New to penny auctions? For this week’s post we’re focusing on tips and tricks which for the most part, only beginner penny auction participants can use.

First, it’s important to understand that penny auctions are keen on one fact- acquiring new bidders is key. This means that it’s often the case that new bidders are given certain special offers and privileges that existing bidders just can’t get. Here are some examples:

New Bidders Gain Access to Exclusive Auctions

First and foremost, almost every penny auction out there offers a set of auctions which only new bidders (those with no or few penny auction wins) can partake in. These auctions typically have two things in common- 1) Easy to win (competition is low, bidders are usually inexperienced) and 2) Lower value products (you don’t often see the high-value iPads, SLRs, and big screen TVs here).

In some cases (such as HappyBidDay), we’ve seen situations where new bidders are actually guaranteed a first win (bids are replenished util the user wins). You read more in our Happybidday.com review here. In the case of Quibids, you’re simply offered a refund if you did not win an auction. You can read more about this in our Quibids review here.

For the penny auction operators, these auctions are meant to give new bidders good experiences early on before bidders are subject to the more competitive auctions.

New Bidders Gain Access to Free Bids

When it comes to the cost of bids, there are two schools of thought in penny auction land. On one end, the penny auction operators have a static price on bids and never or rarely discount the cost (even for new bidders). Quibids is one penny auction which follows this model. On the other end, you have penny auction operators who are constantly discounting the cost of bid packages. Happybidday and OrangeBidz fall into this category.

For the auctions who discount, the first time bidder is often offered the best bid package deal. Again, in an effort to make the first experience a good one, the penny auction operators will give you a ton of bids to get started to increase your ability to win. For this reason, we often recommend taking advantage of sign-up big package deals as they don’t often come around again once you’re an active bidder on the site.

Penny Auctions Buy It Policies

Lastly, let’s discuss the buy it policy. In today’s penny auction landscape, most of the major players offer some sort of “buy it” policy where losing bidders can purchase the auction item and receive a penny auction refund or bid replenishment. As we’ve said a number of times in the past, it’s important to bid within auction who offer this feature as it mitigates your risk. At the end of the day, if you’re willing to purchase the item, it means that you’ll never waste/burn a ton of bids on an auction. Read more about penny auctions with buy-it auctions here.

In summary, if you’re thinking of trying penny auctions for the first time or switching to a new penny auctions, consider the two takeaways- 1) take advantage of “stater auctions” as you’ll be very likely to go home with something in hand and 2) take advantage of sign-up bid deals (if offered) as they aren’t always offered again once you become active.

Read more about the best penny auctions for beginners.