Penny Auctions Vs Traditional Auctions - Differences and Similarities

While online penny auctions and traditional auctionyou pay for the auction end price in addition to bids
websites, like eBay, both occasionally offer ayou have placed plus shipping and handling.
Buy-it-Now feature, they differ in terms of the time limitFor example:
system, payment process, and entertainment value. InThere is an iPhone auction with bids fixed at 75 cents
short, penny auctions are more intense versions ofeach, and price increments of 1 penny per bid. One
sites like eBay.person bids once and you win by also bidding once,
Time Limit Rules: Traditional Auctionsjust before the timer runs out. When you win an
Traditional auctions, like those available on eBay, oftenauction, you pay for your bids (1 bid of 75 cents in this
drag the auction experience out to a week or more.example) and the total number of bids in the auction
When the time runs out, whoever bids highest wins.times 1 penny (2 bids x 1 penny = 2 cents). So in this
For instance, they may auction off an iPod for 1 weekexample, you won a brand new iPhone at a penny
with a minimum bid rule of $20. However, there will beauction for only 77 cents. Even if you won the auction
stiff competition to get such a low price on the item.but bid 10 times (10 x $0.75= $7.50) and there were
After a whole week of everyone trying to outbid each100 total bids (100 x $0.01), you still won a brand new
other, the item may sell fairly high, close to the retailiPhone for $8.50. That is the same price for a book in
price, or even higher.the traditional auction example.
Time Limit Rules: Penny AuctionsThe Buy-it-Now Option
The time limit system on penny auctions is muchSome traditional auctions and some entertainment
shorter and more intense, by comparison. When theauction sites have a Buy-it-Now option. On eBay, you
clock dips below a certain time (some sites make it 15can forgo the usual bidding process and immediately
seconds), the auction will end if no one bids again.buy the product for retail value. Penny auctions also
However, if someone else bids the clock will reset (tohave this feature, which is convenient if you don't win.
15 seconds again) and keep resetting until no one elseThe money you already bid in the auction counts
bids and the clocks runs down to zero. This makestowards part of it, and you simply pay whatever's left.
penny auctions so thrilling that they are now commonlyThe best entertainment shopping sites couple the
referred to as, "Entertainment Auctions," whereasrisk-free, Buy-it-Now option with an intense bidding
traditional auction sites like eBay do not offer thatexperience with an unmatchable entertainment value.
fast-paced level of experience.As opposed to traditional auctions which often use
Payment Process: Traditional Auctionshidden fees to even out the seemingly low price,
In traditional auctions, if you bid the highest amount byauction winners can save up to 90% with penny
the time the clock runs out, you pay that amount plusauctions.
taxes and the shipping and handling fees. So if youSavvy shoppers seek penny auctions with bid prices
won an auction where you bid $5 on a book andunder a dollar and price increments at a penny. The
taxes and shipping and handling fees added up tolargest discounts are most feasible on the newest
$3.50, in order to claim your item and receive the booksites, because less people know about them they
you must pay $8.50.have much less competition, and therefore, are easier
Payment Process: Penny Auctionsto win-and most importantly, win without too many
The main difference between entertainment auctionsbidders jacking up the price like in traditional auctions.
and traditional auctions is that in entertainment auctions,