What is Penny Ante?

Penny Ante is a free promotional "game" invented on the eBay blogs in 2005.  It was originally created by a blogger named crazy_mooz, who passed it on to xx-ladykiki-xx, who passed it to me (rooster613) in 2008.  During the time I ran it on the blogs, a total of 110 people participated, with the weekly record being 43 players in the week of Oct 28-Nov 4, 2008.   Now that eBay has decided to retire their blogs platform (a dumb idea, if you ask me, which eBay didn't), I am moving Penny Ante to a page in my ebay store, The Happy Rooster.  I am also posting the history and rules here, so they will be available to the wider eBay community.  Anyone  can join us, so please read on... 

Object of the game -- how is it played?

The object of the game is to sell things on eBay!  Penny Ante is a game in the sense that we do it for fun and friendly competition.  We enjoy coming up with oddball things to list, and watching to see how high they go.  There are no prizes, because that would violate eBay rules.   The full rules are below, but here is the basic idea:  On TUESDAY, you start any 7-day auction at one cent -- it has to start at ONE CENT -- that is why we call it Penny Ante.  Then you go to my Rooster613 ID World page and message me the auction number and title.  I compile the master list, which is posted on a custom page in my store.  (See this week's list.)  The list is updated throughout the day until midnight on Tuesday, with the final version posted on Wednesday morning.  Participants then copy the list or link to it from their own stores, blogs, websites, etc.  (Because it is on a page within the ebay platform, there is no problem linking to it on eBay.)   I also post links on Facebook and other places.

Here are the complete rules:  

1. Each person picks ONE auction and starts it at a penny.

2. No mark up fees on shipping & handling.  You must be within eBay guidelines.

3. List your auction as a normal auction on TUESDAY (any time all day until midnight your time).  Do a 7 day auction so we all end on the next Tuesday.   Stay within eBay rules.  No "shill bidding." i.e., you must actually pay for any items you win, not just bid to jack up the price. 

 (Need a reminder?  Sign up for the "Penny Ante reminder" newsletter in The Happy Rooster store.  There is also Facebook fan page called "Penny Ante Club" -- I can't post a link here, but search for it there and join for signup reminders, links to the sales, etc.)   

NOTE: If my schedule gets hectic on Tues, I sometimes allow an early morning last chance on Weds, but do not rely on this!  Try to remember to sign up on Tuesday.

WARNING:  DO NOT use the words "Penny Ante" in your listing title!  People have had their listings pulled for "Buyer manipulation." You can, however, mention and/or link to the list in the description.   (See below for the HTML to do that).

4. Got to my Rooster613 ID World page and send me your auction number and title for that week through Ebay Messages (NOT private email, I'll never see it there in all the spam!)   Please give me BOTH the item number AND the title !!!  (Not the entire URL, it won't work in Messages anyway.)   The reason is, I'm on dialup and if I have to go back and forth between a lot of pages to copy things, it take more time.  If I can just copy everything to my template right from the message, it is MUCH faster for me.

5. We are to bid responsibly and within our budget.  Non-paying bidders will be blocked from future games.

6. Seller has to be willing to let an item go at a penny if it only gets one bid. Remember this is a game, no guarantees, but we do ask that you try and bid on at least one auction. But remember, there is no pressure to bid. This is to be fun.

Promoting the game

The more we promote the game page, the more people will see out listings.  Even if they do not bid on your Penny Ante item, they might take a look at your other items.  If you have a store, feature your weekly Penny Ante in a promo box on your storefront.  That way, folks can find it fast, even if they miss this post --  it seems to work for me!  You can also link a promo box to the list page in my store.  That will provide a portal for both you and your customers to find it fast.   

Feel free to repost the list on your own blog, store page or website, link to it from Facebook, MySpace, Multiply, etc. The more places it gets posted, the better for our sales!  (Use the updated version posted on Weds morning, to be sure you have the complete new list.  Or create a permanent link to the page.)  Just be sure that people know to go to Rooster613's ID World page to message me their info for sign-up on TUESDAY.  It is very important to get all the sales info on one day and in one place.

HTML links to the store page

Here is the HTML to link to the list page from within eBay:

<a href="http://stores.shop.ebay.com/The-Happy-Rooster/The-Penny-Ante-Game.html">The Penny Ante Game</a>

Use this link for sites outside of eBay:

<a href="http://stores.shop.ebay.com/The-Happy-Rooster/The-Penny-Ante-Game.html?refid=store">The Penny Ante Game</a>

Come join the fun -- and happy selling!

(Note to eBay police:  The eBay IDs which appear in this Guide are used with permission.)