Little did you know the answer to all your Christmas shopping woes is right in front of you, on your computer screen!

Online penny auctions provide a fun, exciting and most importantly, a cut-price way to tackle the Christmas wish lists. Not only can you enjoy a whole new shopping experience, but with customers saving an average of 80% you can nab top of the range, brand spanking new products for just a snippet of the high street prices!

So although your dad might have claimed he’d be happy with a new dressing gown this year, you now have the chance to get him the LCD TV he really wants, for the mad price of 94p!! Or your partner the iPad they’ve secretly been yearning for, for £3.55!! Yes, that’s right, less than a fiver.

Penny auctions are a completely legitimate form of online shopping, with brand new products sent to you directly from top brands. A little patience and concentration could get you a whole range of absolute bargain priced top-of-the-range gifts to shower to your loved ones in this Christmas.

This Christmas, The Children’s Trust has teamed up with the UK’s leading pay-to-bid auction site, MadBid.com. Together they are launching the ‘Bids4Kids’ Christmas campaign, to raise £5000 for the charity and provide the children with the best Christmas possible.

MadBid.com have created an exclusive limited edition Christmas Bids Package, which at £56.99 for 217 bids plus £5 donated directly to the Trust, is not only providing users with an opportunity to help the children by donating to this wonderful cause, but also offering the bidders great value for money. 

MadBid.com users can also choose to ‘JustDonate’ from 20p to £5 when making any purchase from the site.

The Bids4Kids Campaign launches on November 10th 2010 and will run until 21st December. The Children’s Trust and MadBid.com will continue to work together throughout 2011.

You can find all types of products including electrical items, furniture, kitchenware, vouchers, holidays, cars and much more.

How Do They Work?

Well each site tends to have a few differences however the majority of legitimate sites work like this;

All auctions will start at £0.00, when a user puts a bid on an auction the price will increase by £0.01, the timer will then start counting down, these timers tend to range from 2 minutes to 30 seconds if it is a good site. If another user places a bid the timer will reset to its original time and start counting down again.

If no-one else places a bid in that time the auction will close and the last bidder is the winner.

Top 3 Tips

Make sure the site is legit…

• For every great penny auction site there are plenty of fakes. It is important to do your homework before you bid or even register.
• Look for logo’s such as Visa Verified, PayPal & McAffee – These show that the site is secure.
• Google the site’s name and have a look at what comes up, look particularly for Wikipedia, Forums and reviews. If a site has a lot of results then this is a good sign.
• Check if the site has a closed auctions area and make sure there are plenty of closed auctions in there with various different winners.

Stick To Your Limits

Penny auctions are a great way to make savings, however you must remember that they are pay-to-bid auction sites and will cost you money. Set a limit and stick to it, sites that make you purchase bids in advance to put in your account are great because like a pre-pay mobile you can only use what you have.

Think Smart

• Penny auction sites are all about strategy. To win regularly you have to play smart, make sure you;
• Watch any ‘How it works’ videos or read any relevant guides
• Watch auctions to get an idea how they work
• Use sites that offer a couple of free bids as you can try before you buy
• See if there are any YouTube videos for the site so you can see what goes on
• Visit forums and see what others advise and see who are the big bidders

There are various online auction sites like eBay’s where online buying and selling of products over the Internet happens. These sites are known as bidding sites. These sites are also used to auction products online via the Internet. Thus, bidding sites have become common among people shopping online.

Especially due to the fact one can easily sell or bid for antiques and other expensive products in demand worldwide, without even leaving the comfort of your own home.

Points to be considered when choosing the Best Bidding Sites:

1. Online Security:

This is a very important consideration while buying and selling products online and should be taken care of. This ensures ones business, financial and personal security while buying selling or any other online transaction over the Internet. Whether the site is secured or not can be determined from the starting name of the site if “https” is there then its secured, here s stands for security.

2. Payment Option:

The common payment option for online trading is through credit cards, debit cards, internet banking, and other online payment sites like PayPal.  Therefore, the payment option should be secured and trusted.

3. Fees For Online Transaction:

The fees always depend upon the type of products or services being listed. The payment has to be done while listing of the product and can be paid monthly through installment, depending upon the terms and conditions of the auction site.

Thus online bidding sites act as like a kind of virtual link between sellers and buyers.

At the age of 73 Ike Elcher went and got his auctioneer license.

The auction websites request a small money amount after an item is bought or sold by the customer and the vendor respectively. On line auction sites show to be useful for both sides as the seller can easily put up his item on the site and also obtain a decent price by selling the item to a much bigger target audience than he or she has in their home community.

Aside from that the customer can get a great deal on the item that he or she purchases since the merchandise is presented at cheaper, more competitive prices.

As we have now seen over the last number of years, on line auctions have proven to be a boon for worldwide potential customers and sellers. It’s not required for the customers and the retailers to be in the very same city or even in the same country.

An individual in United States could sell an item to a individual in the United Kingdom or the opposite way round. A web-based auction site removes each of the barriers of the common market set up where a customer and a vendor were required to meet in person.

All that a shopper or even a seller is required to do is signup on an on-line auction site such as eBay. Enrollment is normally cost-free. The vendor has to set up a display and description of the product which he / she wants to sell.

One example is if a person wants to offer his / her twelvemonth old dvd player then he/she needs to place The product under the actual category of consumer electronics which might be more deeply categorized into dvd players, etc. If the vendor can post a picture of the product, then it will be easier to sell and it is way better for the purchaser.

The vendor then wants to provide a description of the items he/she wants to sell. For instance if she or he wants to sell a dvd player then he/she can state the manufacturer, the year of make, the model number, and also any other distinctive highlights of the dvd player. Following that, he or she will have to post a lowest amount at which to sell dvd player.

A shopper will stop by the category of the item that she or he wants to purchase and will have the ability to view the info of the item that he or she desires to buy. If he / she is interested in the product, they’re going to place a bid. There maybe a great many possible buyers who place bids on a certain item.

There’s a date and time which the bids are placed, on the last date, the customer with the top bid gets to purchase the merchandise. The buyer can pay the seller through credit card or international check or even something like PayPal. The seller will dispatch the product to the customer and the auction site and payment company normally takes their commission. This is traditionally how a web based auction operates.

Even though web based auction sites are a good way to purchase and sell goods they can feature their very own risks. An online auction site is merely an intermediary between the buyer and the seller. It doesn’t hold itself responsible for any conflicts between the buyer and the seller. The customer should normally pay through credit card as it offers extra safeguards in case of a dispute.

Furthermore, both the parties should maintain all important documents of correspondence printed and stored in a safe location till the purchase is complete.

Plenty of auction internet sites do contain methods to identify those purchasers and vendors with integrity and to eliminate people who don’t.

Online Auctions – The Birth of Online Auctions.

That’s the true pleasure of an auction…

You’ll find auctions close to you by multiple ways this includes your local newspaper which would contain a section within the classifieds for auctions which will take place within the coming week or weeks. You can find auction houses through the web.

Should they have a website, any upcoming auctions coupled with pics plus descriptions of items will be outlined so customers understand what is being made available. Typically, you can find signs placed near the auction indicating an auction is taking place or shall be shortly. The ads or site will also provide directions to the particular location.

Once you discover the auction or auctions of interest, you should find out the time it starts. There will be a begining time for the auction and for viewing all of the content. Be sure to allow for lots of time to get to the auction to inspect the items. Then you will decide which pieces you wish to bid on and also how much you ought to bid.

Take a pad of paper and pen to generate notes of the actual items plus the most capital you are going to bid to achieve the items. This will also be a great time to search out the auctioneers and auction workers so you can get to know them. They’ve got lots of details in relation to the stock and should like the chance to offer any info you require.

You should identify when the auction will start. Identify where the auction will start and also what direction it will go. There could be more than a single auction ring, if there’s lots of stock. Some auctions last for a number of days. Each and every auction ring will have an auctioneer, a recorder, and helpers.

Find out how many rings and also which auctioneer is going to be in which ring. Introduce yourself to the auctioneer and also the staff so they’ll recognize you whenever you bid and be more apt to glimpse your way for a bid. It can also be an avenue for inside information to the type of auction it is, the kind of items being presented, and so on.

A certain amount of auctions have multiple estates represented, which means that certain sections of items may very well appear like it doesn’t really complement the other stock. The auctioneer and employees might also know this and will share this info with you.

You will see a payment and registration table that are commonly together. You should stop at the registration stand before the auction starting in order to sign-up. They may need your name, address, contact number, snapshot ID, along with tax number, if you have one.

The auction can be indoors or outdoors, which means dress correctly. You may want to consider taking a snack or something to eat. There could possibly be a vendor at hand nearby the auction. Seek out exactly where you desire to park to get your winning pieces to your automobile without difficulty.

Every single item will have a lot number or description included with it. This information may not necessarily be on the actual product, but the recorder will have it. It will be on the tickets for every one of your winning items.

Always maintain track of what you ended up the winning bidder on in addition to whatever the successful bid was. By doing this, you’ll be able to match each up to your ticket when you check out.

The particular objects up for auction are likely to be kept in boxes or flats. The items are auctioned per box or per item. You ought to be in a position to ask for a particular object be pulled out of a box to auction individually, if you wish. Numerous times, you can aquire a far better bargain if the thing you’d like is together with a few other stuff which could be less in demand.

Really expensive objects may be placed in locked cases together with an attendant close by to open the case for inspection whenever asked. These kinds of objects have been determined by the auctioneer to be most costly pieces and will be auctioned per piece. Seeing as you have become familiar with the auctioneer, you are going to know where the auction will start.

Get yourself in a position in order to see the objects as they are auctioned and so that you’re quickly spotted by the auctioneer for your bids. Be sure you have your bidder number card available to show the auctioneer when you bid along with whenever you win an item.

Just before and for the duration of the auction, as people view the items, several may get transferred from box to box. Always pay close attention to what’s being auctioned, in the event some things have been moved.

When you win, make sure to take your winnings directly to your automobile. When you win the bid, the object or items will be your possession so you are accountable for them. Things have been known to get up and wander away while you are not looking. It will be best to observe your wins or have someone else look after them and take them to your car or truck.

Based upon the auctioneer, bidding could start at what the auctioneer thinks the item could eventually sell for. That offer might not get any bids, so to get individuals bidding, the auctioneer will reduce the starting bid.

For example , let’s say that you’re really interested in an item, you may want to bid first thing. This instant bid may very well frighten off other possible bidders so you will win the item. Toward the finish of the auction, there may not be as many folks at the auction so this is a great time to get in on a bunch of nice offers as well.

Once you are set to leave, you will want to go to the payment or registration desk to pay for your winning items. They will have a list of items or a ticket for every winning item. Make sure that the item and price correspond with what you have noted down. It’ll be noticeably simplier and easier to handle any conflicts as soon as possible rather than later.

Excellent luck with your bidding!

Girls from second series of “How to Be a Property Developer” showing us exactly what NOT to do when bidding at auction! “It’s like watching a car crash!” Presented by Gary McCausland.

Evidently, real world auctions finish a lot quicker as compared to on-line ones, since the later is able to actually keep going for days with bids flying left and right.

As well, it is typical faster to navigate in addition to finding important info in relation to products up for auction on a pleasantly designed web site.

Where the traditional auctions get the greater hand is when it is time to finalize the transaction with the trade of goods and funds. 

In an on line auction, you need to place trust in the seller to actually mail you the product as people will wait until they received the funds ahead of sending the item to you; this may not really arise in real world auctions.

A Few Auction Tactics

Being Patient

Staying patient is a vital tactic in both type of auctions, although is undoubtedly much more dominant in real world auctions, as everybody came with a fixed sum of money. 

It is quite feasible that naive bidders will be eager to participate in bid wars; lingering is possibly quite a nice decision, if you are patient, you may possibly see a clearer picture.

Sniping

Sniping is a legal and favored procedure utilized in web based auctions.  Given that on-line auctions are timed, an keen shopper may be consistently watching over the item. 

If you bid an amount of money an hour before it finishes, the willing buyer may surely recognize and bid higher.

Sniping comprises of bidding as near to the close as possible; although pretty frustrating, this tactic enables you to bid higher than other customers and blocks them from outbidding you as by the time the higher bid is detected, the auction will have ended. 

Naturally if you are out-snipped, then you will have experienced the gains of sniping.