How to Win Penny Auctions on OohILove

Yes, its true, you really can win a pair of authentic Louboutin pumps for $5.25 or a Louis Vuitton bag for $5.75!  OohILove is changing the way luxury items are sold at auction and we love it!  Master this game and you too can win a $1,000 luxury handbag for a fraction of the retail cost of these items!  Similar to being at a casino and buying your chips, buy a package of bids starting at $30. Wondering how they can make any money doing this and if these items aren’t actually fakes? Read our other recent blog on OohILove to see how the company makes money selling authentic goods for pennies and why penny auctions are a win for consumers and company!

Each bid you make is worth $.99, and items start around $.50 or less. It’s not like eBay, as you cannot raise the price manually–the price is raised 2 cents with each bid.  Auctions start at $0 with no reserve. Each time you bid on an item by pressing the “bid” button the auction timer increases by 10 seconds, allowing other interested users the chance to outbid the latest bidders.  (To make the auctions more exciting, during the last 30 seconds of the auction, the auction timer will not increase above 30 seconds no matter how many bids are placed.)

Now here are a few tips we’ve picked up that may help you win that item you are lusting after on OohILove!

1. Don’t bid early.  There’s no point in bidding days or even hours before the auction ends because when you do, it just adds more time to the clock.  The real action happens in the last seconds of the auctions – remember, to make the auctions more exciting, during the last 30 seconds of the auction, the auction timer will not increase above 30 seconds no matter how many bids are placed.

2. Bid on auctions that end at odd hours, like during the middle of the night or at dinner time, or on a holiday when many people are out of town or not near a computer.  Also watch for auctions with not as many bidders.

3. Set up Bid Assistant to do your bidding for you!  When you check out auctions that have already ended, we’ve noticed that the high bidder almost ALWAYS wins with the bid assistant.  Also, don’t use round numbers – you are better off with figures like $5.93.

4. Become a spy.  Yeah, we said it…sometimes its smart to be a little sneaky. When you click on the photo of the item you are bidding on, you can see who else is bidding and when.  This can help you plan out your next bid.  If you notice that one person is bidding with the Bid Assistant, and you are not, hang back for awhile.  It’s been our observation that its almost impossible to outbid the bid assistant if their highest bid is set higher than yours and you will just get frustrated and spend a lot of your bid chips.  You are likely to have better luck against other manual bidders or on auctions where bid assistant is not allowed.  There are also special “beginner auctions” you can watch for too!

5. Follow OohILove on Twitter for discounts and get coupon codes through their Facebook page to win free bids.

More to be aware of and watch for!

Know What the Real Price Is

Here’s how it works.  Now, understand that let’s say someone won an item for $5 USD, but they had to use 20 bids to get to the $5 mark.  They actually paid $24.80 for the item.  Why?  Because each time someone bids, it only adds 2 cents to the auction price.  So if 20 bids were used to get to that point x 99 cents per bid =$19.80 plus $5 final winning price = $24.80 (plus shipping).  Still a totally fabulous price for a pair of Louboutins that normally retails closer to $1,000, right?!

Do the Math

Don’t be a dummy and do your math.  Look at this auction for a Louis Vuitton Tivoli Bag.  The winner bought the bag for $133.60, which in theory sounds totally cheap for a Louis Vuitton. However, she started bidding early and spent 1,629 in bids – so 1629 bids x 99 cents = $1612.71!  Add that to the $133.60 final auction price, for a grand total of $1746.31 spent (plus shipping) – and the Louis Vuitton Tivoli is only $1550 at Louis Vuitton, so she paid MORE than retail!  DUH.  Just know what you are really spending by keeping a calculator nearby and don’t go crazy with the bidpacks until you know what you are doing!

There are expert “Penny Auction” bidders out there.

If you are just starting out, we highly recommend you not go for the most expensive item first.  These experts may have 2,000 bids to spend when you have only 30.  Try starting out on the Beginners Auction or going after a Tiffany’s bracelet or $100 Gift Card to Saks.  You are much more likely to win for fewer bids.  Then work your way up to more expensive retail items once you get the hang of it.

Watch for “Jumpers”.

So you stayed up til 2am when that auction is ending and no one has been bidding and then suddenly – WHAMO!  10 new bidders are online at the last second!  They are “jumpers” who’ve jumped in at the last second to try to win, thus saving up their bids in hopes to outwit bidders who’ve already spent all their bids and want to swoop in at the end and win the item.  Don’t give up!

Learn the User ID’s of Experienced Winners

Check the Winners page and notice the User ID’s of members who win often.  They tend to use ID’s like “NeverGiveUp” or “IWontQuit” to intimidate newer bidders from bidding so that they win the item.  Perhaps a smart strategy.  Perhaps also smart to avoid bidding against them and move on to a different auction if they have 2000+ bids to spend and you have only 30 or so.

Now you know more than the average OohILove bidder, so get out there and go register for an account on OohILove and your first bid is free!

Tagged as: OohILove, Penny Auctions