How do auctions work?
Our auctions are different than traditional eBay-style Internet auctions.
1 - You need to purchase bids to participate.
2 - All auctions start at a price of $0. All auctions are for brand new popular gift cards from a variety of great companies.
3 - Each bid increases the auction price by a fixed amount ($0.01) and adds up to 20 seconds to the auction clock so that everyone has a fair chance to bid. Remember when you bid, it cost you $.60.
4 - The final bidder when the clock hits zero wins.The person who wins needs to pay the auction final price.
How does the auction clock work?
Our auction clock is a simple way to keep things fun and very interesting.
Most auctions will start out with a 24-hour clock. Some will start at 48 or 72 hours. We add a fixed amount of time (usually 20 seconds) to the clock for every bid made. That means you can’t be shut out by someone else’s last-second bid: you’ll always have time to make your own bid if you wish.
Once the clock goes under 20 seconds, there’s an added twist: it will never be reset to more than 0:20 seconds.
As long as there are bids, the clock will keep running, and when the clock hits zero the last bidder is the winner!
Exactly how does this work?
How does it work?
Every auction starts at a penny. Each auction has a set timer. Each bid placed within the last 10-20 seconds restarts the clock once again, back to the 10-20 seconds.
How long does an auction last?
The auction duration is determined by the bidders. Ever bid placed extends the auction by 10-20 seconds, until the last bidder wins!
How much does it cost to bid?
All bids are .60. You can purchase bid packs and earn free bids as well.
How much is shipping?
Ecards are free, to .99 for shipping. If you win a $5 ecard or card, shipping is always free. To send out a gift card, it cost 1.99 for shipping and handeling charges.
How long do I have to pay for an auction?
You have 7 days to complete the payment from the time the auction has closed.
How long will it take to receive my wins?
Cards and ecards will be mailed or emailed with in a 14 day period. That is from the time of purchase.
How many auctions can I win?
Our win limits are set at 2 wins per week. This resets midnight Sat.
Can I cash out my bids?
No, all bids purchased are non transferable adn non refundable and may only be used by bidding on GCA site.
What is your refund policy?
We do not refund for the cards as they normally sell for just pennies on the dollar. There are times however, that we will make an exeption to exchange.
How do I create my new account?
On the home page of the website, you will notice a menu bar located near the top of the page. The "REGISTER" link is the button you need to click on to REGISTER Follow the instructions provided.
How do I get started?
In order to participate in our auction, you must register on the giftcardsalley.com website. Just for joining, you will receive 25 bonus bids so you can get in the game absolutely FREE! Get your feet wet! You can always purchase a bid pack which cost .60 cents per bid. You have several choces to pick from.
How to use bids?
After purchasing your bid pack, your member account will be credited with the advertised number bids. Simply click the "Bid" button on the auction you're trying to win. If you are the last person to bid on the item, you win the right to purchase that item at the final auction price. The final auction price is the purchase price offered by the last bidder (the bid that is active when the auction clock expires).
When you click the "BID" button during any auction, you will place a single offer to purchase the item at the displayed price. A notification will appear momentarily to let you know that your bid was successful. If you're the current highest bidder, your username will appear just below the dollar amount displayed on the auction page.
The auctions last how long?
The auctions are held simultaneously and the allotted bid time, may vary. More valuable items typically take longer to sell, while smaller-priced items tend to end in a much shorter time period. The more valuable the item being auctioned, the more competition it will typically receive.
How do I use Auto Bidder?
We understand that you cannot always be in front of your computer, watching penny auctions on which you would like to bid. The Auto Bidder can be told to place bids for you when you cannot be there yourself. It will place bids for you on the penny auction that you like and it will bid as many times as you want.
To set up your Auto Bidder, click on a penny auction you would like to win. On the right side, you will see the "Add an Auto Bidder" box. This is where you tell the Auto Bidder how you would like it to bid.
To set the autobidder, simply apply how many bid you would like to place. Once it is in place, you will not be able to stop it. So be aware, you're bids will be used unless you win before they are all used up.
The Auto Bidder will place bids for you when there is between 15 and 3 seconds left on the auction.
What is GiftCardsAlley.com?
GiftCardsAlley.com is an entertaining & exciting shopping experience in the way of a penny auction website. We conduct online auctions that give our members the chance to win the latest, most in-demand gift cards at deeply discounted prices.
What about shipping and delivery?
All our shipping & handling is FREE on all $5 cards, .99 cents on all ecards, and 1.99 on all plastic gift cards. You will receive your giftcards usps or through email. We ship out and email cards within 14 days of purchase so you can start enjoying your cards/items right away. Bid packs and blazing bid wins are not charged any handling fee.
What is the difference between bid packs and the FREE bids?
What is the difference between paid bids and FREE bids?
Paid bids and FREE bids have several different attributes in our penny auction bidding system. It's important that you understand the difference.
You acquire paid bids only when you purchase a bid pack. . Paid bids may be used to place offers during auctions (to place a "bid"), and they have monetary value.
FREE bids are awarded as promotional items in a number of different ways; you may receive them when you purchase a bid pack, along with your bids, you may be awarded them when you first register for an account, you may receive them during special promotions via our newsletter and various contests, and you receive them at time of log in each day. FREE bids may be used to place bids during the auction process, in our FREE BIDS AUCTIONS. In that sense, they work just like paid bids however, because they are promotional items, they have no monetary value. The winner of our auctions pay the final price at the end of the auction.
Is there a win limit?
Yes there is a win limit set in place. You may win 2 auctions per week, and up to 8 per month. The limits are reset every Sat. eve midnight. This includes ALL AUCTIONS. Bid pack auctions, free bid auctions, and our standard auctions, are all included in this limit. This way it gives everyone a fair and equal chance to win some of our great products.
Checking??
If an auction shows "Checking" for more than a few seconds it usually means your computer lost the connection to our server and stopped receiving updates. Refreshing your screen will usually re-establish the connection.
Are exchanges allowed?
There will be no exchanges at this time. You will receive what you have bid on and won.
