Quibids is Insanely Popular in Canada and has Incorporated Gamification
The slightly controversial penny-auction site Quibids has become the 83rd ranked site in Toronto and the 97th ranked site overall in Canada according to Alexa over the past three months.
Does winning items for mere pennies or a few dollars sound too good to be true? Some Canadians would call it a scam as it can be quite difficult to win auctions due to sheer competition and the seemingly random times when wins are granted. The lower in value the item, the easier it is to win. However, Quibids adds 10-20 seconds to the clock every time a bid is placed providing the opportunity for someone else to come in and place their $0.60 bid.
Why? Quibids says in their FAQ: “Because it’s an auction! QuiBids wants to guarantee each user the chance to participate in our auctions, so we’ve adopted the timer as means of imitating the ‘Going once… going twice… SOLD!’ aspect of a traditional auction.”
The site also asks you to pay $60 up-front for 100 bids at $0.60 a bid, but if you don’t win the bid, you can use the value of the bids you’ve placed plus your remaining bids to purchase the product at full retail value plus shipping.
Quibids makes money based on the number of times people bid since the price of the product only goes up $0.01 per bid, and they charge the user $0.60 a bid. The site’s so popular that the total value of bids almost always exceeds the product value by the time the auction is over. You can only imagine just how much the company is grossing in profit.
Quibids offers a wide range of products- some more popular than others so it all depends on your taste!
Do keep in mind that multiple accounts aren’t allowed according to the rules and that you can only win up to a dozen times over a 28-day period. You can only win a product with a $1,018.00 value or greater once every 28 days, and no two of the same item that’s over $290.13 in that same four week period.
The rules keep it fair for everyone as a result, so that Internet speed and the most savvy Quibidders can’t steal all the glory.
Quibids has also incorporated gamification beyond just their auction games- if you win an auction with a game attached you’ll be able to play a game in an attempt to win more free Quibids which have multipliers from 1-15 times.
For now, have fun bidding and try not to get addicted!
There are also lots of other penny auction sites too, but Quibids is by far the most popular. As a result, it might be a wise strategy to try this list of 101 Penny Auction sites too. At your own risk though.
