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Has anyone used those bid sites?

PostPosted: Mon May 23, 2011 10:52 pm
by merchoarder
I know, not a very descriptive title but I mean the ones where you buy x amounts of bids for x amounts of dollars. Beezid is one that is advertised on TV. Kinda bored tonight and was surfing around and saw a link to bidzillion linked on Coinflation. They actually have a gold/silver category. Looks like Credit Suisse 5 gram gold bars and the 4 toz "$100 bill" bars were all they had listed. Perhaps a chance to pick up some nice bullion really cheap? I really have no idea how these sites work but call me intrigued. Was wondering if anyone had any experience with these sites. I'm sure there are a ton of them out there. Any input would be nice. I may just take the plunge and of course I would post results. Maybe two more beers before I lose all skepticism and say what the H :lol:

Edit: Penny auctions, I think they are called, reserching now

Re: Has anyone used those bid sites?

PostPosted: Mon May 23, 2011 11:51 pm
by merchoarder
I "invested" $15 for "research." Have a strong feeling I should have just bought a few dimes on the bay :D Who knows, maybe I'll get lucky!

Re: Has anyone used those bid sites?

PostPosted: Tue May 24, 2011 12:28 am
by merchoarder
OK, results: So bidzillion is the site I threw 15 bucks at because they had gold/silver. $15 is the cheapest bid package that they offer. This bought me 20 bids. So 75 cents per bid. The more bids you buy, the cheaper they are, down to .50 a bid if you buy a lot. There are different timers on different auctions from 12 secs. to 20 secs. As an auction nears its end, every bid resets the clock to 12, 15, 20 secs., etc. Each bid is a one cent increment. The auction I was participating in was a 4 troy oz. bar with a 250 bids as well. The 250 bid package costs $150. This can get a little confusing so I'm just gonna forget about the bid package for this "learning experience."
I was watching the clock pretty close and around two seconds I would bid if no one else had. I think I bid five or six times, not sure and I can't find anywhere on the site that tells me how many bids I have left :x Anywho, it sold for $9.98 and I tried to bid but apparently was a little slow. So, a hell of a deal for 4 oz. After some quick math seems like win win. $9.98=998 "bids" 998 x .50 (the lowest a bid costs)= $499.
That is my crash course on "penny auction." I'm pretty sure I have around 10 bids left but no more PM's until tomorrow night. I'll probably be there and will let you know but please, if anyone would like to contribute it would be awesome.

Re: Has anyone used those bid sites?

PostPosted: Tue May 24, 2011 9:25 am
by lakehouse
I've looked into some of these. You are right on the win for the site but i was never able to see where I could "win" anything after costs. The cheap way to experiment and learn is to watch some auctions and simulate when you'd have bid (I'd have started bidding at x and stopped at y, and see how many bids you'd have used and what you'd have "saved"). The "best" deals I saw was on some of the gift cards going for about 15-20 percent off on average (if you needed/used that store). Good luck

Re: Has anyone used those bid sites?

PostPosted: Tue May 24, 2011 9:25 am
by lakehouse
I've looked into some of these. You are right on the win for the site but i was never able to see where I could "win" anything after costs. The cheap way to experiment and learn is to watch some auctions and simulate when you'd have bid (I'd have started bidding at x and stopped at y, and see how many bids you'd have used and what you'd have "saved"). The "best" deals I saw was on some of the gift cards going for about 15-20 percent off on average (if you needed/used that store). Good luck

Re: Has anyone used those bid sites?

PostPosted: Tue May 24, 2011 10:34 am
by justoneguy
I watched an Ipad sell for $219.
thats 21, 000 bids at .50 each
they made over $10,000 on that 1 auction.
not for me

Re: Has anyone used those bid sites?

PostPosted: Tue May 24, 2011 11:21 pm
by OtusLotus
What does it mean..."If nobody else bids, you're a WINNER or you can buy the product"?

Re: Has anyone used those bid sites?

PostPosted: Wed May 25, 2011 12:05 am
by beauanderos
I've looked at these sites, and there are few bargains once you calculate the cost of your bids. You would have to come in right at the end of the bidding process to have a chance without spending too much on the various packages. It's a killer deal for the site... makes you think you could get a bargain, but all the bid packages are actually what's buying the goods. I also think that they have shill bidding (an auto bid a few seconds before it can "close") to keep the auction going and run up the price. Spend some time watching on hot items and notice how often particular bidders are placing bids, then disappear, then reappear later with another package.

Re: Has anyone used those bid sites?

PostPosted: Wed May 25, 2011 2:25 am
by HoardCopperByTheTon
Basically a scam. All the money is made by selling you bids that never win. :mrgreen:

Re: Has anyone used those bid sites?

PostPosted: Wed May 25, 2011 3:30 am
by Tourney64
Anyone sell stuff thru upillar.com?