Penny Auction REVIEWS – Which Penny Auctions are the BEST Bargains?

Website: Winners Mountain
Daniel Yagi
17619 Palomino Dr.
Bothell, WA 98012

Domain Registered: November 2009


Auction Type: Penny Auction
PAI Member Rating:

(7 votes, average: 3.71 out of 5)
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Website: Bidzillion
179 Oakridge Dr.
Raeford, NC 28376
United States

Domain Registered: February 2010


Auction Type: Penny Auction
PAI Member Rating:

(9 votes, average: 1.33 out of 5)
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Major penny auction websites Swoopo.com and OohILove.com have recently shut down. It is unsure exactly why they have closed their doors, but it’s most likely linked to a lawsuit filed against the two sites, as well as 4 others (Quibids, Beezid, BigDeal, and BidCactus). You can read about the lawsuit here- Penny Auction Lawsuit.

Swoopo.com was the first online penny auction website to use the bidding systems we know today. They were established in 2005 in Germany, and claimed to have over 2 million customers. OohIlove.com was the most popular penny auction website for designer items, such as purses, jewelry, and high-end retailer gift cards.

Swoopo also has another lawsuit filed against them in California, which was filed on March 21st. The details on that lawsuit are available here.

Swoopo’s message on their site claims the site is down due to technical reasons, but it’s been down since March 17th. OohILove displays a different message “Dear oohilovers, It is with regret that we announce oohilove.com, an Entertainment Shopping Inc. company, is closing its doors.” Both websites are owned by the same company, Entertainment Shopping, INC.

We’re waiting to see what kind of effect the lawsuit mentioned will have on the other websites listed, as well as the penny auction industry as a whole.

A lawsuit was filed on February 11, 2011 against 6 major penny auction websites- Swoopo.com, OohILove.com, BidCactus.com, Quibids.com, Beezid.com, and BigDeal.com. You can view the lawsuit document here in PDF.

According to the document, these penny auction websites are violating US gambling laws.

“This action alleges that Defendants operate illegal Internet gambling websites, by permitting persons to play games of chance for money and/or make a wager upon the result of a game or contest.”

Also quoted from the lawsuit document-

“Defendants conduct of charging consideration for the chance to win prizes (or something of value), violates all 50 state laws prohibiting unauthorized gambling.”

Currently, both Swoopo.com and OohILove.com (both owned and operated by Entertainment Shopping, INC) have shut down their websites. Although Swoopo claims it’s down due to technical issues. Swoopo also has another class action lawsuit filed against them in California, Hernandez v. Entertainment Shopping, Inc. The California lawsuit was filed March 21, 2011.

What do you think? Should penny auctions be considered illegal gambling?

Website: Swoopo
Entertainment Shopping AG
Domagkstrasse 34
Muenchen, Denmark 80807
MVoigt@swoopo.com
Domain Registered: July 2008

According to InsolvenzBekanntmachungen.de, Swoopo’s Shopping Entertainment AG has entered into bankruptcy proceedings in Germany, this could only mean that the reason their website has been down since March 17th is not due to technical difficulties, but financial ones. Time will tell if this bankruptcy will be a full liquidation of assets or a court appointed financial restructuring campaign, either ways bidders can get a full refund from Swoopo by contacting there Credit Card companies and starting a financial dispute, a refund should be issued within 30 days.

Under intense pressure Bidtrotter.com was forced to close it doors due to the lack of there ability to adapt to the ever changing Penny Auction Landscape. Many members of the site reported problems with the customer service department as well as deficiencies with receiving items. Bidtrotter.com will not be missed as there are many Penny Auctions ready to take there place. The Penny Auction Industry is evolving and those sites who are not following the trends will fall by the way side and become obsolete. We encourage all members of Bidtrotter.com to contact our auction hotline if they are having any problems in collecting there won auctions or need advice on how to proceed in collecting a refund.

Penny Auctions may have been around for a few years, but lately it seems more and more people are catching on. Discussion across the internet has been growing rapidly, with Google now reporting 742,000 results for the search term “penny auctions”. MSNBC.com, one of the top visited news websites, even featured an article about penny auctions today on their home page.

The article, An iPad for $2.82, or illegal gambling? , explains how penny auctions work, and discusses whether penny auctions should be considered gambling or not. Of course this argument is not new, and we’ve been hearing about it ever since penny auctions started getting attention. What’s interesting though is the national media coverage of the penny auction industry. How is this increasing amount of attention going to affect penny auctions?

It could mean many different things for us bidders. For one, the increased attention will bring in more people that want to give penny auctions a try. Yes, this will mean more competition, but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

We all know (at least we hope you know) that penny auctions don’t rely on chance. There’s a lot of strategy involved, and statistically the more experience bidders usually win more often than the newbies. With tons of new players flowing into PA sites, the competition among experienced bidders will be dispersed. And of course, it’s easier to win against a first-timer than a power bidder.

More bidders also mean more revenue for PA sites, and more revenue can translate into more valuable and wider prize selections.

So we’re excited to see the increased attention in our industry, and are looking forward to the changes that may come with it. What do you think?

Google has added BidsTick to their world famous directory. BidsTick is listed under shopping/auctions/

Penny Auctions are getting a lot of attention around the internet- either people love them or they hate them. Most people love the fact that you can get high-ticket items such as HDTV’s and laptop computers for pennies on the dollar. But there are also countless complaints being made about the legitimacy of these websites. If you’re going to give penny auctions a try, be sure to avoid these 3 common nightmares.

Unauthorized Charges to Your Credit Card

As many people have learned, there are a lot of penny auction sites that charge fees to new users without their permission. There are a few sites that have been known to do this, with the number one being SwipeBids.com. Many users of SwipeBids have claimed that $150 was charged to their credit card after they signed up for the “free” trial.

Although there are many PA sites that charge un-authorized fees to users’ credit cards, there are just as many if not more legitimate sites on the web. Before signing up to any PA site, make sure you check out the reviews and user ratings. This one simple tip can save you hundreds of dollars and keep you from being scammed.

PA Sites Using Bots

One of the most common complaints made about penny auction sites is the use of bots. Bots, also known as auto-bidders, are used by some PA sites to drive up the auction price. They are fake users created by the site to bid for items. This is extremely unfair, because people expect to bid against real people when they sign up for a PA site.

There are a few ways to watch out for this. First, check out reviews of PA sites before joining any. Next, take a look at the main page of the PA site you’re considering joining. Most sites will list the current bidder next to the auction timer. If you see a name come up only once, it should be considered suspicious. Most human bidders will bid at least a few times before giving up.

Spending Lots of Money Without Winning

Unfortunately, far too many people buy bids on a PA site, and use all their bids without winning anything. This is usually due to the bidder not using any type of strategy. Penny auctions are not like gambling, it’s not up to chance.

Using even the simplest strategy will set you apart from most other bidders on a PA site. Instead of bidding on the first item you see that you want, take some time to watch the auctions and get a feel for the average ending auction price. When you know this average, you can enter into auctions when they get near this price. Also, enter auctions when there’s only a few seconds left on the timer.

Avoid these three common penny auction nightmares by following these tips. Don’t become another person filing complaints across the internet because you got ripped off. Always read reviews before signing up on a PA site.

Website: PennyPrizes
Marie Smit
778 E Balboa Ter
Bartlett, Illinois 60103
United States

Domain Registered: July 2010


Auction Type: Penny Auction
PAI Member Rating:

(11 votes, average: 2.55 out of 5)
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