Penny Auction Site, SwipeBid, the Pros & Cons

Yes, it is true that people who want to bid on an item does so one cent at a time. The merchandise, unlike other auction sites, is all brand new. But here is the downside to the site. No one can bid on items unless they first purchase “bids.” Think of “bids” like “tokens.” So before anyone can participate in the site’s auctions, a “bid pack” has to first be purchased.

But even before anyone can purchase a bid pack, he or she must first register on the site. Like most registration sites, the vendor asks for a user name and a password. Once those are established, then it is time to purchase “bids” before being able to participate in an auction.

Purchasing bids can only be done through use of a credit card such as Visa, which is the only credit card the site accepts. After entering credit card information the customer then chooses bid packs of either 40, 135, 300 and 1325. Bids cost anywhere between 60 cents to 37 cents a piece depending on how many bids are purchased. If purchasing more, the price comes down, obviously.

These bid packs are used to participate in an auction and amount to a penny increment. So if a customer buys 300 bids for the sale price of $160 he or she basically purchased 300 pennies for $160, but this is the only way to participate in the “penny auction.” So once bids are accumulated in an account then the person is ready to participate.

The upside to purchasing “bid packs” is now the customer is able to pick and choose items to bid on. It is true that products on the site are brand new and are being offered at prices far below retail. For example, Sony Cybershot Digital Camera + 1000 BIDS is going for $2.66 with less than seven minutes to go, retails for $929.99; Sony Bravia Theater System + 750 BIDS is going for $6.43 with less than two minutes to go, Retails for: $675.00; MacBook + 1000 BIDS is going for $4.19 with eight minutes to go, Retails for: $1,599.00.

Click Here to Signup for Swipebids.com

Above are just a few examples of the kind of deals found on SwipeBids. So what does it all mean? To buy the product such as the MacBook the bidder has to have a lot of bids in his or her account to out last the competition and money, if won, to buy the product. What is nice if the MacBook is won the customer recieves the item plus 1000 more bids. Remember bids are purchased with money or bid packs are often auctioned off just like an iPod, which is another way customers accumulate “bid points.”

Every time the bidder hits the bid button next to the MacBook it takes five bids from his or her account. Not all products take five bids for one bid but because this is a pricier item then that is the case with this product.

So how to actually win the MacBook—No doubt when it comes down to the last second someone is going to hit the bid button and automatically ten more seconds is added to the clock. This gives anyone wishing to bid on the product time to do so. This can go on for quite some time, depending how much the persons bidding want the product. So when the bid comes down to a few seconds, again someone will hit the bid button the clock will go back to ten seconds and one cent will be added to the price and five bids will be deducted from the bidders account.

Click Here to Signup for Swipebids.com

This type of auction is not for the impatient. Someone has to be focused and able to withstand the competition. If the item is only going up one cent every time someone bids and ten more seconds are added to the clock, that type of back and forth between two, three or four people can go on all night. It is basically outlasting the competition and being sure to have the right number of “bid” points in the account to be able to purchase the item once it is won. The item is won when the clock goes to zero and no one has chosen to bid again.

So in reality, the product that started out at $4.19 but three or four people had been bidding for the past three hours at a penny an increment added to the price every time a potential buyer hits the bid key, the cost can go up to $30, $40, even $50 depending on how long someone can last. Remember every time the bid button is pressed that also takes five bids from the person’s account, which is the price along with the monetary amount that ends up being the winning bid price.

In actuality the MacBook that retails for $1600 can be had, plus the 1000 bids, which also amounts to actual cash. Add that to the price of the MacBook that, for example, went for $85 by the time the auction ended, which could be hours later, still the saving is considerable, plus the addition of 1000 bids is a good deal!

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But do not be fooled by going on to the site and seeing that a brand new camera that retails for over $900 is starting out at $2. That is the starting price, plus the bid points, plus the perseverance to continue to outlast the competition at a penny increment every time the potential buyer hits bid—ten more seconds on the clock the price goes up a cent and the bidding war continues.

The concept is a bit difficult at first but with some savvy moves and the will to outlast the competition someone can have a beautiful camera, laptop, GPS system, home theater system, or even a 60 inch HDTV. All he or she needs is an account with “bids” accumulated and the focus and attention it takes to outlast the competition.

Click Here to Signup for Swipebids.com