if they end up wasting a bunch of money on bids and lose out on the item, the money they invested toward the item can be deducted from the retail price, with the consumer paying the remaining balance. That way, it's a win/win scenario: There is a chance you'll pay retail for the item, but you're giving yourself a chance to "win" it at a pretty substantial discount. People who abuse that are going to lose a crapload of money, and I think those folks who are really disillusioned by this sort of auction. Thankfully, I hate to lose money and have absolutely zero tendency toward chasing losses lol. can you set it up to automatically bid for you up to a certain amount or do you phyiscally have to re-bid durning that 20 second interval? Yes, they do have a form of proxy bidding called "bid-o-matic", but I admit I don't know much about it's usefulness. It seems to be used more often on the larger ticket items from what I've seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajzepp Posted December 27, 2010 Author Share Posted December 27, 2010 Thought I'd make a quick update... Over the weekend I won a Sobakawa pillow for $.89 and about six bids ($3.60), so including shipping it cost me about $9 for a $35-40 pillow that I was wanting to buy anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebug Posted December 27, 2010 Share Posted December 27, 2010 Thought I'd make a quick update... Over the weekend I won a Sobakawa pillow for $.89 and about six bids ($3.60), so including shipping it cost me about $9 for a $35-40 pillow that I was wanting to buy anyway. That's great, but how much will it cost you to get your man-card back? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buffalomike Posted December 27, 2010 Share Posted December 27, 2010 Yeah cause manly men pay full price for their pillows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajzepp Posted December 27, 2010 Author Share Posted December 27, 2010 That's great, but how much will it cost you to get your man-card back? lol, can't help it...I like comfortable pillows Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coloradobillsfan Posted December 27, 2010 Share Posted December 27, 2010 and what do you get when we use your referral link to sign up? http://www.quibids.com/?refer=3379232 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajzepp Posted December 27, 2010 Author Share Posted December 27, 2010 (edited) and what do you get when we use your referral link to sign up? http://www.quibids.com/?refer=3379232 One BEEEELION dollars! Here you go...straight from the site: Refer A Friend Tell your friends about QuiBids and receive 25 Voucher Bids! This is a completely free way to receive bids that can be used on any auction! If your friend signs up and buys a Bid Pack, we will give you 25 Voucher Bids! Simply give your friends this link: http://www.quibids.com/?refer=3379232 or you can send them an e-mail on the right with our special form! Edited December 27, 2010 by ajzepp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted December 27, 2010 Share Posted December 27, 2010 Yeah cause manly men pay full price for their pillows. Manly men use cinder blocks. Only Donte Whitner uses a Sobakawa pillow...so cut his ass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajzepp Posted December 27, 2010 Author Share Posted December 27, 2010 Manly men use cinder blocks. Only Donte Whitner uses a Sobakawa pillow...so cut his ass. Donte should find out what Ed Reed is sleeping on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coloradobillsfan Posted December 27, 2010 Share Posted December 27, 2010 apologies... yes im having a glass half empty day, but i can't stand 'prey on the lowest common denominator' "auction" sites like this and especially that terribly overmarketed 'skoreit'. the commercials state "joeblow just bought a $100 ipod for five dollars total cost to the buyer" - they actually say those words when that is not true at all. if you add up the 'bid costs' the buyer paid more, and also everyone who makes a bid and loses pays for those bids too and the 'auction' site makes out like a bandit. your posting of a referral link for this on my favorite bills forum kinda struck a nerve with me, but if this is okay with the mods then it's okay with me too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted December 27, 2010 Share Posted December 27, 2010 Donte should find out what Ed Reed is sleeping on A pillow stuffed with Chuck Norris' beard clippings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramius Posted December 27, 2010 Share Posted December 27, 2010 A pillow stuffed with Chuck Norris' beard clippings. No, thats what Jairus Byrd sleeps on. And he had 9 INTs last season, so he's awesome this year, no matter what you see on the field. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajzepp Posted December 27, 2010 Author Share Posted December 27, 2010 apologies... yes im having a glass half empty day, but i can't stand 'prey on the lowest common denominator' "auction" sites like this and especially that terribly overmarketed 'skoreit'. the commercials state "joeblow just bought a $100 ipod for five dollars total cost to the buyer" - they actually say those words when that is not true at all. if you add up the 'bid costs' the buyer paid more, and also everyone who makes a bid and loses pays for those bids too and the 'auction' site makes out like a bandit. your posting of a referral link for this on my favorite bills forum kinda struck a nerve with me, but if this is okay with the mods then it's okay with me too I understand...that's why I said in the original post that I"m not necessarily recommending the site. They sent me an email with a link for referring friends, and that's something people have done on TBD for as long as I can remember...everything from GoalLineBlitz to Netflix. Whether you sign up with the site directly or click on the link in my post, the sign-up process is the same...they just give the referring party a few extra bids to play around with for mentioning the site to others shoudl they decide to participate. Didn't see any harm in that, but if you found it offensive then I apologize. A pillow stuffed with Chuck Norris' beard clippings. Damn right No, thats what Jairus Byrd sleeps on. And he had 9 INTs last season, so he's awesome this year, no matter what you see on the field. I don't know why, but I never get tired of seeing debates from one thread spill over into other threads like they're some sort of tornado, haphazzardly making its way from locale to locale as it sees fit, lol. It's like those movies where two people are in a brawl, and then they cut from scene to scene as it carries on from the bar, to the street, to the neighbors house, etc. It's almost like a game sometimes, cause I'll have not been on the board that day, but someone will make some obscure remark that seemingly makes no sense to me at all. Then I get caught up with the posts of the day and find that some new topic has been spilling over into almost every other thread. The other day, I was reading through my Foreman grill thread when Jim in Anchorage said something about grilling nothing but plain lentils. I was like, "wtf"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted December 27, 2010 Share Posted December 27, 2010 I don't know why, but I never get tired of seeing debates from one thread spill over into other threads like they're some sort of tornado, haphazzardly making its way from locale to locale as it sees fit, lol. It's like those movies where two people are in a brawl, and then they cut from scene to scene as it carries on from the bar, to the street, to the neighbors house, etc. "Spilling over"? Nothing's spilling over. Everything's about Donte Whitner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajzepp Posted December 27, 2010 Author Share Posted December 27, 2010 "Spilling over"? Nothing's spilling over. Everything's about Donte Whitner. Maybe we need to call the front office and have his position listing changed from SS to UB for "ubiquitous"! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WVUFootball29 Posted December 27, 2010 Share Posted December 27, 2010 Love quibids have had a great experience with them and have found some really good deals. Once you learn what you are doing you can really get some great deals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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