7. How To Win Penny Auctions

Winning an auctioned item for pennies isn't as simple as it sounds, but I hope you will find next tips helpful.

• Do your research;

Check if penny auction website is legit, who runs it and after that check out the latest winners. Use it to choose a good day of a week and good time of a day for bidding, and also to avoid the bidders who have just won few hundred TCredits.

• Start with 1WA auction;

The auctioned item is usually of lesser value, but with just a few bidders and it is a perfect place to test your tactics.

• Don't bid with just few TCredits left;

Although I've seen people winning Pricebenders with just a bid or two, chances for that are pretty low. You will probably need between 10 and 200 bids to win; depends on time, item, other bidders and luck. It is better to prepare 200 TCredits and use only 10, than to prepare 5 and need 10.

• Bid on items you want;

Winning an item you don't want to have and can't sell is useless, don't you think? Fine if you can win it for up to $0.10, but anything higher than that is just a waste of money and TCredits. Don't bid only because there is just a bidder or two. Bid on items you would like to have and on items you know you can sell fast.

• Keep track of your TCredit pack expenses;

And make sure you do it correctly. If you win 300 TCredit pack for $7.50 and use 50 TCredits for that, what is the cost of that pack? And if you won a tablet for $15, is that a price with used TCredits included or not? Don't lie to yourself. Nor to the others.

• Make time for auction and stay focused;

Some auctions last few minutes, some few hours. If you don't have a time to observe and bid on chosen auction, don't even start placing bids. Of course, as I said already, sometimes someone wins iPad for $0.11, and he really doesn't need more than 10 minutes for that, but chances for that are low. Also, people sometimes lose an auction because they get bored and want just to check e-mail or other auctions.

• Stick with  a chosen item;

I have seen people bidding on 5 auctions and win 4 or 5 of them, and people sticking with one and losing it, but it is more likely to win if you stick just with one.

• Don't bid to early... if you are not going pro;

People usually don't get scared by that tactics. Sometimes, if you see only 2 or 3 bidders waiting until last second and don't look like they really want that item, that tactic can work; it will show them you are serious about that auction and it's better for them to cut loses and stop bidding. But, if you see 10 bidders, it is better to wait the last second; give chance to others to bid for you ;)

• 2 am isn't an advantage;

You think you can skip research and just bid on 2 am? Well, I am sorry, but you are wrong! Don't forget that online auctions are available worldwide, and if it's 2 am for you it is maybe noon for someone else. 

That's all for the moment. Read it, write it down if you want, agree or not, use it to make your own tactics, share how they worked for you and share your tips in comments. And I will give you some advanced tips and tactics in next post.

Until next reading!

Emma

P.S. Don't forget to check the guide for the basics. You can download it HERE or HERE.