Online auctions are a part of the internet’s very fabric: ever since eBay came online in the mid-90s, people from all over the world have enjoyed the chance to score great deals on exclusive items in a brand new, giant global marketplace. It’s still intoxicating to bid on and win something you’ve been looking for everywhere, or even never realized you wanted.
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But while we still feel that excitement, we also remember the fears we first had about safety and the potential theft of financial information. Also – how can you trust you’ll get what you pay for?
Any company with hopes of building and sustaining an online auction site must address those fears consistently and reliably. This requires an extra level of vigilance – one that DealDash, created way back in 2009, has so far been able to muster.
Their CEO Mark Streich claims that in their 15 years of running the site, they’ve managed to survive mainly through an investment in customer service. “People have questions, naturally, about the unusual auction model, and we’ve made sure our team is ready to answer anything or address any issues that come up in our auctions.” They’ve created a system of essential safeguards that Streich says “have to be standard operating procedure for us to keep building and maintaining trust” with the site’s thousands of users.
DealDash is now the longest-tenured and by far the most reputable of these kinds of sites. Using the penny auction model, the site offers bid packages that cost between 12 and 60 cents per bid. When you want to bid on an item like a laptop, you place a series of one-cent bids before a 10-second timer runs out. When you’re the last bidder, you win, usually with a discount. Sometimes a huge one. But, if you lose, you’re out the costs of the bids you’ve placed. It takes some practice to strategies that work for you.
DealDash makes sure to put all these questions and strategies up front on their home page, with links to articles and user forums that are designed to teach new users how to get the most bang for their buck.
If you weren’t the winner of the auction, they’ve also added a “Buy it Now” feature to buy the product for the full price and get back all the bids you placed to be used in further auctions.
They’ve built a thriving community of regular users by offering loyalty rewards and exclusive access to auctions. There are even leaderboards where you can track your progress and get additional rewards. It’s all meant to make shopping a bit more fun and competitive, like a game – and the more you play, the better you get at winning.
So if you’re comfortable with the risks of the penny auction model, you can certainly find some great deals on the site, once you get used to the bidding process. They also offer to fully refund the cost of your first bid package if you decide you don’t like the model. They’ve certainly put a lot of resources into being there to answer questions and maintaining trust and integrity with their customers. They’ve received an A rating with Better Business Bureau, which provides some assurance that their practices are above board.
The platform is worth a shot for those who are lured by the excitement of auctions and the rush of winning an item for less than its value. They’ve done their best to be transparent and open about the process, and they’ve established an impressive track record of coming through on their promises. It’s a little different from eBay, but it’s a fun model to try.
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