ibid2SAVE is based on a penny auction model. It’s a unique, fun, exciting way to take the traditional auction model that’s been around for centuries and make it more entertaining. With that said, at times there can be some confusion as to how exactly the auctions work on ibid2SAVE. Therefore, we’ve decided to write a detailed explanation in case you are confused. Please read each section below to get a better understanding of ibid2SAVE.
Getting Started
Before you can start bidding, you’ll have to first register an account at ibid2SAVE. On the home page simply click the blue button that says “Register” in the upper right hand corner of the homepage. Once you have completed this process, you will then be able to participate.
Buy Bids
To buy bids, click the “Buy Bids” button on the home page. There are 7 different sizes of bid packs to choose from. At ibid2SAVE, there are two types of bids, Cash bids and Promo bids. Whether you have Cash bids or Promo bids, each bid has a value of $0.60, and both can be used to participate in ibid2SAVE auctions. Cash Bids are obtained when you purchase any of the 7 different bid packs available to choose from. You will notice that we attach a certain number of FREE Promo Bids to each Bid Package. ibid2SAVE rewards you with more Promo bids when purchasing larger bid packages. Once you have selected a bid pack, just simply add your credit card and billing information or pay with PayPal and you're almost ready to partake in your first auction! Purchasing Cash bids doesn’t guarantee you’ll win, but of course we have the “Buy Now” feature which we’ll discuss in a bit.
Preparing Yourself to Bid on ibid2SAVE Auctions
Once you’ve made it this far, you will see your total amount of bids show up on the top of the ibid2SAVE homepage. This will update every time you place a bid on ibid2SAVE. Now before you start bidding, we highly recommend that you take a few minutes to watch a couple auctions and familiarize yourself with the pace and the dynamics of our auctions. We also recommend you read through the entire ibid2SAVE 101 page and Help page to learn as much as you can about our site, rules, potential strategies, and FAQ’s. On the home page you will see an Ending Auctions section that has the auctions closest to ending. Each of these auctions has a timer, a price, a bidder name, a picture of the product, and a colored banner with a cent number in the upper left corner. Here is what it all means.
The Timer
Each auction timer counts down consecutively until it gets below 0:20 seconds. From that point on the timer will reset to 0:20 seconds giving other bidders the chance to decide to make a final bid. At first the timer will reset to 0:20 seconds each time a user bids on the auction. If the auction is still going after the price reaches $0.50, we drop the timer to where it will reset to 0:15 seconds each time a user bids on the auction. Finally, if the auction continues to a price of $1.00, we’ll drop the timer to where it will reset to 0:10 seconds each time a user bids on the auction. When the timer reaches 0:00 the auction ends and the last person to place a bid wins the right to purchase the item for the final auction price.
The Price and the Colored Banner with a Cent Number
Each auction has a specific amount that the price increases each time a bid is placed. On a one cent auction the final sale price will increase by $0.01 each time a bid is placed. On a two cent auction the final sale price will increase by $0.02 each time a bid is placed. The total price represents what the person who wins the auction will pay if the auction were to end at that point before any applicable fees or shipping & handling charges.
Bidding
There are two different ways that you can bid on ibid2SAVE. The first way to bid is to simply move the mouse cursor over the bid button and click. Your bid will be recorded and your name will show up as the highest bidder. Each time that you are outbid by another user you will need to manually click the bid button again in order to bid.
Sometimes there are situations where bidders need to temporarily take their focus off of an auction but would like to instruct ibid2SAVE to continue bidding for them. The Autobidder feature is designed for these types of situations. Simply instruct the Autobidder how many bids you are willing to spend and click “Turn On” to start your Autobidder.
Once it has begun bidding for you, it will not stop until you either win the auction, run out of bids set in the Autobidder, or bid on another auction that would cause your Autobidder to surpass your win limits.Buy It Now Explained
You can get an overview of our 'Buy It Now' feature on our Help page. If you are still unsure about 'Buy It Now,' then please read below:
The 'Buy It Now' feature is set in place so you can come to ibid2SAVE and be confident the value of your cash bids submitted can be used toward purchasing the desired item when NOT winning the auction. Granted, there are some people who will spend up to almost the item's retail value price, not win the auction and then not exercise this feature... This kind of act is stunning to us! At that point, why are those users not using the Buy It Now?! We strongly encourage our users to exercise this feature if you do not win the auction in which you participated. On the other hand, if you do end up winning the auction, and get the item for a sweet deal, then that’s wonderful!
Ok, so here's how it works. Let's say you're going to bid on a $100 Target gift card. In this auction, you end up placing 60 Cash bids (that's $0.60 a bid x 60 bids = $36). You've just spent $36 in Cash bids. Now, let's say you didn't win the auction. If you exercise the 'Buy It Now' feature, you will then need to make up the difference of $64 in order for us to send you the gift card. By doing this, you have not wasted any money. Now, if you did not exercise this feature within 8 hours, then yes, you will have lost the initial $36 in bids. Taking this same example... say you spent that $36 on the auction and won. You then won your $100 Target gift card at a 64% discount. Good for you!
After you have purchased the item, we will process your order right away! One thing to keep in mind with your bids is that only Cash bids can be applied to the 'Buy It Now' feature, promo bids do not apply. Promo bids include the bids that are attached to product auctions, bids attached as a bonus when buying bid packs, Promo Bid auctions, free bids we give out for a certain number of days, and/or other promotions we are offering at that time. Also, you are able to see where you can choose the 'Buy It Now' feature below an auction's opened page. You can view this whether you are logged in or not.
We hope this clarifies the 'Buy It Now' more thoroughly. Don't hesitate to give us a call or email us if you need more clarification or your question was not answered. We'll gladly help any way we can. Visit support @ibid2SAVE.zendesk.com
How ibid2SAVE is Not Gambling
ibid2SAVE is an entertainment retail auction site that offers the opportunity to get great, brand name products at deep discounts. ibid2SAVE is highly entertaining and competitive, which is why so many customers love it. However, in the past year, there have been allegations that the business model is gambling or a lottery. The purpose of this category is to simply explain the differences between the ibid2SAVE model and gambling.
ibid2SAVE is not gambling due to a variety of factors, including:
Buy It Now Feature is on 100% of Auctions
No one has to walk away empty-handed. It is entirely up to the participant whether he or she will use the value of Cash bids spent on an auction as a rebate to the value price. The worst case scenario should be someone walking away from the site with an item or a group of bundled items at the total value price, which is typically the retail or MSRP price. ibid2SAVE’s Buy It Now feature eliminates the potential for loss.
ibid2SAVE Auctions Require Skill
All auctions at ibid2SAVE are 100% customer driven, meaning that the outcomes of the auctions are determined by the customers themselves. There is skill that goes into every auction. Each auction varies in difficulty depending on a number of factors, including the popularity of the item up for auction, the number of bidders in the auction, the experience level of bidders in the auction, different strategies used by bidders, time of day, etc.
For an activity to be considered gambling as a matter of law, three elements must be present: consideration, chance and prize. Among other things, the outcomes of ibid2SAVE’s auctions are not determined by chance; therefore, ibid2SAVE’s auctions are not gambling. Wikipedia defines gambling as 1. Play games of chance for money; bet. Dictionary.com defines it as 1. to play at any game of chance for money or other stakes or 2. to stake or risk money, or anything of value, on the outcome of something involving chance: to gamble on a toss of the dice. At the very least, the element of risk is taken out due to the Buy It Now feature being available on 100% of ibid2SAVE’s non-ticket auctions.
Is the penny auction industry considered gambling without the Buy It Now feature implemented on every auction? This answer would still be no. The auctions are derived by the customers, not the “house” (assuming the penny auction site in questions is completely legitimate).
ibid2SAVE Rules
These rules are enforced to make sure everyone has an equal and fair opportunity to win and have a wonderful experience at ibid2SAVE:
NOTE: Breaking any of these rules (ie. creating multiple personal accounts or by attempting to use any type of automation or bots) violates our terms & conditions and will cause immediate cancellation of all of that customer's accounts along with forfeiting any unused bids, both cash and promo, without any refund or credit. Any items or products that are won while in violation of our terms & conditions are not valid and will not be required to be fulfilled. Refunds will be processed only for the amounts paid for these products and not for any used bids that were lost during the specific auction in which these items were won while violating the terms & conditions of ibid2SAVE.
Low on Bids? ibid2SAVE has multiple ways available to get Promo Bids. First, ibid2SAVE gives its users the opportunity to earn a ton of Promo Bids for FREE by clicking “Get Free Bids” in the top menu. We allow you to invite as many friends as you can through email, Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin. We will award you with 100 Promo Bids for each person who successfully signs up from your invitation sent by us. You will also earn 500 promo bids for each of your referrals who purchase a bid pack.
ibid2SAVE also allows you to earn Bids by participating in valuable special offers by clicking on the “Get Free Bids” link. You will be taken to our Earn Bids page that shows many different offers that are of possible interest to you. Some offers are FREE to participate in, and some require a purchase. Each offer will let you know how many Promo Bids you will earn by participating in each offer, the terms in order to receive credit for your Promo Bids, and how long it will take for you to get credit for your Promo Bids. We encourage you to take advantage of this unique opportunity often. These valuable special offers change daily. However we insist that you please only choose offers you really want to participate in. Abusing our offers that you have no interest in by entering fake information will result in forfeiting bids earned, and will result in account termination.
*Please Note: Earned promo bids can take up to 48 hours to appear in your account. Please wait at least 48 hours before contacting customer support.
