There seems to be no limit to the number of tips and strategies out there on the Internet about how to win penny auctions and spend the least number of bids to do it. Trouble is, there seems to be little consensus on many matters. Some “experts” recommend using auto-bid tools, others warn against them. Some stress intricate strategy and mathematical accuracy of bid timing and amounts. Others claim that winning is most simply a matter of bidding at the right time.
However, what most DO agree on is that preparing yourself and practicing a few, clear penny auction do's and don'ts could save you a lot of money AND increase your chances of winning. For preparation, read (and re-read if necessary) the “How It Works” article HERE. Then, before placing a bid for a Pricebenders™ auction item, be sure to familiarize yourself with these essential do's and don'ts:
DO...determine a bid budget and stick to it.
DO...watch the auction timer. If the counter almost reaches zero again and again before starting over, it means that there are probably not very many members bidding on that item...and that means your chances of winning are higher.
DO...consider some of the less-expensive items. Generally, fewer people bid on cheaper items and, again, fewer bidders mean your chances of winning are higher.
DO...observe the auctions and list of recently won auction items to determine the best time of day that consistently have the fewest bidders (generally, the lower the winning price, the less bidders there were).
DO...look for Pricebenders auctions designed for new bidders: 
1st Winner auctions auctions are open only to bidders who have not won a Pricebenders auction before, while 
Junior auctions are open to bidders who have won a total of fewer than 9 auctions.
DO...enter the "Pick The Price" contest. Submit the amount you think will be the winning price of the Pricebenders auction displayed on the game's main page. Pick the exact price--or be the closest if no exact picks--and you could win a share of our weekly Zackpot and a nifty badge for your TripleClicks Homepage! Play for just one ZCredit per entry/auction. No purchase necessary to win. Plus, each entry earns you 10 Rewardicals! Hundreds of chances to win weekly and no win limits. Learn more.
DO...purchase your ZCredits for bids in bulk if you can. In this way, you'll minimize your cost per ZCredit (as low as $0.29 each) and ensure you'll have as many as you need to complete an auction. Running out of ZCredits at the last moment can be costly...and heartbreaking!
DO...on the Pricebenders Auction page, you can check out the auction item's description page by clicking the item name. In this way, you'll be sure to know EXACTLY what you are bidding on and avoid unpleasant surprises later. You'll also be able to see the bid log listing all bidders for this item. Tip: Click on a bidder's name to see their TripleClicks "TConnect" Webpage to learn more about him or her.
DO...use Pricebender's Bid Assist with care! This useful tool--accessed by clicking the blue tool icon on a live auction item's panel--can ensure your bids are entered automatically, so you won't have to stand by monitoring an auction...but it should be used carefully and with your budget in mind. Tip: Let's say you think an item's final price is going to be $5.75. A smart auto-bid might be to set up, say, 10 ZCredits for between $5.50 and $6.00. Of course, keep in mind that if the price never reaches $5.50, none of your bids will be placed. Conversely, if the price goes beyond $6.00, someone else may win the auction after your 10 ZCredits have been automatically bid.
DO...watch for 
UP (Under Performer) auctions on the Auction Schedule. They are historically the easiest auctions to win.
DO...only participate in 
Big Dog auctions once you've become familiar with Pricebenders auctions and have won some other types of auctions.
DO...watch the Pricebenders Bonus Bar--a live, realtime progress bar that sits atop each auction--while bidding. If bidding reaches the end of the Bonus Bar, we LOCK IN the price. So, now matter how much higher bidding goes, your purchase price will always be AT LEAST 77% off the MSRP (Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price)! Of course, if bidding ends before reaching the end of the bar, your savings could be up to 99% off, but you're always guaranteed to save at least 77% off retail on every auction.
DO...participate in flash drawings for FREE ZCredits. Just bid at least once in the 5 minutes prior to the drawings (marked by the stars on the Pricebenders Bonus Bar). You'll earn one drawing entry per bid during this 5-minute time period.
DO...read Pricebenders Rules & Policies and be sure you understand the rules and limits for participating in the penny auctions.
DON'T...spend more on an auction than you are willing to lose.
DON'T...wait too long to bid. Connectivity issues, computer crashes, latency (network delays), and other factors may interfere with your bid. If you wait till the last few seconds to bid, you're running the risk that your bid won't go through in time. And make sure you understand that when you bid, it just resets the auction clock, so being the last one to bid before the clock hits zero gains you little if anything...and may just keep you from winning if your bid is delayed by one of the afore-mentioned technical issues. If your strategy is to wait until the "last possible moment," we recommend bidding with NO LESS THAN 5 seconds remaining.
DON'T...get overly excited when bidding. You'll be more likely to break your budget and/or use your ZCredits up faster than you need to.
DON'T...get in a bidding war with other bidders. If you can, sit back and let others battle and use their ZCredits trying to out-bid each other.
DON'T...lose an auction because of a distraction or needing to leave your computer for a moment. Turn on Bid Rescue--accessed by clicking the blue tool icon on a live auction item's panel--to automatically place a bid for you when needed. Note: For even more peace of mind, you can set Bid Rescue to ON by default for all auctions you participate in.
