September 7, 2010
By the ZippyCart Shopping Cart Reviews Content Team
Online auctions have been around for over a decade, but over the last year a number of Internet companies have been experimenting with new variations on the online auction model. One of the newest companies to jump into the mix is London based Dibbing.com. The new online auction site was launched by UK based Sit-Up Shopping, who also runs Bid.tv, Price-Drop.tv, and SpeedAuction.tv. What makes Dibbing unique, is that products start off at a listed price, and then the products become cheaper as people ‘dib’ them. You get 3 free credits to start off with, and each credit (dib) costs 50 pence each. When you ‘dib’ a product, you get to see what the current price is for 10 seconds, during which time you can decide if you want to purchase it. Each time this occurs for a product, the price continues to go down until someone makes a purchase.
There are a wide variety of items listed on the site, like designer handbags, vacuums, Blu-ray players, digital cameras, and iPods. Recently someone purchased ladies Fendi sunglasses for £34.50, after the product initially listed for £120.00. Another person picked up a Tom Tom XL Classic for £65.50, after it initially listed for £160.00. While some people are only getting 15%-20% off items, there are a number of people who are picking up products for 50% or more off the originally listed price.
In late July, another online auction site based out of London called MadBid.com, raised over $6 million in Series A funding from Atomico Ventures. Their model is very similar, but the difference is that you can see the price at all times, and you pay to bid with your credits. Another site similar to MadBid in the mix is Swoopo, which was founded in Germany in 2005 and launched in the U.S. in late 2008. While it appears that these types of sites are more popular in Europe, it is very possible that more people in the U.S. will try out these unique online auction sites.
Amy is the co-founder of ZippyCart. She went to school for film in Cleveland, Ohio and ended up working in the field of viral video marketing, which eventually led her to her real profession: SEO. When she's not writing for ZippyCart, she can be found out and about Seattle, WA.
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