Thursday, May 17, 2012

PennyBurners Interviews UBIDUGO Penny Auction

Launched in late 2011, UBIDUGO.com, a travel penny auction site, was founded to "address the growing desire among travel aficionados to gain greater control over the costs of exclusive travel packages." Since they've launched, hundreds of consumers have snagged amazing deals on travel packages, travel accessories, hot electronics, and cheap gift cards.

We recently had an opportunity to interview Irving Weisselberger, CEO of UBIDUGO.com. We asked him questions about the travel penny auction model, what sets his site above the rest, and if people really do win vacations for mere pennies. Read on to discover more!

PennyBurners: Obviously UBIDUGO sets itself apart from the other entertainment auctions by also auctioning travel/vacation packages. What would you say to the skeptics, who see that an auction for a 7- Day Eastern Caribbean on the Norwegian Epic recently sold for only $.40?

UBIDUGO: We expect that we are going to have some losses. Some auctions will go for more and some will go for less. At the end of day, it is all part of the growth process. We expect it. Many of our travel winners have already won and taken their vacations and have posted their feedback on our website.

PennyBurners: You've auctioned several cruises and vacation packages since UBIDUGO opened, many of which went for "dirt cheap". Have you received any feedback on these auctions from the happy customers?

UBIDUGO: Feel free to check out our testimonial page on UBIDUGO.com. Here is what just one customer had to say, “I *LOVE* Ubidugo! What's not to love? I get to do my two favorite things: Bid on Penny Auctions and travel at discounted prices. What's even better is if I don't win, I can use the credit for the bids used to book hotel rooms which I occasionally need to do. I won a two day trip to Orlando with tickets to Universal Studios. We checked in to the hotel without a hitch and the tickets were waiting for us at the gate. Thank you UBIDUGO! You are now my favorite auction site.” - JFR

PennyBurners: Here's the question everyone is wondering: How are you able to offer these amazing travel packages and stay in business?

UBIDUGO: UBIDUGO is well funded. It is only in the beginning stages, and our marketing is continually expanding.

PennyBurners: Now, you don't offer only vacation and travel packages. What else does UBIDUGO have to offer those who are seeking to snag a great deal online?

UBIDUGO: We offer all kinds of travel related products, such as Kindles, digital cameras, GPS navigation systems, iTunes gift cards, designer accessories, luggage, and much more.

PennyBurners: Your site says that there are NEVER any "losing" bids in your auctions. Can you explain how this works and why it's a prized feature for your members?

UBIDUGO: Any bids you make at UBIDUGO that don't win automatically get awarded back to you as travel points, which you can use to book airfare, hotels, car rentals, and tours through our booking solution. It's a prized feature for our members because it is a win-win!

PennyBurners: We notice that you have a "Book Now, Travel Today" section on UBIDUGO.com. Can you tell our readers a little more about that feature?

UBIDUGO: Our “Book Now, Travel Today” section is a booking engine much like Travelocity and other well-known booking engines. You can use our booking engine to reserve hotels, airfare, rental cars, and tours. The perk we offer that is different from other booking engines is that money you have used toward auctions on UBIDUGO that you did not win can be used toward your purchase on our booking engine. Again, that is why there are NEVER any “losing” bids on UBIDUGO.

PennyBurners: Now, down to the nitty gritty: How much do your bids cost, do you offer any free bids upon registration, and are there any promos running currently?

UBIDUGO: Each bid costs $0.60 and we grant each customer 5 free bids upon registration. Coupon code issuing happens only on special occasions. However, we have a great USB bracelet that you can bid on that comes preloaded with a coupon code for a surprise percentage of savings at UBIDUGO.

PennyBurners: Is there anything different about your auctions and format that a veteran bidder should note?

UBIDUGO: The functionality of UBIDUGO is the same as everyone else. However, we offer a booking solution that allows you to put the money from any of your losing bids toward a reservation. Also, we are the only ones doing travel 24/7.

PennyBurners: What sets UBIDUGO apart form other entertainment auction sites?

UBIDUGO: Our single goal is to see everyone travel and enjoying themselves. We are unique in that we only focus on travel.

PennyBurners: Can you tell us a bit more about the team behind UBIDUGO?

UBIDUGO: The team at UBIDUGO is comprised of a hybrid of new and old businessmen. UBIDUGO is surrounded with advisers in the travel and penny auction industry.

PennyBurners: What would you count as your most memorable moment in the entertainment auction industry?

UBIDUGO: I would count November 24, 2011 as my most memorable day thus far in the entertainment auction industry. This was the day we ran our first auctions.

PennyBurners: Any word of advice for aspiring site owners?

UBIDUGO: Customer loyalty should be your number one goal. Making customers happy should be the priority of the business.

PennyBurners: Where do you see the industry a year from now, and why?

UBIDUGO: We will continue growing, especially now that we have a win-win solution. With our added travel component to a new and already exciting industry, we are bound to see growth.

PennyBurners: Thanks for taking the time to interview with the PennyBurners Team, Irving! Is there anything else you'd like to let our readers know?

UBIDUGO: There is much more to come. We continually add new and exciting products, so be sure to stay tuned!

Have you bid at UBIDUGO? Were you a lucky winner of a vacation to the Caribbean or Disney World? Do you have reviews and feedback to share?

Visit the UBIDUGO Sub-Forum on the PennyBurners Penny Auction Forum to stay up-to-date on the latest UBIDUGO and Penny Auction News!

15 May 2012 Written by Katie "Hijinks"

Penny Auctions - UBIDUGO

NailBidder Acquired by Penny Auction Solutions

Over the weekend, we learned some good news, and some not-so-good news regarding NailBidder.com, one of the older, most stable penny auction sites in the industry. First, the good news!

NailBidder.com is proud to announce it has been acquired by Penny Auction Solutions, a Nevada corporation. With this acquisition will come some VERY exciting changes for all of our members! As with all changes there is always some growing pains, however in our case Rusty is still in charge and will remain the BOSS of NailBidder.com! There will be no loss of his excellent customer service and/or support staff. We look forward to growing and making us the #1 penny auction site in the world! For more information on Penny Auction Solutions, please visit their corporate website: www.pennyauctionsolutions.com.

We wish both NailBidder and Penny Auction Solutions our very best in their new venture. We have contacted "Rusty" for more information on this acquisition, so for the most up-to-date news, check back in with PennyBurners regularly!

Now, on to the not-so-good news...

We are saddened to inform of the passing of Rusty's grandfather yesterday morning at the young age of 98. Unfortunately, NailBidder will be closed this week and will reopen Wednesday, May 16th while Rusty and staff pay their respects.

We were very sad to hear the news of "Grandpa Rusty's" passing. Over the past two years, we've had the privilege of hearing many wonderful stories about "Grandpa Rusty" and we know that the NailBidder Team will miss him dearly. Our thoughts and prayers are with Rusty and his family during this difficult time, and we wish them peace and joy in the coming weeks and months.

If you have feedback for NailBidder, wish to discuss the acquisition, or would like to leave condolences for Rusty, please visit the NailBidder Penny Auction Forum on PennyBurners.

14 May 2012 Written by Katie "Hijinks"

Penny Auctions - NailBidder

Beezid's "Number One Mom" Contest

Beezid Presents...

[From the Beezid Blog]

Every year when Mother’s Day rolls around we all get the chance to indulge ourselves in a little bit of selfish chit chat with our friends and family about all the great things our moms have done during the year and in our lives in general.

One might talk about the wedding she paid for, while another might boast about the inspirational notes she left in their lunch bag each day before school each day. It’s unfortunate but most of the time, we never get the chance to thank our moms publicly for awesome prizes. Until now.

Beezid wants to hear about what makes your mom “Number One” and we’re giving away a stack of $100 Restaurants.com gift cards to ten lucky winners who want to share their stories about just how amazing, inspirational, motivational or terrific their mom is!

To enter, all you need to do is send an email by clicking here that contains at least 50 words telling everyone the story of your “Number One Mom” (or just send an email to media@beezid.com). If you include a picture of your mom and are selected as a winner, we’ll throw in a $25 AMC Theatres gift card too!

Entries must be received by 12:00PM EDT on Friday, May 11th, and winners will be announced the same evening on the Beezid Facebook page. To ensure we spread the winning around, there’s a limit of one $100 gift card and one $25 gift card per mom.

You know you have a “Number One Mom” and it’s about time the whole word knew it, so get your writing cap on and tell us all about her and win big with Beezid this Friday!

The PennyBurners Team wishes all of the participants the best of luck in the contest. We imagine that it will be HARD to pick a winner, because we know all of your mothers are wonderful. No matter the outcome of the contest, be sure to let your mom know how much you love and appreciate her :-)

If you're a Beezid Bidder and you want to leave a review or feedback for them, or if you simply want to talk about bidding tips and strategies, join the PennyBurners Penny Auction Forum!

09 May 2012 Written by Katie "Hijinks"

Penny Auctions - Beezid

Penny Auction GankIt Relaunches Under New Ownership

GankIt.com, a Houston-based penny auction site, formerly owned and operated by Shmuel Gordon, has relaunched under new ownership!

GankIt, founded in 2010, saw great success in the few months the site was live, and many were disappointed when it closed. The PennyBurners Team actually met with the former GankIt Team and were very impressed by their ingenuity: GankIt.com Takes the Penny Auction World by Storm!

We are very glad to see that the site is open again, and have already contacted Jack Arnold, the new CEO, for more information.

For now, check out the recent Press Release on GankIt's Relaunch:

"GankIt.com, a leader in crowd sourcing penny auctions, relaunched the popular website Sunday, May 6 with new ownership. The site has been redesigned with new cloud computing technologies, improved response times and enhanced customer support.

Our new ownership team has invested significant resources in new products and technologies that provide for a enhanced customer experience. "We have rededicated GankIt.com to its core customer values," says CEO Jack. "We're getting back to our OG roots with hot new products and a renewed commitment to customer service."

The atmosphere at GankIt is unique where participants in the auctions and other services are called Original Ganksters or OGs. These OGs utilize established social media and good-hearted competition to bid on high quality merchandise a penny at a time. Everyday GankIt offers brand new products including electronics (such iPad 3 and Kindle Fire), designer clothes, gift cards, sporting goods and home furnishings.

Here's how it works. OGs purchase bundles of bids and can either bid to win products or "Gank" to purchase the item at a discount to retail price. Each auction starts at $0.01 (one penny US) and increases by one penny with each bid. The last OG to bid on a product when time expires is the winner! In addition, with each bid that is placed the GankIt (Buy-It-Now) price decreases. This allows OGs to Gank cool new products at drastically reduced prices.

So what are you waiting for? Become an OG today and see what all the buzz is about at www.GankIt.com."

Were you a GankIt fan in 2010? Glad to see it back?

Are you a newcomer to the GankIt scene?

Visit the PennyBurners Penny Auction Forum and share your feedback and opinions on this new-old penny auction site!

08 May 2012 Written by Katie "Hijinks"

News - Penny Auction News

South African Penny Auction, Smokoo.com, Closes After BidFair Acquisition

[From MyBroadband.co.za]

Controversial penny auction website, Smokoo, has stopped trading following an acquisition by BidFair. Bidfair offers similar services to Smokoo in South Africa.

Smokoo announced on its website that it has been “acquired by BidFair and has ceased trading”.

“Smokoo customers may access BidFair Site at www.bidfair.co.za,” the Smokoo announcement states.

According to Smokoo their customers are required to manually register a new account with BidFair within 60 days to keep their credits.

“Once the 60 day period has expired any Smokoo customer who has not manually registered a new account with BidFair, will forfeit any Smokoo bids remaining on their Smokoo account,” the company said.

BidFair CEO, Denzil Govender, said that they decided to acquire Smokoo to boost BidFair’s presence and grow its user base.

“We decided it would be the better move to take over Smokoo rather than doing a merger. Although we are not as recognized as Smokoo, we are leading the way in customer support and customer satisfaction,” said Govender.

According to Govender it would not have made sense to keep Smokoo alive as it “cannot offer any more options to their current users”.

“BidFair has a much more unique platform that allows us to introduce new concepts into online auctions,” said Govender. “Although the Smokoo name will soon fade away, all of its users were welcomed into BidFair.”

Former Smokoo marketing director, Thomas Pays, said that due to a confidential agreement he could not comment on the matter.

So, good and bad news for Smokoo fans today. Smokoo was an interesting penny auction site, though not heavily discussed in the general penny auction community, as they focused primarily on its South African customer base. The PennyBurners Team had an opportunity to interview both Thomas and Li, co-founders of Smokoo, on PennyTalkRadio in July 2011 and were always impressed by their quick communication and dedication to their customers. We wish them and the rest of the Smokoo Team well as they move on to new adventures.

We have not heard much about penny auction site, BidFair, as they are also primarily geared towards South African bidders. From their About Us:

BidFair was launched in 2010 by a group of tech savvy, marketing guru’s with a vision of making the online auction scene more exciting, rewarding and fair for the bidders! The company is based out of Durban, South Africa. With our staff having many years of experience in the online marketing, finance and computer science industries, we strongly believe we can deliver the best auction experience to our customers with the best promotions, service and integrity. We strive to keep our costs as low as possible to maximise the number of great deals on offer at BidFair.

If you were a Smokoo customer, please remember that you have 60 days to manually register a new account with BidFair in order to keep your bid credits. Please REGISTER by clicking here.

If you have experiences with BidFair and feedback to share, please join the PennyBurners Penny Auction Forum. It's FREE and EASY to join and we'd love to hear from you!

04 May 2012 Written by Katie "Hijinks"

Penny Auctions - Smokoo

The Life of a Penny Auction Bidder

We know that there are a lot of misconceptions of penny auction bidders, especially when your family, friends, and society simply do not understand what you do. Heck, sometimes you don't even understand what you do!

Here at PennyBurners, we "get it".

If you are a penny auction bidder, or if you're looking to learn more about penny auctions, PennyBurners is the place to be! We have a fun, vibrant forum, a live chat room, a live radio show, penny auction reviews, promos, news and more! It's FREE and EASY to join! :-)

01 May 2012 Written by Katie "Hijinks"

News - Penny Auction News