Hold on the longest and win!
One line pitch
Hold on the longest and win!
Team
- Krystian Cybulski – Co-founder and brain behind the technology
- Weronika Cybulska – Marketing and Operations
Pain
It is difficult proving to our prospective customers that we are not a scam. People are correct to be cautious, but in this business model it is difficult to dispel the fears.
Solution
We will run BidRodeo without compromising our integrity and work with any customers who have valid complaints. Over time, this should demonstrate to the world that we are operating legitimately. We want our users to know that the model is structured in such a way that the winner can get an amazing deal, and we can still turn a profit. We would have to be foolish to cheat in any way and anger our users.
Technology
The software running BidRodeo was developed in house. The backend bid data server was build to be highly scalable and to be able to process a large number of simultaneous requests. We try to leverage mature open sourced technology to build on a solid base with a low cost overhead.
Market
Mainly US and Canada.
Business Model
It is an auction site where each bid costs a little money. When the bid is placed, the auction price increases a bit and the time extends by a few seconds. The last bidder to place a bid before the time runs out gets to purchase the item at the end price. Hold on the longest and win!
Competition
- Swoopo.com
- BidRay.com
Milestones
Build a mechanism for proving to the user that we are a legitimate business. Build a customer base in order to reach profitability. Grow the product offering to give more choices for the customer.
Conclusion
Pay per bid auctions are a new concept and many people have still not heard about it. It will be interesting to see how the entire business model evolves with time. It is just as exciting for us to watch the auctions as it is for our users to participate in them.
The founders, when submitting their venture repeatedly declared that their venture is not a scam. Though I’ve not tried bidding yet, I can certainly see why they declare it’s not a scam–the site too good to be true! Upon browsing, you’ll see that individuals have won prizes such as a Nintendo Wii for $42.80 and saved nearly $300. I’ll be checking it out now.
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Regarding the comment that “Upon browsing, you’ll see that individuals have won prizes such as a Nintendo Wii for $42.80 and saved nearly $300.”
On the surface this may be true, but considering that each bid costs at least $00.68 to place and raises the price by $00.01, this means that more than $2,900 was spent in bidding! So while the winner won big, the losers shelled out more than $2,850 and received absolutely nothing. Using a tool like “Bidbuddy” may seem efficient, but it simply means that it will keep spending your money, sometimes unnecessarily. Some bidder have actually ended up paying more for an item (when all costs are considered) than if they purchased it in a local store. Truly, “bidder beware” is in order.
http://www.sellmoo.com is another great penny auction site