Penny Auction Shopping

As the shopping season is upon us, we may turn to other alternative shopping sites for our stocking stuffers. We may even want some fun out of it like when signing up with Penny Auction sites. Penny bidding sites offer great deals and promos, but they can also pose problems for the average consumer or penny auction newbies.

For example, if you won a gadget for less than $100 which might seem like a steal, but if you placed 500 bids for $1 each, your overall cost may actually be over the retail store price– plus shipping and transaction
fees, your bill may end up way over $500. But over a course of a few days or months, some do get lucky and win high-end gadgets like Apple products and mobile phones for as low as $20. But that's just being lucky!

Penny sites do charge a considerable fee just to sign up, and they debit money from you each time you place a bid, whether you win or lose, you might even end up with nothing.

Is Ziinga Coming Clean?

Among all the penny auction sites out there, Ziinga is now forced to conform to trading standards or face being shutdown. So finally, all these Ziinga complaints coming to a close? Will people no longer get charge for 3 months membership? Let's wait and see!

Online entertainment shopping site Ziinga.com has publicly detailed its full compliance with advertising standards set forward by the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). Since February 2012, all ad campaigns and individual advertisements that are run by Ziinga and its partner networks are in compliance with ASA’s CAP Code (Committee for Advertising Practice).

Ziinga.com, which is owned by Flamingo Intervest, was first contacted by the ASA sometime in late 2011 due to a complaint from a single Ziinga.com user. Throughout the rest of 2011 and into early 2012, Ziinga has been in contact with the ASA, consulting on proper standards and rules regarding non-broadcast ads within the United Kingdom with the aim to uphold better advertising practice.

Ziinga advertisements online and elsewhere now adhere fully to the CAP Code. The following former violations, as reported by Ziinga, have now been rectified:

• 3.1 - Marketing communications must not materially mislead or be likely to do so.
• 3.23 - Marketing communications must make clear the extent of the commitment the consumer must make to take advantage of a “free” offer.
• 3.3 - Marketing communications must not mislead the consumer by omitting material information. They must not mislead by hiding material information or presenting it in an unclear, unintelligible, ambiguous or untimely manner. Material information is information that the consumer needs to make informed decisions in relation to a product. Whether the omission or presentation of material information is likely to mislead the consumer depends on the context, the medium and, if the medium of the marketing communication is constrained by time or space, the measures that the marketer takes to make that information available to the consumer by other means.
• 3.9 - Marketing communications must state significant limitations and qualifications. Qualifications may clarify but must not contradict the claims that they qualify.

Is Ziinga.com for Real?

Ziinga.com is a legit penny auction site known for its tech gadget prizes. I do not think Ziinga is a scam, I've won prizes from Ziinga- shipped and delivered on schedule- and that for me is proof enough that they are for real.

Did they deduct membership fees from my credit card? YES and it was a whopping L60 monthly. But I'm not complaining, I have no beef with Ziinga or any other penny auction site that operates in the same way.

So they've charged me  £60 for membership fees on my credit card, so why am I not part of the Ziinga.com lynch mob?

I did my research prior to signing up to any Penny Auction site. I knew how much Quibids, Bidrivals and Ziinga would charge me if I signed up for their services. If I was going to do Penny Auctions I felt Ziinga was my best bet since it had less of a PRO-bidder crowd. I sign up for the auction site willingly knowing I would be charged £60.

I don't mind paying £60 because I knew upfront this was their fee. But if I didn't know about the £60 and I was deducted for it - the story would be different, I would be up in arms spamming and wasting my time on all the consumer boards. But otherwise, my Ziinga experience has been enjoyable and profitable.

Bid Recap: My List of Penny Auction Reviews

Some love shopping auction sites, some love to review movies, in my case- I like talking about Penny Bidding sites.

Here's a list of my Penny Bidding Site Reviews:
Penny Bidding Site Reviews: Biddees.com
Penny Bidding Site Reviews: BidCactus.com
Penny Bidding Site Reviews: Ziinga.com
Penny Bidding Site Reviews: Bidhere.com

Which Penny Auction Site Should You Choose?

Penny auctions have now started to grow in numbers, thanks to its quite attractive way of purchasing brand new products at a ridiculously low, low price - for up to 90% of its retail price! Perhaps you have researched about penny auctions and decided to give it a go, but do not know which site to register with. Have no fear. This blog will be featuring some of the top penny auction sites along with their ups and downs, and hopefully, you will find the right site to start bidding.

Penny Bidding Site Reviews: Biddees.com

Biddees.com

 

Advantages:

• Beside electronics and gadgets, Biddees offer gift certificates up for auction as well
• Has “Little Biddee Things”, or LBT, used for added perks
• Might be the only penny auction that automatically donates 15% of a member’s LBT purchase to his or her chosen non-profit organization
• Auction price can be decreased by simply viewing an item’s price
• Affordable bid packs, as low as $9.99 for 10 bids and as high as $49.95 for 50 bids

 

Disadvantages:

• Rules are a bit different, so taking time for research and reading the terms and conditions would help a lot.

Penny Bidding Site Reviews: BidCactus.com

Bid Cactus

 
Advantages:

• All items are guaranteed brand new and all start at $0.01
• Boasts an around-the-clock customer service support – in fact, Bid Cactus is one of the few penny auction sites with this feature
• Updates members via email of their items being shipped
• When upon delivery, the item is damaged, Bid Cactus has technicians all over that can fix the item for you

Disadvantages:

• Only ships to the USA and Canada
• Bids are non-refundable

The Penny Auction Hustler: So Much Win!

Do the Penny hustle! If you know your way around Penny Bidding sites, you can always double your prizes!

Cha-cha-ching! Its a two-for-two, back-to-back win! I got the first one from Bidhere.com and made the epic second win at Ziinga.com

Penny Bidding Site Reviews: BidHere.com

BidHere.com

 
Advantages:

• Bidding can be done in two ways: either online or through a text message
• Many auction types are offered to members, including a cash back option, not a 24-hour, $0, fixed price, speed, and so forth

Disadvantages:

• The site has an authorized auto-bidder, BidMonkey. This can be put under “advantages”, but if you are a new comer, this may kick competition up a few levels, making the chance of winning a definite challenge
• Auctions are longer, with 25 seconds waiting time after every bid, as compared to the traditional 10 seconds
• Reports of suspicious or surprise bidders or “bots”, sometimes bidding at one auction then never bid again
• Long time of delivery, and most members reported having to call customer service about where their items are before receiving it

Penny Bidding Site Reviews: Ziinga.com

Ziinga.com
Advantages:

• Has various types of membership to choose from, and type of membership has its own perks, like more free bids (the better the membership type is)
• Boasts brand new and sought-after modern gadgets and electronics offered at very low prices
• Registration process takes only a few minutes
• One of the few penny auctions that allows multiple membership
• Membership is cancellable at any time

Disadvantages:

• There is a 2-week (14 days) waiting period before a member is allowed to win another auction
• Delivery rates are quite high, and may offset whatever savings the member had
• Long delivery period, sometimes 5 weeks
• Members reporting unauthorized credit card deductions of up to $127