In the recent survey we did MadBidders asked us to clarify how some of our added functions work. So this week’s selected function is: Auction Peek.
Let us set an example:
Bobby loves iPad. His wife Jill owns an iPad and now he really wants to own one too and get the latest iPad 2. He managed to win a Mac on MadBid.com before for £22 and believes he could try for the iPad2. He couldn’t find any in the recent closed auctions but would like to know the average closing prices. He decides to use the Auction Peek function in order to get a rough idea. He sees the following appear on the bottom of his screen.
Basically Auction Peek allows you to see the most recent similar auctions and their closing prices. In this example in the information displayed you can see that iPad2 auctions currently run on a monthly basis together with the closing price of similar auctions.
Actually, where is the Auction Peek?
For all you new users or users that haven’t heard of this feature before, Auction Peek is accessible on the individual auction site. It is the lowest button of Auction Details.
What does it cost me?
The Auction Peek costs 4 credits per auction.
Why would I use Auction Peek?
The Auction Peek is different to Sneak-a-Peek as it lets you find out a particular item rather than information about other bidders. If you wanted to bid on this item, you can then decide what price to start bidding or setting your autobid. It is quick, easy, and simply Madly useful!
After 100 years of fine chocolate making, it seems that Thorntons, MadBid.com’s favourite chocolatiers are now closing up to 180 of their high street stores. Reading an online news piece left us somewhat bewildered: what happened in order for one of the U.K’s most popular chocolate brands to decide to close its doors on us?
In recession-recovery Britain, many household names and brands have gone under the chop as businesses struggle to generate the revenue they need to be able to keep afloat. This is not new news but old, serving as a reminder that we are still emerging from an economic crisis that has endured for much longer than anticipated. The closure of these shops is somewhat untimely: well-known clothing chain Jane Norman collapsed this week, while Oddbins recently suffered a loss of 52 shops and now Mothercare is the latest to be affected as it looks to close up to 110 of its stores.
Back in 2008, Woolworths was one of the first big High Street names to be hit by the recession, even after achieving a long successful track record as a retailer when it first opened its doors in Liverpool in 1909. JJB Sports, founded in 1971 by ex-footballer Dave Whelan narrowly avoided administration but has had to close stores. Now in the summer of 2011 as we prepare to take time off work and book last minute holidays, our beloved chocolate company is much more concerned about an economic meltdown than their chocolates melting in the heat.. Worse yet, the closure of its stores is predicted to set the business back £4.2m to £4.8m in sterling.
It may be unfortunate, but it is also far from surprising. Nowadays we are much more likely to favour comfort and convenience by staying within the confines of our homes than to make a trip to the shops, especially with the unpredictable British weather. Online shopping has become a huge market, which many brands have broken into in their attempts to ride the huge tidal wave that is E-commerce. Whether or not Thorntons are seeking to jump solely on this band wagon to pursue their business further is another matter, but the CEO of Thorntons reassures us of the following:
‘Our goal is to refocus the business across all channels and seek to deliver industry competitive returns over the next three to five years.’
Whatever the outcome MadBid will continue to source delicious chocolates for our customers to bid on for every occasion. And while we’re on the subject of delicious check out some of our Gourmet Voucher Restaurant Discount Cards going at amazing deals to treat yourself and a friend to dinner and desert out!
As if Facebook couldn’t be more renowned for its attempt to connect people across the globe, Mark Zuckerberg’s 2004 social networking phenomenon is now about to embark on its latest adventure, which if successful, MadBid.com reckons will revolutionise the social aspect of music sharing.
With the uprising of technology has come a huge surge in music sharing and downloading over the internet. Just look at Napster or Spotify, the biggest pioneers of music streaming. In a similar way, it appears that Facebook’s newest project is being launched in partnership with, the former, Spotify – one of the more notorious names in the online music business industry.
The new feature aims to provide a music dashboard or platform that lets you stream music, see what your friends are listening to and share your favourite tracks. When you log into your account, the music dashboard will display as an official bookmark on the site’s homepage as well as a separate tab on your profile, in which you can access and control the music you want to hear.
The music dashboard will not be tied to Spotify exclusively though, Facebook is looking to incorporate many more music streaming websites, which the music lovers among you may already be familiar with, such as: Pandora, Mog, Rdio, Last.fm, and Grooveshark amongst others. In Facebook’s attempt to create a similar service with similar functionality, the result may be a giant music library, which anyone and everyone can subscribe to.
Here’s a look at just a few of the features that will be included:
Music Notifications
Recommended Songs
Top Songs
Top Albums
Recent listens
This move will ensure that we are better connected than ever: now you will be able to see just what your friends are listening to and even light-heartedly mock them when you see them playing that Boyzone album they said they had thrown out years ago! In addition to this, Facebook’s music dashboard will help you to discover more genres and artists, making the world of music even more social and accessible than it is already.
Techno giant Apple might have brought the social to the music, but now the tables have turned and Facebook is bringing music to the social; a long-time dream its founders have sought to implement into its service. The result is a collaboration of two powerful social forces, both of which bring people together, making the world a more connected place. Keep your eyes and ears open for the potential release date of the music dashboard, which is to be announced after Facebook’s F8 conference in August.
Until then, you can visit MadBid.com for its range of Facebook and Apple friendly products, including our latest instalment, the New Apple TV which lets you stream photos and music from your PC as you please. Alternatively, there is our great range of stereo systems such as the new Samsung Home Theatre System so you can blast your music to the max!
It’s not every day you can get a brand new Mini One for almost 90% off the RRP, but it happens more often than you might expect on MadBid.com
On the way home from cricket training with his family, David from Essex noticed the Mini auction had ended. He couldn’t remember if he had left his auto bid on or not while he was out and just figured he had lost the auction.
When he later got home and found out he was the winner of a brand new Mini One for just £1,478.94, he ran straight to his wife to tell her the news. He had been bidding in secret, and as it turns out David doesn’t even have a licence! David calmly told his wife that he had won a Mini for her, and she took it as a joke. Unaware that her husband had been bidding in the auction, and having seen a Mini on the street earlier that day she’d commented “I would like that” in jest to her husband, she thought he was joking with her.
But it was no joke. After one year of participating in auctions on MadBid.com David can boast a few past wins, but even he was in shock over winning a new car. His bidding strategy for the auction was quite simple. After watching the auction for a while he thought he didn’t have a chance against some strong competitors, but then as he kept watching, he noticed some of the big bidders begin to withdraw and that’s when he stepped in and activated his auto bid.
David makes it look easy, but there is a lot of strategy that goes in to winning an auction. What advice does David have for new bidders? “Start out on the smaller auctions to build your confidence, and spend some time to learn the dynamics of the site and the strategies of your fellow bidders” said David.
David shows we are so MAD at MadBid.com that you don’t even need a licence to win a car! The brand new red Mini One David and his wife drove away in this month, is one of the 11 cars we have auctioned on the site since 2008. Cars are just one of the amazing prizes our users are winning. Click here to get amazing savings on all the latest gadgets including laptops, phones, camera, appliances, and even hard cash!
Sony is bringing gaming to life in their new portable gaming device the PSVita. PSVita is set to launch at the end of 2011 for £249 WiFi and £299 3G. MadBid.com are delighted to see several new built in features include front and rear camera, a microphone, front multi-touch screen and a rear multi-touch pad, motion sensors, a high definition 5 inch OLED display, and GPS location software.
The new features of the PSVita will bring handheld gaming to a new level with Augmented Reality (AR) Technology. Players will be able to interact like never before with new applications like “Near”, “Party”, and “Welcome Park”.
“Near” takes the PSVita ups social connectivity by allowing users to see what games others are playing nearby and gift virtual game related items through location-based gaming. By checking in at geographic locations players can share virtual content like character costumes, weapons, and treasures.
“Party” is an application available on the PSVita that allows users to text chat or voice chat not only while gaming online, but also while connected to the internet at any time. The PSVita will come in two models one with WiFi connectivity and a more expensive 3G model, which will be connected to the internet 24/7.
“Welcome Park” is a PSVita app designed to help players learn the new 3-dimension-like finger motions available on the device such as touch, grab, trace, push, and pull. With a touch screen on the front, a sensor pad on the back, dual analog sticks, and built in motion sensor, gyroscope, and accelerometer capabilities, the new PSVita brings hand held gaming to a new level of reality.
One of the most exciting features of the PSVita is its full backwards compatibility with all PlayStation Portable games. Check out the official video trailer from the E3 conference above to see some of the games that will be enhanced on the new device.
We at MadBid.com are excited about the launch of the PSVita and you can bet we will be one of the first to offer the product on our site when it comes out just in time for Xmas. Can’t wait till Christmas to get your gaming on? Check out some MAD deals on our site for gaming consoles like the Sony PS3 320GB that went for £5.82 or the Nintendo 3DS Console for just £1.17!
Get ready for a new world of gaming! Nintendo has just released the details of their Wii U at the E3 Conference this week. The Wii U is a gaming system like you have never seen before. It can be used with or without a TV and the feature packed controller will come with a motion sensor like the Wii remote and gyro sensor technology like the 3DS – the Wii U is most certainly a completely new kind of device.
All the talk has been about the Wii U controller, it has a built in accelerometer and gyroscope, rumble feature, camera, microphone, stereo speakers, sensor strip, and stylus. The touch screen controller allows the user to draw right on the screen and project to the TV. With the video camera and microphone the Wii U can also be used to make video calls to friends and fellow gamers. The controller adds a new dimension to the games with a second screen that can be used to supplement the TV screen to view maps and inventory, panoramic views in all directions, and even your golf ball stuck in a sand trap at your feet for Wii Golf.
Called the ‘Swiss Army Knife of controllers’ by Danny Bilson, Executive VP of Core Games, the Wii U gaming system with the new touch screen controller will create a more realistic gaming experience. You can use the controller as a second window to the gaming world, and for some games you can use the controller with the TV and play without ever touching any buttons.
The Wii U system will be backwards compatible with the other Wii software and will have internal flash memory. The system will also play optical discs and downloadable content and has 4 USB ports. Don’t worry if you’re the first of your friends to get your hands on this new technology, you will still be able to play with less tech savvy gamers because Wii U is designed for interplay with the old Wii-mote controllers.
With powerful graphics processing power the games will run in full HD through HDMI, but the touch screen on the controller will not be in HD. Nintendo says that the launch date for the Wii U will be in 2012 between 1 April and 31 December. No prices have been announced but the cost of the Wii U is estimated to be £300-£400.
Well worth the wait and the money, MadBid is very excited for the Wii U and you can be sure we will have it available on our site at MAD MAD prices as soon as it launches! Until then, check out some of our other games and consoles available right now like an Xbox 360 Console with Kinect that just went for £35.04 or a Sony PS3 that went for only £5.82!
Get ready for a new world of gaming! Nintendo has just released the details of their Wii U at the E3 Conference this week. The Wii U is a gaming system like you have never seen before. It can be used with or without a TV and the feature packed controller will come with a motion sensor like the Wii remote and gyro sensor technology like the 3DS – the Wii U is most certainly a completely new kind of device.
All the talk has been about the Wii U controller, it has a built in accelerometer and gyroscope, rumble feature, camera, microphone, stereo speakers, sensor strip, and stylus. The touch screen controller allows the user to draw right on the screen and project to the TV. With the video camera and microphone the Wii U can also be used to make video calls to friends and fellow gamers. The controller adds a new dimension to the games with a second screen that can be used to supplement the TV screen to view maps and inventory, panoramic views in all directions, and even your golf ball stuck in a sand trap at your feet for Wii Golf.
Called the ‘Swiss Army Knife of controllers’ by Danny Bilson, Executive VP of Core Games, the Wii U gaming system with the new touch screen controller will create a more realistic gaming experience. You can use the controller as a second window to the gaming world, and for some games you can use the controller with the TV and play without ever touching any buttons.
The Wii U system will be backwards compatible with the other Wii software and will have internal flash memory. The system will also play optical discs and downloadable content and has 4 USB ports. Don’t worry if you’re the first of your friends to get your hands on this new technology, you will still be able to play with less tech savvy gamers because Wii U is designed for interplay with the old Wii-mote controllers.
With powerful graphics processing power the games will run in full HD through HDMI, but the touch screen on the controller will not be in HD. Nintendo says that the launch date for the Wii U will be in 2012 between 1 April and 31 December. No prices have been announced but the cost of the Wii U is estimated to be £300-£400.
Well worth the wait and the money, MadBid is very excited for the Wii U and you can be sure we will have it available on our site at MAD MAD prices as soon as it launches! Until then, check out some of our other games and consoles available right now like an Xbox 360 Console with Kinect that just went for £35.04 or a Sony PS3 that went for only £5.82!
This week at the Apple World Wide Developers Conference a new cloud based storage service was revealed: iCloud. Apple’s iCloud is a new system that will automatically synchronize and backup all of your files across all your apple wireless devices. For the multidevice lifestyle we have all embraced with Apple products, this new way of storing and sharing information will revolutionize how we communicate with each other and how we interact with our devices.
iCloud will be a free service available for users to download this fall. The user will be able to automatically synchronize all their information including music, photos, documents, apps, and books to all wireless devices within range. This will create an automatic backup system similar to Google Docs and Dropbox.
By including the user’s iTunes library in iCloud, when a song is purchased on one device it will automatically be available on up to 10 other devices. So that means you can be listening to a song in a cafe, purchase it on your iPad and then go for a run later that day and listen to it on your iPod touch or iPhone without ever connecting your devices. All of the music purchased through iTunes will be automatically saved to the user’s cloud locker. For £25 a year Apple also has iTunes Match which will scan through all your music not purchased through iTunes and find a copy in their music library of over 18 million songs to replace your song with an iTunes Plus quality copy at 256 Kbps, even if your original copy was of lower quality.
Synchronizing your playlists is just one of the new features of iCloud. All your photos will also be synchronized and updated to each device immediately. With iCloud users can easily share photos and even upload directly to Facebook and Twitter from any device. It will be easier than ever to capture baby’s first beach day and send photos and video to grandma and grandpa immediately from any device.
Music and photos can take up a lot of memory on the iPhone and iPad, but Apple’s thought of that too. There will only be a rolling stream of 1,000 photos saved directly on the smaller devices at any time; the rest of the photo stream will be accessible through the cloud locker through a Wi-Fi or 3G connection. This does pose a problem for users who frequently travel in zones with weak wireless signals. It does not appear that iCloud will be able to stream music from the iTunes library, so there may only be a limited cache of songs accessible when on airplane mode.
iCloud will protect even the laziest users from losing their data. Apple does all the work for you constantly updating and syncing your data. All documents can be easily shared and edited so you are always working on the most up-to-date version no matter what device you use. Sharing and updating calendars and email accounts is another new feature. Text messages and SMS messages are also saved in your cloud locker along with saved ringtones and apps.
We all remember Mobile Me and how that system never really lived up to our Apple expectations. We at MadBid think iCloud is a very different product and will become a formidable competitor in the cloud based storage industry.
We can’t wait to try iCloud out on our Apple products this fall. Which Apple products will you be synchronizing? The benefits of cloud storage and synchronization can only really be optimized when you have more than one device to update, so why not pick up another i-something? At MadBid.com users have picked up the iPad 2 for just £2.52 and the iPhone 4 for £2.34. Those are just a few examples of the deals our users are wining every day, see for yourself.
It’s hard not to notice that recently we have been auctioning off an infiltration of Gourmet Society Memberships. “What’s all this about?” you may well be asking! Well, in our exciting quest to find great products that of course include great savings; we stumbled upon 1 Year Membership cards from the Gourmet Society that offer great discounts in restaurants across the UK, proving that going out for gourmet food doesn’t have to cost you the earth!
Winning one of these vouchers, whether you are new to MadBid or a long time devotee, means that you are entitled to a range of savings, including 2 meals for the price of 1, 50% off food or 25% off food and drink at almost 4500 restaurants in the UK. For more eye popping statistics, here’s what Gourmet Society have to say:
“…on average Gourmet Society cardholders save £25 on each visit to a restaurant. If you eat out once a week that equates to over £1300 of Gourmet Society saving in a year! It’s quite possible to save your entire membership fee in one visit to a restaurant, after that it is pure profit all year”.
The bit we like best about these cards is that, in essence, the more you eat out the more you will save. Whereas before you may have been wincing at the sight of the bill after a special meal out, now you won’t have to bat an eyelid at the price you’ll be paying! Whether you are taking your partner out for a romantic dinner, giving it away as a gift, or just fancy treating yourself, we are certain that this voucher will provide you with many Kodak worthy memories as well as not doing any damage to your wallet.
In much the same way as a pay-as-you-go mobile tariff, you can decide how much you want to spend on a meal and which restaurant to go to and therefore how much you want to save – so to excuse a pun – the world is your oyster!
Furthermore, it is worth noting that these vouchers accommodate all tastes, appetites and diets. Whether you’d like to call yourself a carnivore or herbivore, Gourmet Society offers a wide variety of exquisite cuisine, catering for both of these and everything in between. In our previous news piece and on Facebook, you will have seen a range of top quality Vegetarian restaurants, all included in Gourmet Society’s portfolio, allowing you to be in control of where you want to eat!
So now not only are you a member of MadBid, but a member of a wider society of food lovers, in which you can dine to your heart’s content! Never has shopping on an auction site been more social; from bidding on the item, to winning and walking through the restaurant doors and sitting down to a table with your loved ones, Madbid makes online shopping more social, more interactive and definitely more luxurious than any other auction site around.
Google launches the Chromebook on June 15 and although it looks just like a regular laptop, that’s where the similarities stop.
The Chromebook is based on Cloud computing technology which is the on-demand provision of computer resources (data, software) via a computer network/internet. This enables computer users to store information off site and it gives the possibility of an almost infinite amount of storage.
Here at MadBid.com we’re excited to learn that the Goolge Chromebook will take full advantage of Cloud technology by being the first completely web based laptop – there are no files or programs stored on the computer (apart from the bare essentials) and even the software being used is online with no programmes to download.
This means that the computer will start up in about seven seconds, will never need a virus checker and if it gets damaged you won’t lose any of your files or software!
There are some downsides to this technology too, with everything being on the web it means that you constantly need to be connected to the web via Wi-Fi or some models even do 3G. Although this sounds good in principal, it does have some problems as although many places are now offering Wi-Fi and most people have it in their home, if you’re not near one of these then it’s down to 3G. 3G in the UK has pretty good coverage, but there are many black spots that the service doesn’t reach and in places like Central London where the mobile phone networks struggle with the amount of people accessing them. So this means that you won’t be able to do any work in any of these areas and unlike a standard computer there is no option to work offline.
Google are trying to get some developers to start making their online applications work offline too and they hope that the popularity of the Chromebook and the emergence of Cloud computing might encourage these developers to do so. It may mean the introduction of more subscription based software, so a user never owns the software but just pays a monthly/yearly fee to use it – this would also hopefully allow users to use the most up-to-date software available without having to pay for upgrades.
Along with all this the computers will be pretty user friendly as every time you turn it on the software will check online to see if there are updates, and it will always boot up with the latest version. Also even if there’s a catastrophic failure, for whatever reason, it will simply reinstall itself – with no risk to your files as they are all stored online and safe!
If you’re not sure if Cloud computing is for you or you’d rather not wait until June 15 MadBid offers a large variety of Laptops such as ‘eMachines 15.6” Laptop’ which is perfect for fulfilling your entertainment and work requirements at home or on the road or if you prefer a touchscreen we have the ‘Dell Inspiron Duo Touchscreen’ – it has the ease of a touchscreen with the added feature of a keyboard too.
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As the world recovers form a global recession many shoppers are looking for a bargain. Here are 6 tips from MadBid to help you save some money on everything from soup to shoes while still getting high quality products!
Make a list before you go to the store and stick to it. Avoid impulse shopping as you make your way to check out. If you find something you can’t live without that wasn’t on your list, carry it around in the store for a while, and if after you have done all your other shopping you still want it, then you can decide if you should amend your shopping list.
Use coupons and discounts whenever possible. Many stores have weekly newsletters and adverts where they promote sale items or offer reduced prices. Take advantage of customer rewards programs where you can earn points or get free stuff from your favourite stores.
Look for factory outlets, clearance aisles, and discount racks. Also, don’t be afraid to explore the world of second hand stores or visit outdoor flea markets and car boot sales to get some gently used treasures. Inspect your items from those areas before you purchase them to look for signs of damage. Always maintain a level of quality in your purchases and do not sacrifice that standard for price.
When shopping for food buy ingredients to make your own meals instead of pre-packaged meals, or going out for dinner every night. Buy store brands instead of name brands which are usually a little lower on the shelf. Take advantage of bulk discounts, but only if you think you will use the products before they expire.
Shopping online can be an easy way to comparison shop by browsing lots of different vendors. While you find great deals online beware of some hidden costs when you shop. Shipping and handling charges can often sneak up on you, and don’t forget the value of your own time as you spend hours surfing the web researching the best values. But with petrol prices higher than ever, you may consider the savings of ordering supplies online to be delivered to your door instead of driving to the markets.
Online Auctions are a great way of saving money and getting a discount price. You have eBay, well known by most people, and you can certainly get some bargains or buy cheaper second-hand items. There are also sites like MadBid.com where items sell for 87% less than the retail price – where all items are brand new and from reputable sources. MadBid.com offers a fun way to bid for a bargain and at the same time allowing customers to walk away with top products for incredibly low prices.
We hope you have found these tips useful, but our savvy shoppers at MadBid.com always know where to go to get the best deals on brand new electronics and appliances. Our auctions sell brand new, name brand, in demand products at one-tenth of the price. Bring some fun and adventure back into your shopping quest at MadBid.com
MadBid.com is one of the UK's leading pay-to-bid auction sites with users saving up to 98% off top brand products such as iPods, iPhones, TVs, Laptop's, Car's, Games Consoles and much more all fall under the hammer at MadBid.com and can go for just pennies! Just a few great examples of the savings made for some of our users!
MacBook Air (RRP £1,299) - SOLD for just £3.38
iPhone 3Gs 16GB (RRP £449) - SOLD for just £26.88
Samsung 50" Plasma (RRP £975) - SOLD for just £13.50
So why not grab yourself a bargain today and visit MadBid.com
“…on average Gourmet Society cardholders save £25 on each visit to a restaurant. If you eat out once a week that equates to over £1300 of Gourmet Society saving in a year! It’s quite possible to save your entire membership fee in one visit to a restaurant, after that it is pure profit all year”.
s the Chromebook on June 15 and although it looks just like a regular laptop, that’s where the similarities stop.