It’s no secret that DealDash provides a plethora of tools for the everyday bidder to succeed. There’s the Tips & Tricks section, user blogs, social media connections and my favorite—the Winners Tab. With a little guidance, I’ll walk you through all this great tab can do for you.
The Winners Tab is located on the bar just above the large banner on the main page of DealDash. It is just below and to the left of the Dashboard tab. Click on it for some great information on your competition.
First, a word about the competition. There are so many types of bidders. You have experienced bidders who have been on the site practically from the beginning. Then you will have the mid-level bidders who win now and then. And of course you have the newbies who are learning the ropes. No matter what type of bidders you are up against, you still have a chance to win!
The Winners Tab provides the following information:
- Usernames of the winners of every auction for the past 24 hours. *approximately
- How many bids each winner used to win each item.
- The ending price of each auction won.
- The average cost for each won item (using a 12 cents per bid approximated cost).
Here’s how I use the Winners Tab to assess my competition for the day:
When I am in an auction, I like to use the Winners Tab to search for the usernames of those I am competing against in any given auction and here is what I look for:
Multiple wins over 24 hours.
If the person I am bidding against has won a dozen or more auctions over the past 24 hours, I usually take that as a sign that they are on a “winning streak.”
My assessment: I generally don’t shy away from these types of bidders if it’s an item I really want. I may watch the auction and enter a little later than I normally would and still stick to my bidding budget.
Number of bids used to win.
If a bidder uses an excessive number of bids to win a small item, I view this as a bidder who is willing to win at any cost—even if it means overbidding and overspending. Naturally, larger and more expensive items will require more bids to win, sometimes hundreds or thousands, but I tend not to go overboard on smaller items.
Assessment: You never know if the person bidding is almost out of bids because they just overspent on their last win. It never hurts to try. You never know; luck could be on my side.
Ending price vs. Number of Bids Used
If you see a bidder who has an ending auction price of $10.00 but they only used 50 bids to win, chances are their strategy of jumping in on the auction late paid off for them. Oftentimes these types of bidders will place a few bids in the beginning of the auction, disappear and reappear when there are only a few bidders left in the auction.
Assessment: Although this can be a frustrating tactic, it’s also one that doesn’t always work out for the jumper. Standing your ground is sometimes all that is needed. Based on experience, I’ve also been in a number of auctions where the jumper only places a one or a few bids and that’s it. I stick it out—at least for a little while.
The Winners Tab provides a lot of information, but there are so many factors that go into winning. Experienced bidders don’t always win and new bidders don’t always lose. While there is a certain level of awareness, patience and yes, even luck, involved, there is no exact science. You can use the tools to your advantage but you never know how many bids a person has or doesn’t have, how much time or how many bids they have available to invest or if they are willing to win at all costs. The only way to win is to try and sometimes try again!
Happy bidding on DealDash!
This sponsored blog post was written by Theresa B., proud American, MMA fan, grandmother and ardent practitioner of sarcastic wit. Theresa was compensated by DealDash for this blog post.
