Hey Thump

[BarryBobPosthole]

There have been several ads on tv for Dealdash lately. I think its funny when somebody says they 'won' a bid. Okay I guess if you consider you pay when you win.

anyway I was wondering if it is legit and what their hook is. They kind of actually hint around that they are some how more fair than eBay but they don't come out and say it.

BKB

[Thumper]

Yeah, there are a few of them out there. There's another one very similar to DealDash called Quibids. I played with it a couple times but never was able to win any bidding. It's not my thing really. I believe they work the same way, not positive. It's been a while since I played with it, but I think you have to pay for every bid you make whether you win or lose the auction. Plus it's a fast and furious pace if I remember correctly.

[Thumper]

Yep, I just Googled it and found this. It's pretty much the way I remembered it. Each bid costs ya' $0.60!


Business model

DealDash, like other auction sites, has been described as a gamified approach to e-commerce. To participate, registered bidders first buy "bids" priced at $0.60 each, that they may spend bidding on auctions. Standard auctions begin with an opening price of $0.00, with every bid placed increasing the price by $0.01 and removing one paid "bid credit" from the user's balance. Bidders may choose to place single bids, by manually clicking the bid button, or through an automatic bidding tool called the "BidBuddy". An auction clock restarts from a maximum of 10–30 seconds, depending on the auction, every time a bid is placed. If no new bids are placed before the clock runs out, the last and highest bidder is declared the winner of the auction.

Criticism

DealDash has been criticized for offering poor value to customers and for making disclosures only in fine print.

Penny auction sites, including DealDash specifically, have often been criticized for failing to disclose or include the cost of bids in what customers actually spend in total to win a product. In a conventional auction, bids are based on prices that participants are willing to pay, with the item sold to the final bidder within a set period that bids the highest price. This usually allocates the item to the person who is willing to pay the most. By contrast, penny auctions award items to parties that are persistent or lucky enough to place the final bid, with money raised primarily from the cost of bidding rather than the final price of the item. In most cases, users spend substantial sums of money without winning anything. DealDash and others have been compared to gambling by consumer groups.

According to Consumer Reports, the "buy it now" prices can be significantly higher than the same products on Amazon.com. Unsuccessful bidders not using the option lose the value of the bids placed. A company spokesperson says DealDash generates significant business from bidders who choose to buy items after losing, with hundreds of orders processed daily.

Consumer organization Truth in Advertising reported that a DealDash television commercial shows "Roseanna" winning a $349 kitchen mixer for "less than $25". Small print explains she bid 761 times on that mixer, which cost her over $456, plus the $25 "price" she won it for. This means she paid closer to $481 - well over the stated $349 retail price. Both Truth in Advertising and Consumer Reports noted that DealDash's own terms of service tell users that they are likely to spend more than the retail cost for products and are unlikely to save money using the site.

[airbud7]

Weird thing is I googled this last night when I saw 10 back to back commercials so I did the math...

for .60 cents you can raise the bid 1 cent..... so for every dollar the item goes up they make $60 dollars

thats $6000 for every $100 jump in bids........heres the kicker!....if you win/ you still gotta pay for it/ Lol...