New bigger, better Pricebenders auctions!

The biggest change you’ll notice is that there will now be a minimum of 20 live auctions going at all times!  You should almost always now be able to find an auction of interest to you–no matter when you drop by.  And we hope to be doing over 100 auctions a day soon!

From the new index, you can also now easily participate in multiple auctions simultaneously (just click on the “bid” buttons for the auctions you want to bid on).  The new layout is also mobile-friendly and should work great on almost any modern smartphone or tablet.

A NEW PARADIGM

With our new expanded auction format, no longer will auctions typically be scheduled to start at specific times.  Instead, we will simply start a new auction each time an auction ends.  The newest auction will appear in the lower right corner of the index…and it’s initial timer will be for 12 hours.

If 12 hours sounds like a long time…you need to get comfortable with a new way of interacting with our auctions!  By the way, we’re not doing anything crazy here.  On the contrary, this is exactly how our competitors have been doing it for years, and it’s a big reason why they’ve been able to have a large number of auctions going on at once.  Now WE can too!

So, how might your approach to Pricebenders auctions need to change?  First of all, if you’re someone who is only comfortable manually clicking the “bid” button, then you’ll want to stick to the auctions that will appear in the upper half of the index screen.  As more bids are placed, the timer clock will get shorter and shorter…and the auctions with the shortest timer clocks will work their way to the top of the index.

Here’s the biggest change, however.  When a new auction starts–with the 12 hour timer–don’t be afraid to use Bid Assist.  Indeed, this is one of the main reasons why this tool exists–to assist you in bidding when you can’t be around all the time.  When a new auction starts–with the 12 hour timer–consider setting up some bids through the Bid Assist tool.  And if a decent number of members do this, the timer will quickly drop from 12 hours to a much shorter time…and then it’s “off to the races.”

Remember, the way the timer works is that it gets shorter as bidding increases.  The more bids placed, the shorter the timer will become, and the faster the auction will be completed (the winner is determined when only one bidder remains).

Tip: It’s likely that many people will, at least for a while, ignore new auctions because of the perception that a winner won’t be determined for many hours.  This could be true, but you may also find yourself the winner of a great bargain if you set up Bid Assist early because many others may be hesitant to use the Bid Assist tool.

Special Note: Because the use of Bid Assist is now an absolute necessary tool with the new 12 hour timer–and we can’t do 20 live auctions without such a timer–we are discontinuing NBA (No Auto Bid) as an auction attribute.  For those who might be unhappy with this change, we ask that you PLEASE consider the big picture.  The use of Bid Assist is critical for getting auctions off and running…and ultimately profitable.  Without profitability, there is no TripleClicks, there is no SFI, and there is no affiliate program.  And, remember, you joined SFI to make money, not spend it.  Bid Assist is a GOOD thing for every SFI affiliate.  It’s not the “boogie man,” it’s just a tool–that anyone, both the big guy and the little guy, can use to be a smart bidder at Pricebenders.

MORE COOL, NEW FEATURES

In addition to the 20 live auctions, there’s also an ample queue of UPCOMING auctions to check out.  Just click on the “Upcoming” tab to view these.  From the Upcoming list of auctions, you can play the Pick-The-Price game.  You can also set reminders for yourself here–click the BELL button–so that you’ll get alerted (via email and/or text message) when an item you’re interested in goes live for bidding.

From the new live index, click on item’s name to go to the item’s details page (which contains a detailed product description, various bidding tools, and more).

Each auction’s panel displays the name of the current high bidder (to see the full Bid Log, click on item’s name to go to the auction details page).

To keep down clutter and provide an attractive layout, we’re using small round icons to denote special attributes (Double MPR, Winner Bids Free, 99¢ auctions, etc.).  The meanings of each icon should be obvious, but if you’re not sure, just mouse over the icon and a helpful tooltip will appear to provide clarification.

So you can see who is using Bid Assist, you’ll see a small icon beside each bid in the Bid Log that was placed via Bid Assist.

We’ve made getting registered to bid (becoming a new TC member) much more prominent and easy on the new Pricebenders index.  Plus, when someone registers from the new index, they’ll also be provided a quick, easy way to buy some TCredits so they can start bidding right away.  This new addition will help you sign up more PRMs and generate more commissions (that is, on TCredits sales).

Note the fresh, new header and footer that the new index is sporting.  Over the next few weeks, this new header and footer will be incorporated across TripleClicks.

ONE MORE THING…

If you like the new Pricebenders index, you’re going to LOVE what’s coming next.  Stay tuned for announcements on more powerful additional additions soon that will work synergistically with the new index to take Pricebenders to a whole new level.

Bidding on and winning bargains at Pricebenders for yourself is great, but what’s even greater is earning BIG, RESIDUAL commissions every month from referring TC members who become active auction bidders.  To join the fun, check out the “Grow your income” panel on the Pricebenders tab at the Affiliate Center.  With the new index and other additions coming soon, there’s never been a better time to tap into the Pricebenders income stream!