Penny auctions are among the best strategies on the net for getting discounted gift cards. With experience and patience, bidders can save big bucks off the retail price of gift cards from stores like Amazon.com, Best Buy, Walmart, and Target. But, without much penny auctions background, unseasoned players can easily overspend, losing more money than the card is even worth.

Bidblink.com is unique to other penny auction sites, though, because when played right, it is literally impossible to lose money. Sound too good to be true? Check it out:

To participate in the auctions hosted at Bidblink, players first need to buy bids. These bids come in packs of different amounts, from the $15 pack of 100 bids to the $500 pack of 5000 bids. The advantage of buying bids in bulk is in the individual bid price: the $500 pack means each bid is only 10 cents! Other penny auction sites price bids at a buck a piece, which means aggressive bidding over there will add up fast. But, anyways, to be the most efficient with money, the $500 bid pack is the way to go.

Now, $500 in 10 cent bids just to dip your toes in the water seems a tad unappealing (that’s $500 you’re spending at one site!), but it’s the only way to truly ensure that no money is lost. If a player (let’s call him B1dd3r) bids on a Walmart gift card but doesn’t win, Bidblink gives him the unique "buy now" opportunity to avoid losing money. So, if B1dd3r spent 50 bids on the Walmart gift card, Bidblink will let him put those 50 bids towards buying that card–but at 10 cents per bid. If B1dd3r had bought the $15 bid pack at 15 cents per bid, those 50 bids would have cost him $7.50 (50 bids x $0.15). But, with the "buy now" opportunity, his bids will only be worth $5.00 (50 bids x $0.10 each). Had B1dd3r bought the bids at 10 cents a piece from the start, he wouldn’t have lost any money in buying that Walmart gift card. He would’ve, essentially, broken even.

But, the object of the game isn’t to take advantage of Bidblink’s great "buy now" opportunities – it’s to bid and win! Good strategy in getting those discounted gift cards through penny auction sites has to do with knowing your competition. Before jumping straight into an auction, it’s a good idea to watch the site for a while to see who you’re up against. If you see that B1dd3r is an aggressive player willing to put all of his bids on another Walmart gift card, you probably won’t win. Strategies of players like B1dd3r are all about establishing a reputation, scaring other players out of bidding against them, even if it means intentionally overspending.

All this talk about Bidblink being your "best bet", about playing the "game", "breaking even", using "strategy", and increasing your "chances at winning" proposes the idea that this could be some new kind of gambling. Gambling, however, implies that there’s a chance you can lose money. Bidblink has all the tools and rules you need to protect your spending and your saving. So, if you’re in the market for discounted gift cards, Bidblink is no gamble.