Best Online Auction Sites to Score a Tech Deal

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While it is undoubtedly true that you could purchase a given piece of technology from a conventional online retailer or brick-and-mortar big box store, you could be missing out on some exciting and affordable opportunities. If you are willing to take the time to search for your desired items and know enough about how to use auction websites to your benefit, they can be valuable resources for stretching your technology budget even further. Learn more about some of the best online auction sites to score a tech deal and some useful tips on how to do so. 

As One of the Oldest Online Auction Sites, eBay is Great for Tech Deals 

Much like a traditional flea market, swap meet, and so on, eBay has been around for decades and is a reliable location for finding deals on all kinds of items, including various forms of technology. As the buyer, you can purchase items without any surcharge, whereas the seller must pay a 1.5% fee on the final sale price. Depending on the individual sellers, you will either encounter a storefront with static prices, much like typical online shopping or can place a winning bid in an auction. 

For any users worried about not getting their money's worth from a prospective tech purchase, eBay's reputation as one of the best shopping sites is backed up by after-purchase guarantees in the event you are not fully satisfied with what you receive. In addition, payments are handled by legitimate third-party services, including Escrow, PayPal, and BidPay, and eBay also has dedicated employees whose primary responsibilities include preventing misrepresentation or dishonesty in online dealings.  

Of course, despite eBay's efforts to help combat any deals not made in good faith, no system of commerce exists without errors being possible. Given the fact that eBay allows virtually anyone to sell something using their website, you may experience poor-quality images of prospective buys, end up receiving broken items, incorrect items, and even items of the wrong size. The time between making your purchase and the item being shipped can also vary wildly between individual sellers, along with the quality and utility of packing materials, so keep this information in mind. 

BidSpotter Can Help You Get Enough Tech for a Whole Office, Plus Furniture 

Regardless of whether you are interested in making cheaper individual purchases for your own needs or looking to supply a new small business with discounted technology, online auction sites are a great way to save money on tech deals. Offering users access to industrial auctions across the world, BidSpotter is useful for more than just larger liquidation sales involving agricultural machinery, laboratory equipment, or metalworking and machine tools. As long as you are willing to meet the reserve bid of a given item or set of items, you could save considerable sums on tech deals, depending on your location relative to that of the auction. 

It is worth pointing out that users of BidSpotter will have to pay a buyer's premium of 18% of the final sale price on top of any applicable sales tax. An available auction lot in Cleveland, Ohio, including a desk, chairs, filing cabinet, and PC, is on offer for a mere $5 starting bid. Paying an extra 95 cents will not likely prove to be a dealbreaker. Other notable current tech deals include a 22-inch Lenovo All-in-One Desktop PC with a reserve of 25 pounds in London as well as a lot of six assorted 19-inch computers screens with a Dell Precision T3500 20 GB RAM PC tower and a Rave I7-4770 16 GB RAM PC tower with a starting price of $1 in New Hudson, Michigan. This auction site puts you in contact with the auctioneer handling a given sale to arrange payment details yourself, so exercise due diligence and caution when providing and accepting detailed financial information. 

Watch Out for Fraud on Auction Sites and Take Advantage of Proxy Bidding 

While the two previously mentioned auction sites are professional businesses with a vested interest in ensuring interested parties can buy and sell as desired, not every seller is interested in providing you with the goods you just paid for. As mentioned previously, escrow services hold your funds in abeyance until you receive your purchase and are satisfied with its condition. However, not all escrow services are equally regulated and subject to the same licensure, so please take care to look into payment details when shopping on eBay alternatives.  

 You should also be aware that there are several valuable tools at your disposal when shopping for the best tech deals on auction sites, not least of which is the humble proxy bidder. For those unfamiliar with the online auctions process, many online auction services offer users proxy bidding software that allows them to set a maximum bid amount. The proxy bidder will detect any bid which exceeds yours and automatically place a larger bid up to the maximum without exceeding the limit unless you say otherwise. This tool can save you a significant amount of time and trouble having to keep track of individual auctions and could potentially save you money. 

Although auction sites do not necessarily offer the speed and customer service that larger retailers provide, you can get some incredible equipment with enough luck and some attention to detail. Check out these auctions site and others to find the best available tech deals! 

About Dan Martin: Daniel Martin is a technology researcher and writer with more than a decade of experience. He is a professional librarian and an experienced tech teacher, writer and blogger. Specializing in technology, Dan has taught courses in technology and writing at the college level, developed web pages for businesses and higher educational institutions, written on tech topics for leading national publications and created numerous how-to guides.