Tag: Free

Taking a Look at Different Bidding Styles

If you’re just getting started at DealDash you might be puzzled at all of the different ways that people use to bid on items. Be mystified no more, here is a handy guide to a few different bidding styles.

I know when I first got started with DealDash a few years ago I was seriously confused…When you think of bidding in an auction you might picture an auctioneer raising the price higher and higher as people commit to paying a certain amount of money. Well, online auctions are totally different. Not only do the customers dictate the price by raising the price of the item by 1 Penny every time they bid, bidding is not as straightforward as you might think. Here are a few different ways that people bid:

 

The Newbie: The Newbie tends to be overexcited about their first few times on DealDash, and they bid like crazy on every auction on the home page, without even opening up the item page or doing any research whatsoever. This bidding style very rarely wins anything, and just leaves the bidder frustrated.

The Stomper: Everyone hates The Stomper. The Stomper picks an auction, and rather than bidding politely and waiting for the timer to go down to 2 or 3 seconds they bid immediately after a person, therefore cheating the person out of their “clock time.” The Stomper is not the best way to bid, because it usually ends up making people angry and they will just keep bidding til the BIN (Buy It Now) price any possibly even beyond just to spite The Stomper. However, occasionally being The Stomper can win you an auction, especially if you are bidding against The Newbie, because as we talked about above The Newbie is easily frustrated and will move on pretty quickly.

The Bid it and Quit it: The person who uses “The Bid it and Quit it” style tends to spread out small amounts on bids on many different auctions in the hopes that they might get lucky and have one of the auctions that they picked to The Bid it and Quit it are one of those magical auctions that ends for just a few cents. This bidder tends to do some research on when is the best time to bid, as well as picking lower value auctions that might not be as popular. On first glance you might think that The Bid it and Quit it and The Newbie are the same, but they are really very different – The Newbie is surprised and frustrated when they don’t win, and The Bid it and Quit it doesn’t really expect to win, they just like the thrill of possibly winning something for pennies. The Bid it and Quit it treats DealDash as if it’s a virtual scratch ticket, tossing away $5-$10 in bids in hopes of a big payoff.

Those are just a few of the ways that people like to bid on DealDash. What’s your favorite way? Please stay tuned for future blogs where I will discuss more advanced ways to bid. For now, check out the auctions and see what you would really like to bid on, and try my tips to save bids. See you on DealDash everyone! Good luck and happy bidding.

More Suggestions on How To Conserve Your Bids

We’ve talked about conserving bids before, but here are some other ideas that can hopefully help you save bids and money.

Well, there are a few different ways to try and conserve your bids for another day, and I will try to teach you about some of the easiest ways to save your bids for later.

One of the best ways to conserve your bids is to use the BidBuddy! When I very first started using DealDash a few years ago I was so confused by the Bid Buddy. At first, I thought that the BidBuddy was some kind of trick or bid waster, but really, that thinking was all wrong. The Bid Buddy is the BEST way to save bids, because when you are putting in single bids it’s very easy to lose track of the order that people are bidding in, and therefore wasting a bid by bidding too early.

The BidBuddy is a wonderful tool that DealDash provides to every single bidder, free of charge, to help them win more auctions. We all know that the majority of auctions on DealDash are won by using the BidBuddy. The BidBuddy waits until the last second to bid. You can put in as few or as many bids as you like into the BidBuddy, and it will tirelessly bid for you until your bids have run out. The BidBuddy is an awesome tool to use to conserve bids, especially if you are bidding on an auction that seems like it’s going to last late into the night, long after you have gone to bed.

 

We’ve talked about this before, but I feel that being willing to BIN (Buy It Now) is such an important way to conserve bids that we need to talk about it again. If conserving bids is important to you and your family, then you should probably only bid on things that you need and can use in everyday life instead of “taking a chance” on something that’s completely out of your price range if you don’t win. If you want to conserve bids, practice your DealDash math so you know when to stop bidding to break even with your bids + final auction cost, then stop bidding! After you do your math calculations and realize that you have reached the BIN price, use the “Buy it Now” option and pay retail price for the item. DealDash will when refund all of the bids you used on that item, and you can try again another day.

 

 

I hope that these simple tricks help you to save your bids and get the most out of your bid pack purchases. Pay attention to what you’re doing, check out the auctions and see what you would really like to bid on, and try my tips to save bids. See you on DealDash everyone! Good luck and happy bidding.

Best Time of the Day to Bid on DealDash

There are so many great items to bid on at DealDash, but when is the best time to bid on them?

I really think that the most important thing to do before you make any kind of bidding commitment is to do your research! Once you have found something that you would really like to win and you feel like you can commit yourself to going all the way to the BIN price if you have to, then start checking out every auction for the item you want, as well as similar items. I personally would make a spreadsheet detailing when the auctions for the coveted item (or very similar ones) start, bookmark them on DealDash, and then when the auction is over, what time the auction ended. By the way, if you don’t know how to bookmark auctions on DealDash, it’s really easy! Just click the little star in the top right corner, and it will turn yellow.

After you have watched and studied and took notes on these auctions you can get a better idea of when might be your best time to take the plunge and start bidding. Just make sure that you get your first bid in before the auction hits $5 or you will be locked out.

Personally, I have found the best times to bid in general are weekdays during the daytime, and holidays. However, DealDash has grown to be such a huge site with so many people opening accounts and bidding it’s really hard to say. I feel the best idea when trying to find the best time to bid is just to watch, watch, watch! If you happen to be browsing the “Winners” section on DealDash and notice that a lot of items have gone quite cheaply in the past hour or so, well, now’s the time! Load up that BidBuddy and have some fun!

So, DealDashers, that is how I decide when to bid when I want to get a great deal on DealDash. Sometimes the plan works out beautifully and I won an awesome item, and other times I end up Buying It Now and using my bids a different day. That’s the fun of DealDash, you never know who will win! So go ahead and check out the auctions and see what you would really like to bid on and WIN! See you on DealDash everyone! Good luck and happy bidding.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

 

Here in Massachusetts we are gearing up for our very first snow of the season! It’s coming remarkably late in the year, it was a beautiful 60 degrees on Christmas Eve. Let’s think about snow…

 

When you think about snow, what is the first thing that you think of? Well, if you’re a grown up, you are probably thinking about snow removal. No fun! We will get to that later, but for now, let’s think like kids. And how do kids feel about snow? They love it! If it’s a lighter snow they get to go out and play, and if it’s a heavier snow they even get to skip going to school. What kid doesn’t love a snow day?

When you think about playing in the snow, they first thing that comes to my mind, as a parent, is warm snow gear. If your kids old snow gear doesn’t fit anymore, or if they didn’t receive any new snow gear this year for Christmas, you might want to head on over to DealDash and check out their gift card section, here. DealDash has quite a large selection of gift cards, and there are plenty of cards available to stores that carry all manner of snow gear such as snowsuits, boots, hats, gloves, etc. Some cards that you might want to check out are Sears, Target, Wal*Mart, or even Cabela’s Sports if you are looking to get some higher quality snow gear for an older kid or teen who likes to snowboard or ski.

Alright, let’s talk about the less fun side of snow – snow removal. Snow removal can be as difficult and backbreaking or as easy as you want it to be, you just have to have the right tools for the job. If it’s a very light dusting of snow, and you just want to shovel your walk so it’s easier and safer for your family and others to walk on, just use a shovel, no problem. If it’s a mid-level snow, and the classic shovel is a bit too backbreaking for your taste, how about getting a snow pusher? They are similar to a shovel, except they have a long flat blade that you can just push the snow out of the way like a human snow-dozer. Of course, for the heaviest snow you are going to need to pull out all of the stops and use your snow blower! The good news is, DealDash has all of these snow removal products and more. Check out the Home, Garden, & Tools section here and check out all of the great products that are up for auction to make your life easier for you.

 

 

Well, I’m off to organize my snow tools, then relax with a hot tea, and check out the auctions. See you on DealDash everyone! Good luck and happy bidding.

It’s a DealDashingly Great Fall!

It’s a beautiful crisp fall day outside today, and I am grateful to be using all of the wonderful things that I have gotten on DealDash this year.

 

The leaves are everywhere, so of course I have been using my Flexrake that I won on DealDash this year. The Flexrake is awesome for picking up those troublesome leaves, and not only that it’s super sturdy and seems like it’s going to last for quite a few seasons. I am contemplating getting a few more of these great rakes so everyone in the family can come out and rake together. As it is, I am the one raking and the kids are the ones jumping into my piles and messing them up! Kids will be kids. If you would like to get your own rake from DealDash, there’s still time! Here is the link that will take you to the rakes on DealDash here.

Flexrake Classic Leaf Rake Flexrake 48-inch Handle with 19-inch Steel Head Lawn Rake

 

Another item that I think about in the fall is my hose reel. Now is about the time of year when we reel in our hoses, disconnect them from the house, and turn off the water supplies to the outdoor faucets. My Suncast resin wicker hose reel is a great sturdy box for my hose, weather proof (so far!), and looks great next to my house. These hose reels come in different capacities of 175 and 225, but if you aren’t crazy about a boxy-type hose reel DealDash also offers some more decorative options. You can check out the different types of hose reels that DealDash offers here in this link.

Suncast 175-foot Resin Wicker Hose ReelLiberty Wall Mount Decorative Hose Reel

The last item that I am so happy to have this season is my Pressure Joe pressure washer. It can do so many amazing cleaning jobs outside my home that need to be done before winter settles in and it’s too cold outside to do any home and yard work. Pressure washers can remove tar and grease from your concrete sidewalks or your driveway, heavy mildew stains from your siding, oil stains, rust from steel, caked mud on your lawn mower and weed wacker, and any other stubborn gunk and grime that you have hanging out on your deck or porch. DealDash has a few different types of pressure washers available, check them all out at this link.

Sun Joe Pressure Joe 2030 PSI Electric Pressure WasherAll Power America 1800 PSI Electric Pressure Washer

Well everyone, that just about summed up my weekend! Thanks for reading, and thanks to DealDash for supplying us with some great items to bid on. Check out the auctions and see if there’s anything that you need this season. See you on DealDash everyone! Good luck and happy bidding.