Category: Strategies and Tips

Father’s Day is June 18 so it’s getting close but we might have enough time to shop for more gifts on DealDash.com.

I already suggested a sander with cast iron base and/or a men’s silk neck tie. However, I see that DealDash still has several other gift ideas up for auction that could make an excellent Father’s Day gift, too.

Let’s take a look at a few more of them.

Cologne for men

One of the most popular colognes for men has a BIN of only $79.00. That’s good because that means if we do not win it, we can afford to BIN it and get all our bids back for free. That way we have everything to gain and nothing to lose.

So far, this cologne has had 716 customer reviews and it has received an overall rating of 4.92 out of the possible 5.0, which is an amazingly high rating after that many reviews. That’s good, too, because that lets us know this is definitely a high-quality product.

Based on the past winner statistics listed, this cologne is usually a very competitive auction and it might not be easy for us to win. In the last 30 days the highest number of bids used to win this auction is 815. However, three shoppers listed below did win this cologne at an extremely low bargain price:

• May 28, this cologne for men sold at only 4 cents and the winner paid a total of 41 cents, including the cost of the two bids placed;
• May 17, this cologne sold at only 16 cents and the winner paid a total of $1.48 including the cost of the 7 bids placed; and
• May 8, this cologne sold at 29 cents and the winner paid a total of $1.49 including the cost of the 6 bids placed.

So shoppers do have the opportunity to win this cologne. It might just be a matter of being consistent. That means, consistently shopping for it until we do win.

Digital Electric Smoker

Digital electric smokers have become hot items recently because it eliminates the hassle of charcoal or propane.  I just saw a TV commercial about an electric smoker, similar to this one, and it looked like it works better than most high-end BBQ grills. It also looks like it is much easier to use, too.

In fact, this 30-inch digital electric smoker (with a BIN of $4.84.00), has received the highest rating any auction product can get. After 12 customer reviews, it still has an overall rating of 5.0 out of a possible 5.0. It never gets better than that and past winners are commenting how great it is. I might even give my old grill away to get one of these instead.

The user simply plugs this smoker in, sets the digital controls, and it does the work!

• The patented side wood chip loader lets us experiment with flavor without opening the smoker door, and it comes with four chrome-coated smoking racks;
• The digital panel controls the on/off and cooking temperature and time;
• The thermostat-temperature ensures we get even, consistent smoking, and it has an air damper for smoke control;
• The patented side wood chip loading system allows us to add wood chips without opening the door, and the water bowl adds moisture and flavor; and
• The wood chip tray allows for easy ash removal, and a removable drip pan and rear grease tray catches food drippings.

Best of all, this electric smoker also comes with a set of 33 essentials to make the BBQ experience even better. It even includes a case.  For a detailed list of these tools, see the auction description.

This gift is sure to make any father extremely happy because it makes their grilling job so much easier.

Happy shopping and Happy Father’s Day everyone!

This sponsored blog post was submitted by: Barbara L. Sellers. Barbara was compensated by DealDash for this blog post. Blog posts are written by real DealDash customers. The opinions and advice here represent our customers’ views and not those of the company.

Did you see the first new full-sized stainless steel refrigerator now up for auction on DealDash.com?  

This 25.5 cubic-foot refrigerator has a BIN of $2,298 and features a see-through window on the front right door called Insta-View. It also features an extra tall 12.6-inch water and ice dispenser for easy access to filtered water.

Personally, I would not want to see everything in my refrigerator at a glance because it might tempt me to eat when I’m not hungry. Based on the 325 shoppers who jumped on the very first auction, however, plenty of other shoppers love it.

On the positive side, the Insta-View window feature might serve as a quick and easy food shopping reminder when a family is running low on items.

Let’s take a look at some other features this refrigerator includes.

A long list of features!

According to the auction description, this refrigerator has plenty of space and includes:

• 4 split refrigerator shelves
• 4 fixed refrigerator shelves
• 2 refrigerator crisper bins
• Glide N’ Serve drawer
• 2 gallon refrigerator door bins
• 6 regular refrigerator door bins
• Ice bin
• Owner’s manual

For more detailed information, please see the auction description. The good news is that this refrigerator will be scheduled to go up for auction again.

A brief history of refrigerators

Artificial refrigeration began in the mid-1750s, and developed in the early 1800s. According to my research, in 1834, the first working vapor-compression refrigeration system was built. The first commercial ice-making machine was invented by Dr. John Gorrie in 1854, the man who is considered the father of air conditioning and refrigeration. It wasn’t until 1913 Fred W. Wolf Jr. invented refrigerators for home use. 

Most American homes, however, did not yet have a refrigerator until many years later. Before Freon (HCFC-22 and R-22), refrigerators used the toxic gases, such as ammonia (NH3), methyl chloride (CH3Cl), and sulfur dioxide (SO2), as refrigerants. Several fatal accidents occurred in the 1920s because of methyl chloride leakage from refrigerators. In 2010 Freon was no longer used and it was substituted with a refrigerant known as Puron (SUVA R410A).

The first refrigerator arrived on the domestic scene in 1927 and by the year 1944, 85 percent of American households owned a refrigerator. However, my parents got their first refrigerator in about 1953 when I was 6-years-old. Perhaps the reason we did not have one sooner is because farm houses were not wired for electricity until later than most city houses. The cost might also have been a factor. In 1956, a top-of-the-line Frigidaire cost $469.95 when the U.S. blue-collar wages and benefits rate was only around $2.16 an hour. That meant it took 217.57 hours of work to purchase a refrigerator.

Before that, we had something called an icebox (also called a cold closet) that did not have a cord to plug in. Instead, it was just a box with shelves and large blocks of ice kept the food cold. Sometimes people in places like Minnesota cut ice from lakes with hand saws. Food items that quickly melted, such as ice cream, were usually eaten as soon as they were made. Other food items were stored in cooler places such as cellars.

Some locations had community cooling houses where people in the village kept meat, fruit and vegetables stored. Most early settlers used a smokehouse, hanging hams and other large pieces of meat in a small building to cure through several weeks of exposure to a low fire with a lot of smoke. The process began in November and the meat would keep all winter and most of the summer.

The bottom line

Refrigeration has come a long way even during my lifetime, and today’s refrigerators are still getting better with more awesome features. Now we can shop for the latest and greatest refrigerators on DealDash.com.

This sponsored blog post was submitted by: Barbara L. Sellers. Barbara was compensated by DealDash for this blog post. Blog posts are written by real DealDash customers. The opinions and advice here represent our customers’ views and not those of the company.

One reason many customers enjoy shopping on DealDash.com is because it’s a good place to find unique items that we are not likely to find in a regular store.

I thought it might be a good idea to focus on a few unique items that have been going up for auction.

A vase

A hand-blown glass vase with a BIN of $220 really stands out. The marbled swirl of blue, gray and black is eye-catching. Each hand-blown vase is entirely unique and distinctive.

This vase, which measures 7.25 inches by 12.75 inches, could serve more than one function. It could hold flowers or it could stand alone on its own as a decorative and separate piece of art.

Best of all, the last two shoppers both got an amazing bargain, too. On May 5, this vase sold at $1.40 and the winner paid a total of $4.14 including the cost of the 20 bids used. On April 28, this vase sold at $1.41 and the winner paid a total of $5.55 including the cost of the 26 bids placed.

So far, this vase has received 93 reviews from past winners who gave it an overall rating of 4.88 out of a possible 5.0.  A few comments former winners made were, “Looks better than the picture. Very sturdy” and “I love this vase and will not be gifting this one. It’s very pretty and unique.”

Bracelet and necklace set

Bracelet & Necklace Set

This bracelet and necklace set with a BIN of $350 caught my eye because of its unique design. It has a beautiful flat gold-plated brass chain. At the end of both the necklace and bracelet it has a matching pendant that displays a green leaf and pink flower, which stands out and is very attractive and happy jewelry set.

The necklace length is 17 ¾- inches with a 2-inch adjustable length. I always love having this option because some of us prefer wearing our necklaces a little lower than others. The bracelet length is 7 ½-inches and has a 1 ½-inch adjustable length. Again, this is a great feature because some of us will need a larger or smaller wrist.

Best of all, several past shoppers won amazing bargains. Three of the best deals so far are:

• May 18, this bracelet and necklace set sold at 7 cents and the winner paid a total of only 67 cents including the cost of the 3 bids placed;
• May 21, this bracelet and necklace set sold at 8 cents and the winner paid a total of only 84 cents including the cost of the 4 bids placed; and
• May 20, this bracelet and necklace set sold at 29 cents and the winner paid a total of $2.09 including the cost of the 9 bids placed.

We certainly could never find a better deal than that for such a unique bracelet and necklace set.

So far, after 11 customer reviews, this jewelry set received an overall rating of 4.84 out of a possible 5.0. One winner remarked, “Very beautiful! Wore it to church this weekend, I got a lot of compliments.”

The bottom line

If you are looking for a unique item that you could get for a bargain price, DealDash.com is definitely the place to shop.

This sponsored blog post was submitted by: Barbara L. Sellers. Barbara was compensated by DealDash for this blog post. Blog posts are written by real DealDash customers. The opinions and advice here represent our customers’ views and not those of the company.

I learned the secret to saving bids is by not wasting them.

The best and easiest way to not waste bids is by placing our bids into Bid Buddy, the automated bidder. Thanks to a new training video DealDash created most shoppers are now doing that. Nonetheless, there are a lot more tips and strategies for shoppers to learn how to save bids.

Below are some lessons I learned over the years on how to save bids.

Select your auctions carefully

Not all auctions are alike. Some are a lot easier to win than others.

How can we know which auctions are the easiest ones to win? Good question. Perhaps the best place to start is by looking at the Winner’s List and clicking on the Featured Wins. We can then see which auctions sold for the fewest number of bids. That list can, and often does, change from week to week. Auctions that sell low one week might sell high the next week. However, if we check this list out on a regular basis, we can often see a trend.

For new customers on DealDash, it’s usually a good idea to start shopping in auctions with a fairly low Buy-It-Now listed. Then if you do not win, you can afford to BIN and get all your bids back free to use in another auction.

Usually, the higher the BIN the more bids it will take to win the auction, but not always. Even most high-dollar items will eventually sell at a bargain price. Therefore, if we see an auction with a high BIN that we really want to win, it might be a good idea to check out the selling price of the last 30 times the item went up for auction.

Let’s say the auction sold at a bargain price using 100 bids or less about one time out of every five times it went up for auction, but the other four out of five times that same item sold at a much higher price and previous winners used 2,000 or more bids. In that case, we might save more bids by placing 100 bids each time the next 5 or 15 times that item goes up for auction. Using this strategy, instead of placing 2,000 bids all at once, we could improve our opportunity to win the auction with fewer bids.  

My mother often said, “Never put all of your eggs into one basket.” I wondered why. I figured if we dropped our basket we might break all of the eggs, but if we put our eggs in several different baskets and only dropped one basket, we might still have some good eggs in the other baskets. I believe investors often use that same strategy when they never put all of their investments in one place. Putting this same idea into practice on DealDash, we might win more auctions by putting our bids into several different auctions.

Know your competition

If we want to save bids we must become familiar with the screen names of other shoppers and know how they shop.

I know I will never be able to out-bid some shoppers in any auction, and that’s why I have a list of power bidders with an endless supply of bids that I always avoid. If those screen names join an auction I’m already in, I immediately cancel my bids and find another auction.

How do you know who the power bidders are if you are a new customer?  This is another good question. One good place to start is to go to the Winners List. Screen names who won more than one auction in one day are most likely power bidders you might want to avoid.

To save bids we should also write down the screen names of everyone who recently won a large bid pack. We most likely will not have enough bids to beat them. We should also check the Winners List for shoppers who recently won any high BIN auction they might have exchanged for a large number of bids.

Shoppers who win a large bid pack will seldom call it a day and go away. Therefore, whenever a shopper jumps into our auction at the last minute it’s a good idea to check to see if that shopper recently won a large number of bids or a high-dollar auction.

This sponsored blog post was submitted by: Barbara L. Sellers. Barbara was compensated by DealDash for this blog post. Blog posts are written by real DealDash customers. The opinions and advice here represent our customers’ views and not those of the company.