Have you ever wondered how you can buy a brand new PS3, XBox 360, Wii, or other gadgets and electronics online for half the price of the recommended retail price?

You might think it is impossible, but in actual fact you can. People have saved over hundreds of dollars, all thanks to online bidding sites. These sites work by allowing you to bid for products and buy gadgets online. Whoever the winning bidder is when the timer reaches zero, buys the product for that price. But the catch is, you have to pay to bid. There are three great bidding sites I have gathered up for you to bid and buy electronics for cheap.

Bid Rivals - World Wide [No Longer Available]

Bid Rivals is a global online bidding site that operates in 26 countries. Each product has a countdown timer. When the timer reaches zero, the bidder who made the last bid purchases the product. If another bidder bids before the timer reaches zero, the time restarts and it counts down to zero again. However, to be able to bid, you must first buy bids. For Australian users, bids are $0.80 each; for UK, bids are 0.45 GBP; and in the US, they are $0.60 USD.

buy electronics for cheap

Bid Rivals has many different products to choose from and a great range of categories that include: Audio & iPods, DVD and Bluray, Gaming Consoles and Games, Laptops, Home and Garden, Computers, Televisions, Mobiles and heaps more. You can also click the "˜Buy Now' button to purchase products at a fixed price without having to bid. Bid Rivals has to be one of the largest online bidding sites on the internet to buy gadgets online.

Planet Bid - UK, Australia, & New Zealand

planetbid

Planet Bid works in the same way as Bid Rivals. Every time someone places a bid, the countdown timer increases. Once it reaches zero, that person wins. The main thing that differs between the two online bidding websites is how much the bids costs. Have a look at the image below for bid costs.

bidcosts

All listings on Planet Bid start at $0.00 which means you can buy a gadget online for up to 90% off the retail price. Also, 10% of the final value of each auction goes to a charity of the bidders choice. The only downside with Planet Bid is that it is not worldwide and the products listings are minimal.

BidMadness - Australia & New Zealand

buy electronics for cheap

BidMadness works a little different to the other online bidding websites. With BidMadness, you enter what you think the highest unique bid will be, making sure it's within the limits of the Maximum Bid Amount. If you have the highest unique bid when the auction closes, you win that item. You can visit the How It Works page for more information.

Bidding Tips & Tricks

With these sites, remember to bid wisely. Set yourself bidding limits, because if you spend a few hundred dollars on bidding, you may not always win the product. And remember, if you lose, you don't get your bidding costs back. So a good idea before you start using these websites is to have a plan of attack. Set yourself bidding limits and the maximum bidding costs that you are prepared to spend for each item.

Have you used another online bidding site before? What is it called and what are your thoughts about it? Please share with everyone in the comments section.

You might find these articles relevant: 13 Bargain Websites That are Cheaper than eBay, 5 eBay Tips On How To Buy & Sell BETTER, 7 Tips for Private eBay Sellers.