...And The Winner IS!?... Not you.

...My experience with the penny auction.

This morning I decided to try this penny auction site I was referred to by a friend, a friend I found on Craigslist, while shopping around for a new iPhone. Can you hear the sarcastic undertone?

What I Got Myself Into:

I won't mention the name of the sites I've tried but all and all it was a pretty lame experience. Luckily I didn't spend any money. I digress. 

I logged onto the first site and was given 10 points to bid. On this site, bids start off as $1/bid and get less expensive the more bids you buy in a package. This was a common trend with all of the sites I've visited. 

I chose to stay with my free bids. 

This site was "selling" a plethora of things including a slew of high-end, name brand purses, laptops, cameras gift cards, etc. 

I spotted this LV purse I wanted and thought "10 points??? I got this in the BAG!", literally. 

Of course, I lost the bag and lost all of my points...

I've been BAMBOOZLED, SHAMED, HAD, HOODWINKED! ...Well... Not really.

What Went Wrong?

Well this penny auction thing is a spectacle to behold, that I recommend no one trying, unless you like wasting your time. 

My strategy was to wait until the last second, THEN STRIKE, like I do on eBay. Well, this strategy won't work on any penny auction site because the clock adds 15 seconds back onto the clock with every "last second" bid.

Well How Do You Win?

Well, honestly, you just have to wait until someone gives up. So get ready to sit tight, it will probably be a long night. 

Are Penny Auctions a Scam?

Nope. Penny auction sites, most of them, are legit but can get costly.

If you have the time and the money, have at it. But as for this college grad, I can't and will not. 

How Penny Auctions Work?

1. Sign-up at whatever site you're on. 
1. Make sure this site is a legit site. You don't want to fall prey to a phishing scam or credit card scam, not doing your research of these sites could potentially cost you BIG.
2. Accept free bids or buy a bid package. 
3. You will then search for whatever product you want to bid on.
4. You can bid at any time you want but your common sense factor will probably tell you to wait for the last seconds.
1. If you wait until the last few seconds to bid it will add 15 seconds back onto the clock which gives other bidders chances to bid.
1. This means unless you have tons of bids you'll be out of the race shortly after you leave the finish line. 
5. The only way you win is to tire all the other bidders out or ween them out by having more bids than them.
1. Many of the sites I've visited have an "auto-bid" or "bid assistant" which bid automatically for you, in the last few seconds, until you win or until you run out of bids to use. 

SO GOOD LUCK PENNY AUCTIONERS!!!.... But I'm the penny auction for me, has CLOSED!