For centuries, goods have been auctioned off to hopeful bidders in open marketplaces, closed exclusive biddings, and of recent, on online portals. The classic way of bidding in an auction is to start low, and then slowly but surely move up as bidders compete to get a particular good of their desire.
Bid&Get flipped the traditional bidding upside down with their innovative auctions, where a user would bid on an item at a certain price, and then that user would be put in the pot of many other users to randomly be selected from. If the particular user was one of the lucky ones, the user would be able to purchase the item at a heavily discounted price.
Example: A brand new iPhone just came out at a retail price of $1000 USD. On Bid&Get however, there is an auction where the lucky few can buy an iPhone at only $50 USD, with a participation price of $10 USD. Bid&Get has 10 iPhones on auction, hence 10 users participating in the auction will be able to buy an iPhone for only $50 USD when the auction is over.
Disclaimer: The information and screenshots presented below reflect the website and/or application at the moment of its publication. Wiredelta does not have a maintenance agreement in place with this client, therefore all changes and updates that occurred after this date have been made by the client.
The problem
Bid&Get had an innovative approach to their auction but struggled to find the technical competencies to execute on their idea. Therefore, they contacted our Wiredelta team to help them build their online auction system. The idea was to create an online bidding system and find an interesting way to win different products using their innovative auction system.
The solution
After various workshops and consultations, Wiredelta developed a Danish auction site with a complex bidding system. The project was implemented in NodeJS for optimal performance. This online auction system offers items at a discounted price. So, the last person to click on the item wins and receives an email with a link to purchase the item.
Development
Wiredelta developed a system but it is a bit different than a normal auction. Here are described 3 simple steps how it works:
- An admin pre-sets the price of the item, which does not change
- Users can click on an item and the last person to click on the item wins the right to buy the product at the quoted price pre-set by admin
- It costs a given amount of money (about 5 DKK) to click on an item to participate in the auction
The website’s structure consists of 4 main pages:
The homepage displays a free sign up panel to join the bidding system. The sign up is super easy, setting up only the user’s name, a password, and an email address. Before creating a profile, there is a checkmark, with user conditions which must be accepted. Each newly created profile has assigned a unique ID, so there is a clear connection between the profile and bids.
The homepage also describes how the online auction system works, as mentioned earlier above. On the right side of the homepage there is a login panel, as well as information sidebar of the latest winners. In the bottom left you can find a customer service panel added with a phone number, an email address and 24/7 working time.
Logged In page has a menu bar that allows you to go back to the home page, see the live auctions, ask for help on how to bid and look into your account. Live auctions show all the available products you can bid for. But first, you have to buy your clips! Payment is available thanks to a Danish payment system and Paypal.
The bidding system allows various packages of clips, where a clip costs 5 DKK and every other added gives a small discount to the package. So for example 3 clips for 15 DKK, 10 clips for 46 DKK, 20 clips for 90 DKK and so on. The higher the amount of clips is, the final price will give a small discount. After your package choice, you can decide the payment by PayPal or Credit/Debit card. My account page, it is possible to set up deposit money on an account, as well as deposit limits. Additionally, you can edit your profile and see your account number and balance of clips.
The checkout page displays a banner with a product if you win the auction. Then you just pay the discounted price of the product and you can enjoy your win!
The static page consists of basic, but not less important sections, such as: About us, Contact us, FAQ, Help, and Conditions.
Setting up the auction
So how does a user get started? First, admins have to add an item in WordPress e-commerce with SKU (stock keeping unit) which is an item with a specific unique ID. There can only be one in the store with the same number, hence price = end price at the auction. Then, an admin sets the price and the time – a counter needs to be developed for each auction.
When the auction ends, a link is sent to the customer via email, with a “coupon code”. Only this person gets this coupon code number and enters it and can proceed to checkout. Without the coupon code, it is not possible to checkout. The email is sent to the buyer and seller that the deal has been completed. The item is on its way to the buyer.
Conclusion
As you could have noticed, Wiredelta is getting in touch with different clients from different countries along its business journey. Various industries are looking for help and we are here to transform volatile ideas into rock-solid products. Bid&Get is certainly one of those projects, where we created a website based on an e-commerce foundation with a touch of an auction system! Feel free to also check out other cases that we had an opportunity to work on.
Do you also have a business idea but are struggling with its transformation into a real thing? Then don’t waste any more time and let us know what’s on your mind. We can help you to figure out the best possible solution to get online!
