While DealDash is best know for being the leading pay-to-participate auction (a certain type of online auction) provider in the US, there is more than what meets the eye. The auctions stay fresh and exciting for many reasons:
Firstly, you never know when the person you are bidding against will step away from the online auction, i.e. when the auction will end. Secondly, there is a long list of active promotions that DealDash runs. These promotions vary from giving discounts off the final auction price to perks during bidding. Promotions such as Auction leaderboards return bids to those who gain most Time as Highest Bidder in an auction and Mystery auctions have the item hidden until close to the start time. While online auctions have been around for over a decade, the changing promotions and live operations are a much newer part of the experience.
The Promotions
Currently DealDash has a plethora of promotions or special content they run actively. We have listed some of the most interesting ones here:
50% OFF / Half-priced Auctions
When this promotion is active you only have to pay 50% of the final auction price when you win an auction! This is a great perk to strike savings as shipping is always free on DealDash.
Time as Highest Bidder Multiplier
Each time you are the highest bidder, your bidder bar fills up. When the bar is full you can claim your free bids and your level goes up. During “Free bids faster” promotions the bar fills up faster, meaning that you will earn the next level and the free bids faster!
The multipliers have been seen to go from 1X to as high as 5X during special promotions. There are also “booster” auctions where you can gain a personal extra multiplier for a few hours. Keep your eyes open for these to make progress in levels faster!
Auction Leaderboards
When the Auction leaderboard promotion is active, the three bidders who have collected the most Time As Highest Bidder in an auction will earn additional bid rewards.
The amount of bids the Top-3 are returned depends on the Buy It Now price of the item auctioned. The bidder with most Time as Highest Bidder in the auction gets the largest reward. The second and third place then share a smaller part of that.
Auction Blasts
When multiple auctions start at the same time we call this an “auction blast”. Blasts can have one auction starting every minute for an hour, but also blasts with 100 auctions starting at the same time have been seen! Some blasts have a theme and in the past we have “blasted” electronics, toys, fishing gear, New Arrivals, Bid Packs, iPhones… What will we come up with next?
New Arrivals
We try to keep our item selection fresh and meeting the needs of our customers. Additionally, we want to be the best place for you to discover new brands and items you didn’t know about. New Arrivals auctions are products that have recently been added to our catalog and are quite often launched as a blast.
Challenges
“Place bids in 10 auctions today”. That’s an example of a challenge we ran in the past. Once completing the challenge you are rewarded!
Challenges come in many formats and with different requirements, but all of them have a reward. Rewards have ranged from free bids to cheaper bid pack offers and personal Time as Highest Bidder multipliers spanning even over multiple days.
No New Bidders After $3
Normally a DealDash penny auction doesn’t permit new users to join after the auction price has surpassed $5. During the No new bidders after $3 the limit is decreased, which usually results in less bidders in auctions. Thus, these auctions might end earlier for a lower price.
It’s not only $3! We have also seen a limit of as low as $1 at times.
Every BidBuddy Counts
Every time your BidBuddy automatically places a bid (not manual, single bids) you receive 9 seconds on your Time as Highest Bidder progress bar, even if someone places a bid right after you. If any Time as Highest Bidder multipliers are in place, those will also be applied.
The Every BidBuddy Counts promotion started as a one-off promotion during a weekend in 2019. However, quickly we found out that customers loved the promotion and later in 2019 we launched it permanently.
Mystery Auctions
Auctions marked with a question mark are Mystery auctions. The item is revealed only 5 minutes before the auction starts, and no BidBuddies can be booked before that. This means that there is likely to be less competition in these auctions.
The items might be old favorites or something brand new – we won’t tell you but 5 minutes before the auction is beginning!
No Exchange Auctions
Unlike most auctions, the winner cannot exchange to bids auctions marked with a red “no exchange” icon. This means that everyone participating in one of these auctions is in it to purchase the product.
“Buy It Now” Discounts
Have you ever been in a situation on DealDash where you bid on an item but at the end of the day someone else won the auction? You probably know that you can get all your bids back by using the “Buy It Now” feature. Well these Buy It Now discounts make that deal even more attractive! Be on the lookout for the new price next to the old one when this promotion is active.
One-per-user
Auctions that are marked with the yellow “One-Per-User” tag are limited. Each bidder can only ever win one of these auctions. The bidders who have already won one similar item can not participate in future auctions. These auctions should have less competition in them.
No Re-Entry auctions
In auctions marked with the No Re-Entry icon, bidders cannot re-enter after the No Jumper limit.
Bids can only be placed using BidBuddy. After the No Jumper limit is reached, bidders who do not have a BidBuddy booked (or run out) cannot re-enter the auction.
Seasonal Online Auction Promotions
On top of all the promotions mentioned above, DealDash spices up the auctions with seasonal theme auctions, bid packs and challenges. Whether or not it’s the big football game, Independence day or Christmas, we always have something to fit the theme.
Have you heard about the US State Bid Packs? We introduce one state each week with three trivia-filled bid packs. You can learn fun facts about the different states while you bid!
The Future of DealDash Promotions
Online auctions have one big benefit: the promotions. We at DealDash have been working hard to introduce new promotions and live operations throughout the past year. This work is sure to continue to the new decade too as mentioned in the Roadmap to 2020 post.
Listening to Customer Feedback
We hope this blog post helps to answer any questions and understand the promotions you see on DealDash daily. Some of the best ideas we’ve turned into promotions have come from our customers. Examples are No exchange auctions and Every BidBuddy Counts to name a few. If you have any questions or want to send your ideas to the DealDash support team, leave us a note behind the link and we will be sure to hear you!
Ask Online Auction Questions from Jessica on YouTube!
You can also ask questions from James and Jessica on the DealDash YouTube channel. James has weekly videos where he discusses timely topics. In James’ videos there’s also a section where Jessica from our customer support team answers customer questions. Check out Jessica’s answer to a question on the BidBuddy below:
If you are new to DealDash or the bidding fee online auction model and want to give it a try, use the promo code “dealdash2020” upon registration to get an extra 100 free bids with your first Bid Pack purchase.