How is this site different from the typical auction sites?
Watching the
short Flash movie explains how this auction site works. Below you can read about some of the differences between an Auctions4aCause.com auction (middle column) and a typical auction (right column).
Auctions4aCause.com
Typical Auction
How do I win?
The highest
UNIQUE bid wins.
A unique bid means that nobody else bid the exact same amount.
For example, in a single auction the following bids are accepted:
Participant "A" bids $60.42
(bid #1)
Participant "B" subsequently submits the identical
bid of $60.42 (bid #2)
Participant "C" bids 48.69 (bid #3)
Participant "D" bids 59.75 (bid #4) <--Successful
Bid!!!
In a typical auction, the highest bidder
wins...and sometimes you pay more for the product than it's
worth.
Can I see the bids placed?
This is a blind
auction, so nobody gets to see the bids placed.
In typical auctions everyone sees the
current high bid, which results in the price being driven up
rapidly.
Number of bids allowed in an auction
Limited number
of bids allowed for each auction, making you more successful,
more often.
Typical auctions have an unlimited number
of bids, decreasing your chances of winning
Maximum bid amount
The "Get4"
price is the maximum amount that you can bid. The Get4 price
is always 80-90% off retail price.
The bid amount
continues to increase in a "highest bid" auction,
eventually reaching an amount that you're uncomfortable with.
Products
We always auction
brand new, name brand products.
Typical auction items can be used or
donated items, not necessarily new.
Bid fee
There is a nominal
bid fee specified for each auction, usually $9.94 per bid. This
Bid Fee ischarged (not the amount you bid)
at the time the bid is placed whether the bid is successful
or not. The bid fee is charged each time you place a bid. A
portion of the bidding fees are donated to your selected charity.
None
Consolation auctions
We award all unsuccessful
bids with a free bid in the "Bonus
Auctions"
None
BID STRATEGY
Our site is not like eBay, where you need to be
the last bidder and you often get outbid by someone using some kind
of automated bid and monitoring tool. With Auctions4aCause, you
are the successful bidder when you have the highest unique (=unduplicated)
bid. But, since this is a blind auction, where the close date is
driven by the number of bids received, you can't just wait till
the last moment to place a bid that wins the auction.
So here is what some of our most successful
winners have done....they bid multiple times in a single auction.
Bidding multiple times increases your chances of winning since we
only allow so many total bids per auction. Also, they use their
bid history page to see if their bids are
unique or duplicate. This tells them if they need to bid again or
not. Remember, a bid fee (usually $9.94) is charged for each bid
placed in a main auction.