BidSwagger.com is a new penny auction site that launches today with their first auction being for a Black Nintendo Wii Bundle.
We were impressed to see that BidSwagger is planning on giving back to the community, they plan to do this based on their positive net income and will give accordingly based on community support for each particular charity. They are looking to hear from users to nominate five charities for each month. The first charity that they plan to donate to is Oceana, “An oceans advocacy non-profit organization which focuses on water/beach quality, fisheries and fish habitat, and marine sanctuaries.” this nomination was due to the recent, terrible oil spill in the Gulf.
BidSwagger is also allowing members to vote for future auctions and make auction item requests. To learn more about them read our recent interview below, and don’t forget to discuss BidSwagger.com in our forum as well as review them if you try them out!
Penny Auction Watch: What got you interested in the entertainment shopping industry?
Bid Swagger: My college roommate and I have had discussions of opening a website or business together since our sophomore year. Now that we found ourselves in our final year of college, we put the pedal to the metal and discovered penny auctions. We loved the idea and business model. Not only can we help users “afford what they can’t,” but we can have fun doing it too. We also wanted to improve the legitimacy and design of penny auctions.
“Afford what you can’t” is our motto.
Penny Auction Watch: When will you open?
Bid Swagger: Our site is now live and has been for a few days. The first auction is for a Black Nintendo Wii Bundle and ends on Memorial Day! Be sure to check it out. We’ve spent the last five months testing and developing the platform from scratch to allow users to have the best and smoothest experience.
Penny Auction Watch: What kind of items do you have lined up? Will your auctions run on a schedule?
Bid Swagger: Our overall goal is to try and continuously offer high-end items. We don’t want to offer small $10 and $15 gift cards like many auctions do in their infancy stage, so we have developed a fair and transparent reserve system. All reserves are disclosed on the auction description, and the winner may either pay the difference or refund their bids if the reserve is not met.
We allow our users to request items and vote for future auctions, so the products are pretty much limitless. At the moment, we don’t have a set schedule. We will be holding at least three auctions a day starting immediately after June 2, 2010. We would like to consistently add to the number of items we have each day, and we would like to never offer items that are below $40 (unless users are requesting specific, cheaper items).
Penny Auction Watch: What are the timer increments between bids and does this vary by auction?
Bid Swagger: Currently, every auction’s price is increased $0.01 per bid. The timers will reset to 10-15 seconds. The small timer will show, which amount it resets to. We will expand these features once we pass a certain learning period for our users. We don’t want anyone to be confused.
Penny Auction Watch: How much are your bids?
Bid Swagger: Our cost per bid varies based on how many bids you buy at one time. Currently, they come in 5 different bid packs, with our cheapest one averaging a little above $0.50 per bid and our cheapest around $0.80. Our argument with the “bulk discount” idea is simple; you help us by paying more upfront, so we help you. All “buy it now” options are discounted using the average bid cost a user has paid, so users who don’t buy the larger packages are not hurt.
Penny Auction Watch: What are your shipping costs?
Bid Swagger: Shipping costs vary for each auction. Currently, winners pay NO shipping. Other users who choose to buy it now pay a small shipping fee, which is disclosed in the auction description.
Penny Auction Watch: Does BidSwagger have any win limits, limits /household?
Bid Swagger: Yes, currently we allow 5 wins a day, 10 a week, and 20 in a month. We’ve gotta spread the love.
Penny Auction Watch: Is there a story behind the BidSwagger name/theme?
Bid Swagger: Well, not entirely. We had brainstormed and played with a few ideas, until it just hit us one night. Now that we’ve claimed our name, Bid Swagger, we feel like we hear the word, “swagger,” everywhere we turn. Our friends all approved too, so we figured it stuck the best. The theme of the site is clean, crisp, and professional. We named our automatic bidder for users the “Beef Bidder.” The idea came from the fact that the bidder handles your “beef.”
Thanks BidSwagger!
We also wanted to add that BidSwagger told us they will not have bots or shill bidding at all in their penny auctions. We’ll hold them to this and wish them well.
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