Consumers are always looking for a way to save money on the items they want or need. Most of the items purchased online are luxury items and not necessarily a necessity. People need these luxuries to entertain themselves and when they can find these goods at a fraction of the cost they’re quick to spring on them. For years people have turned to sites like Amazon and eBay to find the lowest prices on consumer electronics and other goods but things are changing as people consider the potential discounts available.
One of the primary differences between traditional auction sites like eBay and pay per bid auction sites is that buyers pay a fraction of the cost consistently. This rarely happens on major auction sites, where the final cost is often just under the retail value. Image the delight of buyers on bid auction sites that get a MacBook or new LCD television for under $100.00.
This goes to show why reverse auctions and other pay per bid auctions have grown steadily in popularity as more people discover the savings to be had beyond the traditional auction model.
In a traditional auction buyers are competing against one another to purchase an item from a seller. As they bid, the price increases until one person stands out willing to pay the highest bid. The auction finishes and the product goes to the highest bidder.
Reverse auctions work in much the same manner in that they have a seller that’s offering an item for sale. A number of buyers all bid competitively in order to win the item that’s being sold. That’s where the similarity ends however. In a reverse auction, bidders are placing bids in order to drive the price down. When the auction finishes, the item goes to the lowest bidder. Some auctions force you to drive the price to zero before you can win, others let you continue to bid down the price until the price just gets to be too tempting and someone scoops it up in a “buy it now” fever.
Reverse auctions and other bid auctions have matured into a billion dollar global business yet they tend to remain under the radar. The primary reason is because they’ve only become common to consumers in recent years. Previously, these types of reverse auctions were used by business to business networks and government agencies.
There’s a great deal of excitement for consumers now, and it’s helping that popularity climb as more people hear about. The tension and nail-biting excitement really gets people going and can cause the adrenaline to surge in the last minutes and seconds of an auction. In many reverse bid auctions the potential buyer has to make a decision quickly about buying an item as they reveal the price lest someone else scoops it up.
With many bid auctions, there’s a constant overhanging chance that the item could get scooped up by another bidder at any time. Gone are the days of the constant flow of bids and “outlasting” other bidders. A strong strategy is needed for buyers that want to take a great deal home without overpaying in the excitement of the auction.