So, when we heard about a website that sells gift cards for pennies on the dollar, we had to check it out.
"I've gotten two Walmart cards," says Tamara Chailowa of Milleville, New Jersey. "I got one for $19 and some odd cents, and I got the other one for $15. They were $50 gift cards."
Tamara Chailowa bought her discounted gift cards on a penny-auction site called DFWBid.com.
The site has cards for retailers, restaurants, supermarkets and even Visa gift cards, which can be used just about anywhere.
Here's how it works. You pay $3 to enter each auction. Usually three of them are going on at a time. Each time someone bids, the price of the card goes up a penny, and a minute and 15 seconds is added to the auction clock.
"You have to have patience sometimes, because the bidding can go for a long time," Chailowa explains.
Whoever has placed the highest bid when the clock finally stops, wins the card at that price, plus the entry fee and shipping charges.
"When it comes to the shipping, it's certified mail," Chailowa says. "Iit's $5 for the shipping to get your gift card to you and it's $3 to get in on the auction, so you have to figure out how much it is that you're willing to spend on it."
The three dollar entry fee is non-refundable, even if you don't win.
For added excitement, there's a "penny-buy" button that can pop-up during an au
ction.
That's how Tamara won a gift card to Bed, Bath and Beyond."At random times it comes up and asks you two questions, like easy math questions, and if you're the first person to answer the penny buy correctly, you can get your$50 gift card for a penny," she says.
Just remember, if you bid, to consider the added fees, so that you still get a good deal.
