Learn New Winning Strategies on DealDash.com

To get great bargains

Feb. 27, 2013, I won this $499 Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 16GB for only $18.46.  You can still win great bargains such as this on DealDash, but you might have to learn new strategies.

With the right winning strategies, customers can still win big

Many long-time customers of +DealDash got spoiled. When DealDash was a small onlline shopping site, it  used to be so easy to win lots of great bargains. Now we ask ourselves, "what happened?"

What happened is that DealDash grew very quickly from a small shopping site to a much bigger one with a lot more customers. Along with the growth of the company came many changes. But one thing remains the same -- DealDash is still the longest-running, most reliable, fair & honest penny-auction shopping site online. It is not going away. It is only getting better. To long-time customers, that means it has also become more challenging.

Customers can still win outstanding bargains -- up to 90 percent or more off retail prices for brand new products.  It is not impossible to win great bargains like we used to, but now the competition is greater and it is more difficult. Therefore, to still win great deals on DealDash, we must do some changing, too. We must develop some new and different winning strategies. That might mean that courteous customers who never "jumped in" on another bidders action before, might have to reconsider. We still must follow the rules and be considerate of other bidders, but the bottom line is that as long as we are NOT breaking DealDash rules, we must look at new ways to win without "breaking the bank." Are you up to the challenge?

Some bidders might have already discovered how to win the auctions they want. If not, I have done some experimenting to learn what might and might not work, so I will share some of my new winning strategies.

Winning strategy One

When the bid packages go on sale, buy lots of bids and fill up your account.
Buy bids as cheaply as possible and use them as wisely as possible. If you do not know how to use BidBuddy, you need to find out. Otherwise, you will most likely waste too many bids.

Winning strategy two

Consider going to bed early and getting up to bid in the middle of the night when the competition might be lower.  Watch for days of the week and times of the day when fewer customers are online. Remember to take the time zones into consideration as well.

Winning strategy three

Make sure you get your first bid in before the auction reaches it's "no jumper" limit. When DealDash was courageous enough to celebrate its 4th birthday by featuring $1 "no jumper" auctions, I thought that would eliminate a lot of the competition, so it would be easy to win again. While it did cut down on some of the competition, I was surprised at how many customers managed to get into the auctions before they reached that $1 "no new bidders allowed" limit. To prevent getting locked out of the auctions, all customers must get at least one bid in before the auction's preset limit. After that, I usually wait until the bidding gets down to the last two or three bidders before I put the rest of my bids into BidBuddy, the automated bidder.

Winning strategy four

Look at the winners list to see who won a big package of bids recently. Avoid getting into the same auctions with screen names who recently won 600, 800, 1,000 2,000 or 5,000 bid packages. After winning that many bids, they will most likely have more bids than you do and will be able to out-bid you.

Also check the winner's list to see how much money the auction usually goes for and then wait until the auction reaches that amount before you start bidding. This strategy of holding the bulk of your bids until later could backfire, however.

If ALL bidders were to decide to wait until later, the auction could close surprisingly early and go to a brand new, inexperienced, bidder who put all their bids in at the beginning of the auction.

I noticed that most auctions tend to close early or late. Some bidders only go for the ones that close early ... and that in itself might be a good strategy to follow. Not only will those bidders use fewer bids, but the closing cost is much lower as well. If you consistently place bids only at the beginning of auctions, most likely you will eventually win sooner or later for an incredibly low cost. Just to play it safe, I usually put some bids in early and save the rest for later.

Winning strategy five

To conserve bids, some bidders do not put their bids into BidBuddy. Instead, they faithfully watch the auction and cast only one bid every third or fourth time, hoping to hit it lucky. This way of making your bids last longer, could work for some people sometimes. By doing this, however, you are definitely playing a big game of chance.

Winning strategy six

Bookmark several auctions that feature the item you want to win, and put some bids in each one. Watch the bidding and focus on the one that appears to have the least amount of competition. If you do not know how to bookmark items, read the article at the bottom of the home page on DealDash. Using the bookmark tool has definitely made my bidding process a lot easier to track.

Winning strategy seven

Become familiar with screen names and how other bidders bid. Try to avoid bidding in the same auctions with bidders who consistently drive the cost up to ridiculously high levels. Some bidders only participate in auctions if they are prepared to do a BIN (Buy It Now) and those bidders have nothing to lose by driving the price up high, since they will get all their bids back if they lose.

Winning strategy eight

Only bid in auctions that you can afford to BIN (Buy-It-Now) if you lose. If you are on a tight or limited budget, it is a good idea for you to only bid in auctions where you plan to buy the product, anyway. Then if you do not win, at least you can get all your bids back free. That strategy will save you a lot of money.
If you barely have enough money to buy food and clothes for your family, however, you should not take any chances with your limited funds by shopping online because nobody is guaranteed to win. It is a fun way to shop for people who can afford it, but it can also become very addictive. All customers should have a budget and know what they can and cannot afford to spend.
Playing successfully could sometimes be pure luck -- just being in the right auction at the right time.  If you keep looking for ways to save bids and play smart, you could develop a winning strategy that works for you.

Winning strategy nine

Only bid on one auction at a time.  Choose the auction item you most want to win, and focus on that one and that one only.  I discovered (the hard way) that I have more winning success if I use this strategy of focusing on only one auction at a time.  Then I can pay more attention to what's happening and use my bids more wisely -- canceling my bids when too many people are competing and adding bids when only two to four bidders are left. 

Even though DealDash has become more competitive, smart, experienced customers with the right strategies could still win more than they lose. But that does appear to be more the exception than the rule, so feed and clothe your children first. Then, if you have money left over, go ahead and try to win a great bargain on DealDash.  It is fun and exciting when you see the word "Congratulations" and win the auction of your dreams!

I hope some of these ideas help you to bid a little more successfully.

Happy bidding!




In early February 2013, I won this $50 Texaco gift card, plus 50 bids, for 83 cents. This is a good example of being lucky enough to be in the right auction at the right time.

Visit me here:  https://plus.google.com/111941944154930718258/about?rel=author Barbara Sellers