Introducing www.giftcardsforapenny.com

[GiftCardsForAPenny]

Hi! I'd like to introduce you to my site: Gift Cards For A Penny

As you can probably tell by the name, we are a penny auction web site that is focused on gift card auctions. We are based in Palm Springs, CA and make the following pledge to all of our users:

• NO BOTS! None. Ever. We provide an above-board experience for all of our users
• We list more gift cards than anyone else. We have everything from restaurants, shopping and even online retailers like Amazon and iTunes.
• We don't believe in excess fees. Our Bid Packs are conveniently priced and all gift card auctions provide FREE SHIPPING
• You get 10 FREE BIDS just for signing up!

Again, our goal is to provide an above-board experience to all of our users. Any concerns, just email me at: [email protected]

Follow Us On Twitter: GiftCardsForAPenny (GiftCardsPenny) on Twitter
Follow Us On Facebook: GiftCardsForAPenny.com

[GiftCardsForAPenny]

MODS - thanks for the listing!

We're getting very close to our grand opening and wanted to let you all know that we will be launching with more than 50 different gift cards available for auction. If there is a particular gift card that you do not see but would like to bid on, feel free to contact us and we'll see what we can do.

[GiftCardsForAPenny]

I wanted to make sure that you were all the first to know that we have now set Sept. 7 as our official grand opening date!

Our management team had a great meeting this week and we've decided to deploy a ground-breaking new feature for users. I really hate to use hyperbole, but it's truly a feature that no other gift card penny auction site has . . . in fact, no other penny auction site has it at all!

Keep on following us on facebook and twitter and visit us at: Gift Cards For A Penny -- penny auctions for gift cards and watch for our grand opening on Sept 7!

Remember, all new users still get 10 free bids just for signing up!

[GiftCardsForAPenny]

Our programmers have gone rogue! We decided to initiate a soft-launch today for all of our Penny Auction Watch friends. Check out the site, we're live and you can bid and win: Gift Cards For A Penny -- penny auctions for gift cards

[y2p731]

Hello, I was just on your site. It looks very interesting, I'm not going to reveal anything until you officially announce it but it looks very good so far.

[kimbers]

Every auction has a reserve of 125% of retail. There is no timer on the front page. On the bid page it does not list who the current bidder is or if my bid was even accepted and am the high bidder.
More importantly, it does not even let you know anywhere if you are even logged in or haw many bids you have.
The format and size looks great as well as the variety. Also it will let you keep bidding even if you are the highest bidder, or is that feature allowed to try to reach the reserve.

[spens1960]

Every auction has a reserve of 125% of retail. There is no timer on the front page. On the bid page it does not list who the current bidder is or if my bid was even accepted and am the high bidder.
More importantly, it does not even let you know anywhere if you are even logged in or haw many bids you have.
The format and size looks great as well as the variety. Also it will let you keep bidding even if you are the highest bidder, or is that feature allowed to try to reach the reserve.

Site looks very nice but i need to see who i am bidding against and who is the highest bidder. I really don't get it if you can't see these things that kimber mentioned.

[kimbers]

I actually don't mind not seeing who the highest bidder is or who is bidding. Just need to see my bids and if i am the highest. if it is not disclosed who the bidders are to all it will help the site as the powerbidders lose their edge. Plus you may even get two power bidders against each other and they would not even know it.
i prefer these types of auctions. Levels the playing field.

[oldschmoop]

If you like watching a clock tick down...not knowing what the reserve price is...just throwing in a bid here and there hoping you might be getting close. Then getting an email saying "Unfortunately this item did not meet the reserve price and the item was not won by anyone. All of your bids have been credited back to your account." Then THIS is the site for YOU! You get your bids back...WOW! Then you get to do it all over again...and then again...and then again...and then again. Where can I go to see the winners and figure out what the reserve price might actually be? Could it be that no one has won anything yet? Truthfully, I'm so sorry I purchased bids here. Actually, some of my bids are missing, so someone must have won something somewhere, but I don't know which auction. You don't find out if you've won or not until you get an email later on. So...even though I've beaten the other bidders, I lose anyway because the reserve wasn't met. What's the reserve? Nobody knows!!!! I think I'd rather go watch paint dry. There's absolutely no excitement, so if you have a bad heart, this could be for you!

[kimbers]

Earlier i stated the reserve was 125% of retail. so figure the value and use .45 per bid. They had the reserve posted on the first several auctions. .70 per 25 dollars.
then after the email, you do not see your bids back in there until you bid again and it resets. no where does the site let you know tou are logged in and your balance unless you bid.

[oldschmoop]

Sorry. I missed that. Is it possible to see ended auctions on the site? I sure couldn't find them. I emailed them and asked them to explain it all to me, but they couldn't. Not my cup of tea. I'm disappointed because I love bidding on gift cards.

[oldschmoop]

I'm almost embarrassed to admit how stupid I am! I decided I was being too harsh on this site and decided to try again. Here I am on the site, bidding on a $25 gas card... thinking I need to get the item up to the reserve price using kimber's theory. Got it up to 50cents and then realized that somebody will probably jump in now and get the item for just one bid! Duh! Now I'm just praying that 51cents is below the reserve price...which it should be if kimber's reasoning is correct. I don't see how this site will possibly succeed. Nobody is going to want to jump in until the item is close to reserve. Plus...there are tons of cards. I'm thinking they need to reduce the number of cards until there are more bidders on the site.

Just got my email. Nobody got the item, so I got my bids back. Guess I'll just sit on the bids until the site gets more popular...or should I say "if". Gee...can I accumulate interest on those? LOL!

[GiftCardsForAPenny]

Please keep in mind that we are still in a soft-launch phase for all of our friends at Penny Auction Watch so we're working through a couple of items.

The reserve is now known to all bidders and all reserves represent a savings value of at least 97% off retail price. You can also clearly now see who you're bidding against.

Also, a lot of you have asked about the need for a reserve. When we started this site we decided that if we couldn't do it completely above-board and provide an honest experience to users, we just wouldn't do it. That means that our site does NOT, or will it EVER, use bots or shill bidders. Quite frankly, if you are on a new site, with little history and few members and no reserve prices, then you are most likely on a bot site.

We appreciate your patience as we grow and appreciate having all of you on board. We're still working with the folks here at PAW to bring you some promos and prizes in the near future.

[PAWUSER8]

The reserve is now known to all bidders and all reserves represent a savings value of at least 97% off retail price. You can also clearly now see who you're bidding against.

Really this is not true, here is an example from one of your auctions. You have a 200 dollar gift card with a reserve of 5.25. That means you have had 525 bids at .45 cents a bid for a total of 236.25. You have an amex ex gift card for 25.00 dollars with a reserve of 80 cents. That is 80 bids at .45 cents a bid for a total of 36.00. Again a 11.00 profit on a 25.00 gift card.

Everyone is on here with the hope to get a good deal. And I agree that you get in the business to hopefully make an honest living. However you are really trying to make a profit.

I wish you all the best, but I don't think you will survive with this way of doing business.

[GiftCardsForAPenny]

Everyone is on here with the hope to get a good deal. And I agree that you get in the business to hopefully make an honest living. However you are really trying to make a profit.

I wish you all the best, but I don't think you will survive with this way of doing business.

We choose to be optimistic and user are getting good deals: It only takes ONE bid to win. That's why we offer bid packs as low as $5 and we give 10 FREE BIDS for all new users.

Finally, we do not charge any excess fees when you win and all, secured, same-day USPS Priority shipping with Signature Confirmation is included in your winning price. When you compare us to sites that add a ridiculous amount of fees for "processing" and shipping that takes 2 weeks, I think you'll find that we're very competitive.

[IceDragon]

No offense but I would rather pay 10.00's for a card with 10.00's for shipping and wait two weeks then pay the full value of the card and then some. You theory about winning with 1 bid is a joke. Unless you have 100's of constant bidders no card will ever meet reserve price. I would clearly rethink your business strategy or YOU will fail.

[GiftCardsForAPenny]

Unless you have 100's of constant bidders no card will ever meet reserve price.

That's exactly where we're headed. Again, this is all just a soft launch, today is only our 3rd day of operations. We've been pleased with the results so far and our marketing plan will help us build our user base over the next month and for the rest of 2010. We anticipate reaching a point in the near future where the need for reserve prices will go away.

Again, I want to make sure that you all understand that a legitimate penny auction site is impossible to launch without reserve prices. If there are sites out there claiming that, then they are using bots, plain and simple

[PAWUSER8]

Again, I want to make sure that you all understand that a legitimate penny auction site is impossible to launch without reserve prices. If there are sites out there claiming that, then they are using bots, plain and simple

I would like you to understand that you NOT will get to 100's of users with the reserves you have in place.

Legitimate or not! Your reserves are over the retail value and with no one bidding you will not be able to win a card for 1 bid, and if you do have 100's of bidders you still will not be able to win a card for 1 bid.

This is just some of my knowledge from me and fellow bidders and the experience of bidding on PA's for over 2 years.

Also you can't see the won auctions. Have you had one card meet the reserve yet in the 3 days of business? I only see one auction that had one bid.

[GiftCardsForAPenny]

Your reserves are over the retail value

We have heard from a variety of users over the past few days and have welcomed their feedback. If you have a suggestion on how to keep a reserve below the retail price, while still being able to provide a high level of service and same-day Priority shipping, then I would welcome your email to: [email protected]

[PAWUSER8]

We have heard from a variety of users over the past few days and have welcomed their feedback. If you have a suggestion on how to keep a reserve below the retail price, while still being able to provide a high level of service and same-day Priority shipping, then I would welcome your email to: [email protected]

Unfortunately I don't know of a business that has started up out of the gate making a profit. I own my own business and I know we didn't.

The only suggestion I have for you is to let others see the won auctions.


Have you had one card meet the reserve yet in the 3 days of business?

[GiftCardsForAPenny]

WINNER ALERT!

Congratulations to user dylansfan from Massachusetts for winning a Visa $50 gift card today at a closing price of $1.39! That represents a value of 97% OFF!

WINNER ALERT!

[rotaryguy]

Also you can't see the won auctions. Have you had one card meet the reserve yet in the 3 days of business? I only see one auction that had one bid.

i doubt it. i watched this auction tonight...no where near the reserve price

[GiftCardsForAPenny]

i doubt it. i watched this auction tonight...no where near the reserve price

I invite you to sign up for our facebook and twitter feeds that post our winners. We had a winner yesterday afternoon - a $50 Visa gift card at 97% OFF!

[TheBidder]

Do I understand this correctly that you have had ONE winner yesterday afternoon? So can you track the traffic on your site? So you had ONE winner out of how many bidders? Sorry but I would like to win in this lifetime...

[y2p731]

I just bid on one of your auctions and the auction ended without meeting the reserve, but I didn't get my bid back after waiting ten minutes.

[GiftCardsForAPenny]

I just bid on one of your auctions and the auction ended without meeting the reserve, but I didn't get my bid back after waiting ten minutes.

The auctions are cleared out every 10 minutes. So, let it run a little longer and send us an email if it doesn't clear out for you.

[GiftCardsForAPenny]

Do I understand this correctly that you have had ONE winner yesterday afternoon? So can you track the traffic on your site? So you had ONE winner out of how many bidders? Sorry but I would like to win in this lifetime...

I'd like to see you win too! We're actively working on building the user base which will make the auctions more competitive. Again, this is just our soft launch weekend for our friends at PAW and Facebook followers. Our press release goes nationwide tomorrow morning and our marketing efforts will ramp up thereafter.

[rexter65]

got a email about the new site seen it joined and bought a bid pack but nothing for 4 days so asked for a refund and they gave itr to me back to paypal told them when they figure how to get it rite be more then happy to spend money there but no one bet and to meet the reserve price players have to waste ther bid to get it high enough makes no sence part of the hole actoin is to somtimes get lucky and win it for dirt cheap none of that there they have to understand your just starting out no company turn 100%profite to start off rite now 60 reviews and all bad about the site nice site like just the gift card idea asking to much to start off out of the gate and o ya now that they gave me a refund they wont let me log in any more lol

[GiftCardsForAPenny]

got a email about the new site seen it joined and bought a bid pack but nothing for 4 days so asked for a refund and they gave itr to me back to paypal

I'm happy that you received your refund in a timely manner.

[KristyZ]

Wow! This site has received some tough criticism. "I would like to win in this lifetime." (We all would.) "I didn’t get my bid back after waiting 10 minutes." (Really? 10 whole minutes?) "You will NOT get 100s of user with reserve prices." (That's encouraging!) "Winning with one bid is a joke." (Not really.) Rethink your business strategy or you will fail. (So discouraging!) You are really trying to make a profit. (Ya think?)

I just logged on to PAW to tell everyone about how great this site looked. I've read and read here but never commented before. I thought this was worthy of a comment. Honestly, I was surprised to see all the harsh, if not rude, comments. I was impressed by the 10 free bids (always nice), free shipping (that's a big plus!), no bots (yes, they all claim that but the reserve prices does led me to believe this one just might be legit.), and very impressed that refunds are given on auctions that don’t meet reserve prices. I think it looks very promising.

ESPECIALLY considering that this site is in soft launch phase and only on day 4, I am hopefully that once they are up and running with a good amount of traffic this could be a great PA.

That's my two cents.....for what it's worth.

[GiftCardsForAPenny]

To Our Friends at PAW: Thanks to all of you that have participated in our soft launch. Today is our official Grand Opening and have sent out a press release to mark the occasion. You can view our press release at: GiftCardsForAPenny.com Opens Its Virtual Doors for Gift Card Penny Auctions

[GiftCardsForAPenny]

You spoke, we listened! Google Checkout is now a payment option on our web site. We are authorized vendors by both PayPal and Google Checkout and you can choose you're preferred payment method when buying Bid Packs!

[GiftCardsForAPenny]

WINNER ALERT!

Congratulations to user asjs2007 from Texas, winner of a $25 Visa Gift Card!

WINNER ALERT!

[kittykat]

That's exactly where we're headed. Again, this is all just a soft launch, today is only our 3rd day of operations. We've been pleased with the results so far and our marketing plan will help us build our user base over the next month and for the rest of 2010. We anticipate reaching a point in the near future where the need for reserve prices will go away.

Again, I want to make sure that you all understand that a legitimate penny auction site is impossible to launch without reserve prices. If there are sites out there claiming that, then they are using bots, plain and simple

I normally don't comment about other sites - but felt compelled to reply to your comment that if there is no reserve placed on an auction then the site is using bots!

First of all, I have not been to your site but I can tell you from experience that I personally (as a bidder) dont bid on sites that have reserves. I just dont like them. I prefer to know right away if I am the winner.

Second, I find it extremely rude of you to make such a statement about other site owners and how they operate. I am sure there are bots, but if you are an experience bidder you know who they are and steer clear of them.

I wish you luck with your new site but would certainly appreciate it if you would limit your comments to your own site and not make accusations you can't support. My site isnt up yet simply because we want to be sure everything works as it should and that we have a site that folks will enjoy - but it will be open soon and I can assure you we will not have bots, scammers or thieves and we wont have a reserve!

Good luck with your site.

[GiftCardsForAPenny]

First of all, I have not been to your site

We invite you to become a member.

Also, as we've stated before, if you have an idea on how to use a reserve price at less than retail value that still allows us to keep the lights on in our office, we welcome your suggestions at: [email protected]

[kittykat]

We invite you to become a member.

Also, as we've stated before, if you have an idea on how to use a reserve price at less than retail value that still allows us to keep the lights on in our office, we welcome your suggestions at: [email protected]

I wouldnt dream of attempting to tell you how to run your business, I simply ask that you not impy the rest of us to be doing things illegally or morally wrong just because we don't use the reserve feature or that just don't care for the concept.

I wish you the best of luck with your new site, and hope you wish me the same.

Good night.
Kathy

[marverly]

It seems that there isn't much activity on the site. I've bid on 3 items, and on all 3 I've been the lone bidder, and as a result have not met the reserve.

Hopefully more activity picks up, as I like the site thus far.

[GiftCardsForAPenny]

WINNER ALERT! WINNER ALERT!

Congrats to user 'gamster' for winning a Visa Gift Card for only $0.69!

WINNER ALERT! WINNER ALERT!

[y2p731]

WINNER ALERT! WINNER ALERT!

Congrats to user 'gamster' for winning a Visa Gift Card for only $0.69!

WINNER ALERT! WINNER ALERT!

I'm not going to make accusations, however I will say this...

I'm not sure why you're even trying to promote your winners. I was on that site yesterday, it's a virtual desert since no one is bidding. Especially when you have reserves on all your auctions.

Here's my opinion. The problem with the site is that no one will go on the site and personally purchase bids to drive up the price until they reach the reserve. Then when the timer counts down, everyone will bid at once before it reaches zero and the auction ends.

This rule works, but doesn't work with a reserve.

If you want people to spend money on bids on your site and have them to pay for the winning giftcards, get rid of the reserves.

[GiftCardsForAPenny]

If you want people to spend money on bids on your site and have them to pay for the winning giftcards, get rid of the reserves.

As we've stated many times in this thread, our primary goal is to provide an above-board experience to users. From the very beginning, our group decided that if we couldn't do this legitimately (i.e. without bots or shill bidders) then we wouldn't do it at all. All of us come from a strong business background, we have no interest in cheating and creating bad karma for ourselves.

To re-iterate: We do not use bots or shill bidders of any kind, EVER!

If you are a new penny auction site, it is (quite frankly) impossible to stand by this pledge and not have a reserve price. As our user base grows, we anticipate reaching a point where reserves will no longer be needed. PAW will certainly be one of the first places where we advertise this fact. Again, anyone who can suggest an operational model without a reserve, please feel free to email us at [email protected]

Also, even with our reserves, we've had a great launch over the past few weeks and we've had various winners. We appreciate the support of all PAW members.