Frequently Asked Questions

Powabunga is an extreme online auction forum. Unlike the other online auctioning forums, Powabunga creates an opportunity for buyers to acquire coveted goods and services, even cash, for little or no investment. Conversely, sellers are able, if they wish, to market goods and services at an incredibly high profit, without even paying a listing fee. This is because Powabunga is the only online auction forum where you can bid on real world goods with virtual currency, making the listing price of an item irrelevant to the bidder.

An item is listed by a seller. Users who wish to bid in this auction purchase an auction paddle that allows the ability to bid. These auction paddles can be purchased for $1 each at Powabunga.com. Auction paddles are what make Powabunga different. In both old-fashioned and online auctions, sellers often set a Reserve Price, the minimum bid for which they will be willing to sell an item. This price is not initially disclosed to the bidders, but bids below the reserve price do not result in a sale. At Powabunga the seller sets his reserve, or selling price. Then we sell auction paddles. When the number of auction paddles sold equals the dollar amount of the Total Reserve, an auction opens, and the bidding can begin. Having already met the seller’s desired price with the sale of auction paddles and knowing that the seller will get his or her desired return, we then have the freedom to open the auction item up to bidding using virtual currency.

The sale of auction paddles is the means by which sellers are paid (see HOW DOES IT WORK?) In addition, only people who have an active paddle placed on a listing can collect free virtual currency.

You can either purchase paddles on the site for $1 USD per paddle, with $15 being the minimum purchase. Or you get them for free with participating retailers. Participating retailers will each have their own conditions and restrictions for gifting paddles, often paddles are given away with a minimum purchase.

Carrots, our currency, can be collected by clicking on the Powabunny that periodically hops across the screen at the top of your home page. There are different amounts of carrots gained by clicking on different kinds of bunnies. No matter what bunny you click on, however, the amount of carrots you collect is multiplied by the number of “live” paddles that you have. So, the more auctions you have bought a paddle to enter, the more currency you collect to bid in those auctions. You never lose your carrots. They accumulate in your carrot account until you pay for your successful auctions, gift them to friends, or sell them on the Carrot Exchange.

See "How does Powabunga work" above :)

An auction opens 15 minutes after the last paddle for that auction has been sold (thus meeting the Total Reserve) and ends 24 hours after that.

Simple! Sign in to your account, click “Sell” at the top of your home page screen, and it should be self explanatory from there. There will be boxes to describe your item, upload pictures of it, and list your terms of delivery and any possible restrictions.

Simple! Sign in to your account, buy auction paddles and put them down on the auctions you’re interested in, collect carrots, and then watch and interact with your auctions, bidding with carrots and trying to make the highest bid before the auction closes.

The cash option is an interesting and unique element of Powabunga auctions. If the successful bidder so chooses, they can choose to not take possession of the item and accept a check (or PayPal transfer) for 75% of the reserve set by the seller instead. In other words, the buyer accepts a check for 75% of the item’s cash value. The seller can then keep their item, collect a check for 25% of their Reserve Price. The seller can re-list the item if they wish. By the way, Powabunga pays everyone so you aren’t dependent upon the finances of individual buyers.

Powabunga does not charge listing fees! We do, however, charge a commission, which is 10% of the Reserve Price that you, as a seller, set. In other words, our commission is 10% of the money you get for selling an item. We only take this commission if the item is successfully auctioned.

We charge 10% of the Reserve Price set by a seller. In other words, we ask for 10% of the money you will get for selling an item. The seller’s Reserve Price plus our 10% becomes the Total Reserve.

You simply sign into your account, pull up your item in “My Auctions” and then click the “Withdraw” button. Just as there are no listing fees for Powabunga, there are also no delisting fees. You are not entitled to the reserve money that has been collected with the sale of auction paddles thus far, however. Auction paddles are credited back to bidders for use in other auctions.

Your auction paddle will be credited back to you for use in other auctions, and the carrots that you have used to place bids will be credited back to your account.

The Reserve Price is the minimum amount of money a seller demands in order to sell their item. The Total Reserve is that price, plus the ten percent commission.

We advise that if you have any unanswered questions, you click the “Ask a Question” link on the listing’s description page and discuss this with the seller directly.