Before you buy, here are some tips to make sure your hard-earned money isn’t wasted this holiday season:

1. Know what you are bidding on, and what its value really is. If it is an item seen in retail stores, make sure the price is reasonable, especially if you are going to be paying shipping. Make note of whether the item in question is a new, reconditioned or used product. This will help you come up with your maximum price.

2. Check multiple online auctions sites before placing a bid. Professional auctioneers will list the same item on multiple sites, and those sites that are not as popular as Ebay may have a lower price for the same exact item. Often there are less bidders as well at these sites, which will give you a greater probability of getting your item at a lower price.

3. View the merchant’s rating. Most auction sites have a rating system for sellers which is based on buyer feedback. Note how many transactions that the merchant has had. A 98% satisfaction rating on a merchant with 400 transactions holds more weight than a merchant with 100% satisfaction rate with 3 transactions. Also, if you can view the complaints, see what they were specifically, such as slow shipping or if the item was not as specified.

4. Check what type of warranty the seller offers. Be wary if you have toaccept a product when no replacement is offered if the item is defective. Reputable sellers will have some sort of replacement procedure if youritem arrives broken, or if you are unsatisfied with it.

Ubids bidding process sucks – near the end of the auction – even the slightest increase in bid will add 10 mins to auction duration. I like ebays method much better – can’t spend all day in front of the computer increasing bid limit. FedEx shipping is too expensive and to restrictive – Would prefer USPS Priority shipping – I live in a rural area and either FedEx can’t find me or I have to sign for the package and am not home when they arrive.

Adding 10 minutes to an auction when a user makes a bid essentially defeats the purpose of online bidding. The point is that you make decisions quickly and if you don’t bid enough, you might not get the item. Adding 10 minutes makes it more likely that Ubid will earn money, and less likely that you will get a good deal on an item.

What has been your experience with penny auctions such as Ubid and others? Unlike Ebay, where you bid a cap amount and you are automatically bid in for an item, you can spend hours on these sites one-upping other people on the internet. However, if they are given 10 minutes to out-bid you, then the chances that you will pay a low price are slim.

A great way to browse through many great deals quickly is to use eBay’s “Deal Finder” tab. By comparing prices on eBay with prices on top retail websites, Deal Finder brings you the steepest discounts on brand new items in entertainment. Books, music, video games, TV series’, movies – they are all right here in one place, conveniently compared to Walmart.com, Amazon, and other cheap online sites.

This is a good place to look if you are searching for that perfect gift at a good price. You can search by title, price range, and genre, depending on if you are looking for something specific or just browsing. We would recommend this tool for anyone seeking a good deal on eBay.

Everyone has heard that every penny counts and on QuiBids it counts more than ever. When you start bidding on this site you can win a camera or laptop for a fraction of the retail price.

A lot of sites for online shopping can be a mixture of new products, used products, or old models. QuiBids is different because it only offers and sells brand new items that are factory sealed. Which means you don’t have to worry about getting damaged goods or settling for old technology.

A big bonus when bidding on this site is that there is no minimum ending price, so you can save a pretty penny. Plus, you will never pay more than the retail price. Bidding starts at 60 cents and it is nice to know there are no reserves on any of the items you see on QuiBids.

The site works a lot like other online auctions. When you place a bid on an item more time is added to the timer (typically an extra 10-20 seconds) in order to allow someone the chance to bid on an item if they are interested. So you have to click quick and have patience. Sometimes it will take hours to actually win something.

If you don’t want to wait around for the final price, after you place a bid there is an option to buy the product for a discounted price right then and there with the “Buy Now” feature. The site offers this to limit your losses so you don’t always have to wait around.

Most customers report fast shipping and big bargains. For extra comfort, QuiBids is a BBB accredited business so your credit card information is secure.

BiddingForGood.com is an online auction service that is strictly for charity. BiddingForGood has already raised over $120 million for charity since it has been up and running. BiddingForGood is the leading online charity auction.

This site has already successfully helped schools and non-profit organizations across the United States. At any given time, this site is running nearly 12,000 auctions.

BiddingForGood is a service and site that allows organizations to maximize their fundraising efforts.

Some of the good causes that have already been successful include those for higher education, animal welfare, and healthcare services.

Recently, BiddingForGood created a Goodometer that publically displays the impact this platform is having on the public.

Currently, there are 220,000+ shoppers that are on the site supporting the causes they care about. Even businesses are in on the action. Businesses and nonprofits are using BiddingForGood to outreach their philanthropic endeavors to make an impact.

Using an online ecommerce platform like BiddingForGood.com can maximize your efforts because you get more money, more bidders, and more items to bid. Having your item and auction on this sites offers more exposure.

For simplicity, BiddingForGood.com allows people to browse by cause, browse by state, and browse closing soon items.  The items available are limitless. There are vacation packages, baseball tickers, certificates to restaurants, and all kinds of electronics.

If you are going to shop online, you might as well shop for a good cause. All the proceeds support nonprofits and schools, so there is no way you will experience buyer’s remorse.

WhiskeyMilitia brand clothing is also featured from time to time. I have a hat and a few shirts from the clothing line and they’re actually very comfortable. When placing a bid on the current showcase there is usually a selection of size, color, and style for the feature. This site is extremely convenient but isn’t for those who have a good credit card and an addictive personality. With a new deal every hour and the savings to trick you, impulse buying is a definite risk. This is one addiction I think I’m ok with. Shipping is cheap and very fast. I usually get my orders within 2 days. And I’ve never had anything be damaged when it got to me. If you’ve done a lot of online shopping you know how frustrating it is to get damaged goods. Any shopping can have this as a frustration, but in internet shopping it can be especially frustrating because of the time involved. That’s another reason Whiskey Militia is great. Definitely something everyone should try out.

The company’s marketing style does not consist of your typical advertising. Product descriptions usually mock the product, the customer, or Woot itself. Product defects are acknowledged and buyers are advised to be cautious. For buyers looking for serious details, the real information is always listed below the Woot-written description.

Woot generally offers one product per day until it sells out or a new product replaces it at midnight Central Time. If it does sell out, a new product will not appear until midnight. Woot does not offer any customer support for its products it sells but instead advises customers to seek support through the manufacturer.

The site occasionally breaks off from the norm of the one product per day and has special events. “Woot-off” is where a succession of products are available for a period of unannounced length, usually 24-72 hours. When a product sells out, it is replaced within a minute or two by a new product.  Happy Hour is a limited one-hour version and is solely promoted through “Twitter.” Bag of Crap is occasionally offered and is usually sold out with in seconds. This is a blind grab bag of products whose value and quality are not guaranteed.

Bag Of Crap

Justin Bieber has finally cut his locks and they are going up for bid! He recently appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres Show with a fresh, new short haircut. He also presented the host with a lock of his hair specially placed in a plexiglass box.

He told Ellen; “I’m giving pieces of it to different people. We’re doing something special. We want you to donate it to whatever charity you want.”

Ellen had Justin sign the box and then placed it for auction on EBay through her official website. By the next week there were over 60 bids and the current bid was $7,000. The ending bidder shelled out $40,668 for the pop singers locks.

The proceeds from the auction are being donated to The Gentle Barn, which is a non-profit organization that works to help both people and animals from abuse. It also hosts many programs for children in need.

Skyauction.com offers some of the best vacation packages and deals available on the Internet. Get your credit cards ready and be prepared to click “BID.”

If you live in the Los Angeles area, check out this unbelievable per person auction. Air Pacific is offering non-stop flights from LAX to Nadi, Fiji through June 5, 2011 alongside 7 nights at the Sonaisali Island Resort in Fiji.

The flight and accommodations are perfectly paired at a low price of $1325! Typically flights alone are around a grand, but this auction combines airfare and hotel for the price of round-trip tickets!

The Sonaisali Island Resort is a luxury beachfront hotel in paradise. This package also includes a full meal plan! While staying at Sonaisali Island Resort, breakfast, lunch, and dinner are included. Dinner is your choice of a buffet of a three-course meal.

This vacation will be a flat rate of $1325 per person if you win the auction because air fare, hotel, and meals are accounted for. The only extra expense would be optional activities. You will be hard pressed to cross international waters for this price ever again.

This online auction closes on March 15, 2011. Click here to start bidding!