The question about whether or not penny auctions are scams is one of the most commonly asked questions about penny auctions that we’ve ever heard. In our opinion, penny auctions are NOT spams, just by being penny auctions. That is, some may be scams but the auction format is clear and fair and participation is always optional.

We are confident that the longest-running penny auctions operate honorably and are also confident that there have, over the years, been several penny auction websites that were scams.

As a whole, we do not feel that penny auctions are scams.

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Penny auctions typically get their merchandise from the same places that most other retailers do. Penny auctions are able to sell merchandise at lower prices because they make their money on bid sales.

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Penny auctions make their money by selling bid and bid packages. While they lose money on each auction, a successful penny auction makes it back plus some on the bid packages sales.

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Winning penny auctions takes a bit of strategy.

As a new bidder it’s really important to do some homework before jumping into penny actions and having a bad experience. Some quick penny auction tips to consider as a new bidder:

• Bid conservatively until you have some experience
• Bid on small penny auction items, even though the iPads and flat-screen TVs are appealing
• Take advantage of beginner auctions like Quibids and HappyBidDay offer

We strongly encourage all penny auction bidders to first research each penny auction website and then consider some of the different penny auctions strategies which we’ve outlined. This will help increase your chances of winning penny auctions.

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Understanding how penny auctions work is pretty simple.

Penny auctions are an online auction format where users have to pay to participate in auctions. This typically means that penny auction participants need to purchase ‘bid packages’, each of which contains several bids which can be placed on auctions. In general, these are non-refundable, although there are exceptions.

In penny auctions, a timer counts down and the auction ends when it gets to 0:00. The catch is that as the auction nears the end, each bid placed adds a small amount of time to the auction timer. This gives other penny auction bidders the chance to also bid on the auction.

The winner of a penny auction is typically the last bidder. This is the short verion but you can learn more about 1-cent auctions and how they how in our penny auction blog.

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This is a great question. Like many other traditional auctions, a penny auction does not an official end time. Rather, the first time that the clock approaches 0:00 is actually technically called the beginning.

Each time a bid is placed, more time is added to the clock. So, as long as there are still active bidders, the penny auction will not end.

Can a penny auction last forever?

It probably can, but never does. Some penny auctions end very quickly and others can last for hours. Part of the ‘game’ is having a strategy to identify how many other bidders there are, how serious they are, etc.

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