Summer Road Trip Packing List & Tips to Lessen the "Are We There Yet?" Questions

kids on a road tripSummer fun includes taking a family road trip. Road trips conjure up good memories from childhood and if you can afford the time and gas, definitely take one!  Whether the trip is down the famous Route 66, to grandmother’s house, to the mountains or the valleys, from shore to shore. Any parent who has taken their children (regardless of age) on a road trip (or even plane trip), unless their kids are really patient, have probably heard the frequency of little voices asking the same question:  “Are we there yet?” If you want to lessen the “Are We There Yet?” questions you must prepare. Trust me these items and tips can definitely help, but I can’t guarantee they will stop the questions from coming. There are so many items on DealDash that will help keep your kids occupied for hours on your next roadtrip, long after to slug-bug game has become dull.

  • Portable DVD Players

Portable DVD players such as this Car DVD Player from Power Acoustik are designed just for the car and can keep your kids and other road trip guests entertained for hours. power acoustik car dvd player

What’s great about this item in particular is that you can playback anything saved to a SD card, from a DVD, DivX file, MP4, SVCD or Video CD, plus there’s even an FM tuner for music. The screen is 9″ and is an LCD for sharp, clear display.

Click this link for all upcoming portable dvd player deals on DealDash.

  • Portable Game Systems

nintendo 3sd xl ds Once the kids are bored with watching movies, a great thing to have would be a portable gaming system such as this Nintendo 3DS XL – a new and improved version of the Nintendo DS which even includes a camera that can be used to snap pictures of everything from cows to slug bugs and everything in between. Jampacked with vivid colors, brilliant action, 3D depth and a 90% larger screen. Check out the following link for more DealDash auctions of Nintendo DS game consoles, games and accessories won at great prices. power adapter deals

  • Power Ports

To keep the kids entertained for even longer, be sure to pick up a portable power adapter like the Lenmar Power Port 4-Port Auto Power Adapter on DealDash. – Buy it now for just $10.98.   This way you will be able to keep their entertainment sources charged, but also charge your cellphones as well. ipad air

An iPad is a great item to pass time and can be used to finish homework, read books, listen to music, browse the Net, follow along on a map (so they’ll really know you’re no where near “there yet”, draw and create, play games, share photos with friends on Facebook and so much more and DealDash has each on a daily basis.

  • Snacks

snacks
Make sure you pack snacks for your road trip! Favorites include Cheez-Its, raisins, fruit snacks, sunflower seeds, cheese and peanut butter crackers, fresh fruit, veggie sticks, apples, almonds, energy bars, mixed nuts,  M&M’s, popcorn (just don’t get the orange cheddar kind as it can be messy!), Twizzlers licorice, Pop-Chips a healthier alternative and less greasy and messy than potato chips. Pack a cooler with ice to keep water bottles, fruits, veggies or even chocolate candies cool. For a larger cooler check out the Coleman Marine Cooler – the last auction for one sold at a huge discount with the final end price of $0.42! cooler deals

  • Save Money on Gas

gas gift cards cheap
 Gas prices don’t have to make a dent in your wallet or dampen the road trip fun when you bid and win gas gift cards on DealDash. Plus, if you don’t win the gas card for less than the item’s value you can buy it now and get all of your bids back to bid on more and start your collection. Gas gift card auctions include auctions for Sinclair, Sunoco, BP, Shell, Texaco, ARCO PumpPass, and Philips 66! 

GPS 
tomtom
Show them just where you are with a GPS from TomTom. Your kids will no longer ask, “Are we there yet?” when they can get a visual picture of just where you are along the way and how much more time it will take to get there.
What are some of your favorite road trip tips and must-have items? 
Save travels & happy bidding!

How to Win More on DealDash: Start Out Small Then Go For the Gold

Dealdash Winning Tips
Olympic gold medalists don’t just wake up one day and become perfect gymnists, tennis players, competitive swimmers, speed skiiers or figure skaters.
Sucessful gold medalists start out by focusing on winning the bronze, then the silver medal, then finally go for the gold.
The most successful people first decided on a goal and made that goal an obtainable reality, day by day, by day, by taking the steps they had to take to practice on honing their skills. Little by little they learned more, went further, pushed harder by competing with themselves and all of their hard work paid off. They didn’t start big. By realizing the steps that famous Olympic  gold medalists took in order to go for the gold, you too can win more penny auctions on DealDash.
“We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort.”
–USA track and field gold medalist, Jesse Owens
“We have a heard of gold, and that’s what this medal is right here.
It’s a team that will never give up.”
–Joey Hagerty, USA medalist in gymnastics, Joey Hagerty
“You’ve got to look for tough competition. You’ve got to want to beat the best.”
–Grete Waitz, Norwegian marathon runner
Focus, discipline, hard work, goal setting and, of course, the thrill of finally achieving your goals.
These are all lessons in life.”
–Kristi Yamaguchi, gold medalist in figure skating
You can apply the wisdom imparted to us by the brightest and best Olympic gold medalists and use them to win more items and score great deals on DealDash.
Tip #1: You MUST start small by bidding on smaller items.
Go for the smallest, least expensive auctions first. By bidding on smaller items like $10 gift cards of items valued at $25 or less, or bidding on newbie auctions there will be less competition and you will be able to gain valuable experience by practicing on bidding.
Tip #2: Become dedicated.
Now that you know how to bid since you’ve now tried bidding on smaller items, and hopefully won a few, too. It’s time to really get serious and become dedicated to bidding. This means when you bid you must keep your eye on the prize and know your limits, then push them. When you decide to bid on an item make sure you are able to dedicate your time and concentraton on the ending auction. Minimize distractions and make sure you are fully stocked with bids so that you don’t run out mid-auction.
Tip #3: Never Give Up. 
Develop a persistent, I’m not giving up, I’m not quitting ’til I win attitude. By not giving up easy and bidding through until you win other bidders see that you are a bidding force not to be reckoned with and after consistently bidding you will transform from your bidding cocoon to a successful butterfly. Everyone else will want to either be like you, try to beat you, or back off. Persistence is key to winning more auctions.
Tip #4: Set Goals: Working your way to the top.
Now that you have won the smaller items, it’s time to go for the GOLD. The big buck items. The shiny new HDTVs, ATVs, laptops, Apple products, $250 vs $25 gift cards and more. After you know how to bid and have won a few items and other bidders have seen your name winning a few you will have proved yourself to be a persistent bidder with a never give up attitude. This will allow you will begin to establish yourself as a powerful bidder: a powerbidder. Set goals for how long and how many bids you want to spend on each item and stick to those goals!
 Read The Powerbidder’s Strategy to Winning DealDash Auctions Series   here on DealDash Tips for more valuable bidding tips.
Don’t worry, just bid and win!
Remember, if you end up not winning you can easily use buy it now and get all of the bids you placed back.
Good luck and happy bidding from DealDashTips.com.
 

Save Bids And Avoid Becoming A Buttinski Bidder On DealDash

Perhaps you’ve witnessed what I call the “Buttinski Bidder” on DealDash.com. I’ll explain what this is. 

There will be two or three bidders in an auction bidding hundreds of dollars’ worth of bids with the goal of winning the big prize.
Bidder Q will start stomping on the other bidder to run down Bidder R’s bids on bid buddy. This is perfectly legit and part of the auction process. Then, out of nowhere enters Bidder “X”, who is offended and angered by bidder Q’s attempt to win by stomping Bidder R. Bidder X will then start to bid on purpose with the specific goal of playing spoiler— stopping bidder Q from stomping on Bidder R. Thus Bidder X is the Buttinski Bidder.
Bidder X will not win the auction but will only waste fifty to one hundred of his or her own bids to make the point: “Don’t stomp.” Simply defined, Bidder X is minding someone else’s business while losing his or her own bids/money at the same time. Bidder X is your nosey neighbor, or nosey colleague at the office and is also your town gossip too. Bidder X is trouble, one you will want to avoid at all costs. The purpose of this blog is to educate you and to help you avoid becoming (Bidder X) the “Buttinski Bidder” of your next auction.
Make no mistake: People sign up, purchase bids and participate in auctions to win, period. Those who think otherwise are living in a fantasy world. It is comical for me when I see various bidders’ profiles with comments about stomping: “Don’t stomp I will stomp you back, etc.” Stomping is a strategy used by many bidders who have the goal of winning the auction, period. Get over it, this is a business where people want to win and will not play fair all the time. Bidders are in it to win it. That’s the way it is, REALITY. Just last week I participated in an auction for a 1,000 dollar Amazon.com gift card. After bidding a few bids hoping to be that lucky winner I withdrew from this contest to observe the auction’s conclusion. There were a total of three bidders. One female bidder was stomping on her competition for many hours. The cost of the item had risen into the two hundreds. All of a sudden out of nowhere entered the Buttinski Bidder of this auction who purposely started stomping this female bidder. Watching this amazing contest I counted over 120 Buttinski bids. This Buttinski was angry and trying to make a point. The Buttinski’s anger cost the Buttinski bidder over 17.00 dollars. Seriously is spending 17.00 of your hard, earned blood, sweat and tears to make a point, really worth it? It turns out this Amazon.com gift card sold in the four hundreds to a male bidder, a guy who entered to win without being a Buttinski Bidder. It is not easy to win an auction. Waiting it out can be frustrating at times. Invest your own time wisely and use your bids to win. Here’s to NOT becoming the next Buttinski Bidder!
By Josephine Deal Dasher
butt·in·sky or butt·in·ski  (bŭt-ĭn′skē)

n. pl. butt·in·skies also butt·in·skys or butt·in·skis Slang

One who is prone to butting in; a meddler.

 

ALSO SEE: How to Get Free Bids on DealDash: Post to Facebook

Why Buy it Now on DealDash?

buy it
What’s this “Buy It” on DealDash you’re wondering and why should you do it?
Really, the question shouldn’t be “Why buy it now?” but “Why not?”.
DealDash’s “Buy it now” option makes this penny auction site one of the most sustainable entertainment auction sites on the web. 
Buy it Now is a great feature offered on every single item that DealDash auctions from bid packs to gift cards to swimming pools, colorful Kitchen-Aid mixers, iPads, HDTVs, laptops and more.
Bidders love buy it so much because it allows all bidders to try to win an item they want without losing money.
Take a look, for instance, at this upcoming item for a brand new HP Split 2-in-1 13.3″ touchscreen laptop.
The retail value of the laptop is $849.99, so the buy it price is a $200 clearance discount off of the original price and this little laptop is a powerhouse of features and flexibility, and it’s super lightweight to boot at only 4.4 lbs. So say you plan to bid on this laptop with purchased bids (which by the way, are on sale at only $0.16 a piece right now) and say they don’t win the item and have already spent $600 and the auction ends with someone else as the winner.
You really would feel terrible if you just lost out on the $600 you spent in bids (which really had to have been a lot of bids (3,750 at the sale price of $0.16 to be exact) so what does DealDash do to make losing easier on you?
DealDash lets you buy it now!
If you didn’t win the auction for the new HP ultrabook, if you decide you would like all of the bids you placed back and you really want the laptop, for up to 7 days from the time the auction ends DealDash will let you buy the item and get all of the bids you used bidding back in your account instantly!
DealDash makes it super easy to do too: All you have to do is click “Buy it now” on the item after it’s already ended and pay $650, and you will get ALL of the bids you placed back into your account to try again next time. Most penny auction sites don’t let you do that, you would have just lost $600!
Step 1: Click buy it now, it’s right under the bidding area on the item’s page!
Step 2: Click buy it now on the second screen that pops-up over the item. Pay $650 and your new laptop will be shipped to you free of shipping charges – The ultrabook will be covered with a full manufacturer’s warranty from HP!clearance deals hp ultrabook touch screen 2-in-1
Good luck and happy bidding and buying on DealDash!