Editor’s Note: This product has been removed from our side-by-side comparison because it has been replaced by another product. You can still read our original review below, but Top Ten Reviews is no longer updating this product’s information.
In our modern world, it seems like most things are done online now. The problem is that sometimes things are better the old way. Online auction sites commonly lose that exciting auction feel and end up feeling like just another place to buy stuff. That's the great thing about bidmacs, it still has that thrill of getting something great for super cheap. It maintains the excitement that is sometimes lost on other similar sites which makes it, comparatively, a unique experience.
So what makes bidmacs have this authentic auction atmosphere? Every online auction site that we've ever been to is usually pretty similar. They have lists of categories with hundreds and hundreds of random items for sale. Variety is the spice of life, but with so many options it feels like shopping at a store. A lot of these items will have buyout prices so that you can skip the auction process entirely. When that happens, it really is just like shopping at a regular store.
With the bidmacs online auction site, it is all about bidding. The first thing you have to do, after you create an account, is buy bids. Rather than charging membership fees or any of the other fees that some online auction sites charge, bidmacs just has you buy bids. Bids come in packages starting at 30 bids for $18, which is $0.60 each. Larger bid packages come with free bonus bids and the bonuses increase the bigger the package is.
bidmacs gets bulk products from places like Costco and Sam's Club so that they can auction off great stuff like Apple products at a fraction of the retail cost. They themselves refer to these auctions as the "penny auctions". So, once you have your bids, you head to the live auctions page where you can see the 15 or so items that are currently being auctioned off and you start bidding pennies on products that are worth hundreds of dollars. The exciting part is that people have won things like a new iPod for only a few dollars.
Another unique attribute for this online auction site is that they don't allow people to throw whatever they have laying around into the auctions. Some may not like that but the plus side is that you don't have to worry about people scamming you. All the products are new and from major companies. Although the auction is small and limited, the benefits for many may outweigh the limitations.
The unique online auction site experience that bidmacs offers is both enjoyable and secure. It isn't the usual setup where people put their stuff up for sale, you bid, you win and you set up the payment and shipping with the other person. You only interact with the site itself and its management. The one drawback is that they don't offer a warranty so if the product is damaged during shipping, they don't replace it. Since that's fairly rare, assuming the products are packaged well, you shouldn't have to worry about receiving a broken product.
