Charge per bid (Penny Bidding)
ℹ️ How it works?
Section titled “ℹ️ How it works?”A Penny product (also known as bidding fee) is a non-refundable product that customers must purchase in order to place bids in a penny auction.
Instead of bidding for free, customers use bidding turns.
Each bid consumes one turn.
Simply put:
- Customers buy Penny products
- Penny products give them a number of bidding turns
- Each bid = 1 turn
- When turns run out, customers must buy more to continue bidding
Why use Penny products?
Section titled “Why use Penny products?”Using Penny products helps you:
- Prevent fake or spam bids
- Ensure bidders are serious and committed
- Earn revenue from:
- bidding fees and
- the final winning bid
In many cases, the total revenue from bidding fees + winning bid can exceed the product’s original price.
🛠️ Admin: Set up Penny products
Section titled “🛠️ Admin: Set up Penny products”Step 1: Create Penny products in Shopify Products
Section titled “Step 1: Create Penny products in Shopify Products”Create penny products in Shopify Products
Example:
| Penny product | Bids included | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | 10 bids | $5 |
| Advanced | 30 bids | $10 |
Step 2: Add penny products in Tipo app
Section titled “Step 2: Add penny products in Tipo app ”- Go to the app > click Penny products > click Create new penny button
- Enter product detail
In General session, enter the penny product Name and Number of bid
- In Product session, click Select product to link button to link to the penny product created in the step
For example: link the penny products “Basic - 10 bids” with Shopify product “Basic - 10 bids”
- Click Save
Admin can create multiple penny products and each one costs a certain amount of money and a certain number of bidding turn.
Step 3: Turn on “Charge per bid” option
Section titled “Step 3: Turn on “Charge per bid” option”- Go to the app > click Auctions > open an auction you want to set up
- Find Additional options > turn on Charge per bid option
- Click Save
✅ How penny products work?
Section titled “✅ How penny products work? ”When a customer tries to bid without enough turns:
- A message appears asking them to buy Penny products
- A popup shows available Penny product options
- Customer selects a product and clicks Buyout
Example:
Scenario:
- Customer buys Basic – 5 bids – $5
What happens:
- Customer now has 5 bidding turns
- Each time they click Place bid, 1 turn is used
- After 5 bids → turns = 0
- Customer must buy another Penny product to continue bidding
🙋 Still need support?
If you still need help, please feel free to contact us at hi@tipo.io. We’ll be happy to assist you further.