Thanks Tom911 - I just registered & posted a bid from today. will I be hassled that I didn't bid through their links? - IOW, do they want my info or the referral credit more?
did you make a successful priceline bid through the information obtained at BetterBidding? The only fair and equitable thing to do is use the link on the board, this will insure that it will be around the next time you need to research your next bid.
did you make a successful priceline bid through the information obtained at BetterBidding? The only fair and equitable thing to do is use the link on the board, this will insure that it will be around the next time you need to research your next bid.
Do not go through other website links to priceline! Those links are affiliated with priceline and raise your winning bid price!
Dear all,
One of my friends told me this thread so I 'm here
I finally decided to open this site after several people on FW forum encouraged me after they used my service. And I believe this is the only way to keep this help service running for more people and run it longer. I would like to help people with no charge however this service is starting to take more and more time from me and more and more resources than I expected...
About the $1.95 price, actually several friends of mine suggested this price, considering papal charging $.30 transaction fee and thanks to a few people behind this service, I think it's a very cheap and reasonable price. But if people still think it's expensive, I 'll try find a way to lower it down if possible.
Just my 2 cents here and wanted to clarify this service. Thank you for your attention.
- coolwulf -
Welcome!
While your service is quite useful (especially when rebidding is limited) somehow I feel PL is not gonna let this go for too long especially if your site gains any publicity. I suspect PL shares the profits from overbidding with hotels and "perfect bids" are gonna lead to revenue loss.
Good luck though, I hope you can generate some revenue and help the rest of us along the way.
I am also curious how much affiliated links increase the winning bid price. We speculated about this in the past but with only empirical evidence it was hard to pinpoint. I am still not sure if, for example, FW cashback justifies the winning bid increase.
Do not go through other website links to priceline! Those links are affiliated with priceline and raise your winning bid price!
Just so there's no misunderstanding, are you suggesting your Priceline bid will cost more going through another website's link than if you bid directly from Priceline's site? I'm an experienced Priceline bidder (7 years) and am very skeptical of this claim. Are you able to prove your theory?
Just so there's no misunderstanding, are you suggesting your Priceline bid will cost more going through another website's link than if you bid directly from Priceline's site? I'm an experienced Priceline bidder (7 years) and am very skeptical of this claim. Are you able to prove your theory?
Good luck with your ventures and website.
I have been checking priceline bids for several years and I did see in some cases the minimum winning bid raise a few bucks if you go thru affliacted website's link to priceline...
Also I want you guys know that the website's service is updated today, now you can specify how many rooms you want to bid instead of only 1 room request.
I have been checking priceline bids for several years and I did see in a lot of cases the minimum winning bid raise a few bucks if you go thru affliacted website's link to priceline...
Also I want you guys know that the website's service is updated today, now you can specify how many rooms you want to bid instead of only 1 room request.
yes, and my fish is fresh....free beer tomorrow, too!
Sir, I believe you are full of horse manure.
Where do you go to check several years of bids? How do you determine the difference between an overbid (the result of increasing a bid in increments of $5, vs. a slower process of $1 increments) and someone that nails the lowest price offered by a hotel? Rates can vary depending on date, also hotels will load multiple "offers" or minimum acceptable prices that will be accepted, so there is no way for you to prove your claim.
I have been bidding for 5 years now and have not experienced any difference in using one link over another, except that the message board that I use, BetterBidding, is still around, is growing and continues to improve, allowing me and other travellers to get great deals on hotel rooms.
you are making a bold statement with nothing to back it up, empty barrels make the most noise, after all!
hammie, I think coolwulf is skeptical to tell you exactly how they know their information for fear of the "secret" being disseminated too far, therefore making his/her money-making service useless.
IMO, the only 100% foolproof way to prove the "affiliate link means higher price" theory is to bid an amount through the affiliate link, which is rejected, and then immediately bid the exact same parameters and price going to PL directly and having it be accepted. This would have to at least involve two different credit cards.
This would have to at least involve two different credit cards.
The two credit card theory would not be necessary if free rebids were available in the area (locale) you're booking. As long as the second bid involves adding a zone that doesn't have the star quality of the zone you're targeting, then theoritically your two bids are still identical without the need of using a second credit card or Priceline account.
hammie, I think coolwulf is skeptical to tell you exactly how they know their information for fear of the "secret" being disseminated too far, therefore making his/her money-making service useless.
IMO, the only 100% foolproof way to prove the "affiliate link means higher price" theory is to bid an amount through the affiliate link, which is rejected, and then immediately bid the exact same parameters and price going to PL directly and having it be accepted. This would have to at least involve two different credit cards.
As far as I can say, in some cases, this is true! Bids going thru directly got passed can be rejected going thru affiliated links. (in some cases, it's even not one or two dollar difference, could be a few dollars) Check priceline affiliated program list, see the percentage they offered, then you will have an idea why we can see this difference!
And also I do agree, it's not always true, we have seen cases where bids can be the same amount of money, so it depends on when you 're bidding and also which link you 're going thru.
And also I do agree, it's not always true, we have seen cases where bids can be the same amount of money, so it depends on when you 're bidding and also which link you 're going thru.
Can you theorize why bidding sometimes through affiliate links requires a higher bid and sometimes it doesn't? IMO, I think it would be all or nothing vs sometimes yes and sometimes no.
Can you theorize why bidding sometimes through affiliate links requires a higher bid and sometimes it doesn't? IMO, I think it would be all or nothing vs sometimes yes and sometimes no.
Right now. I can't! My result based on the feedback from users of my website and also experiences from my friends. The only thing it's safe to say it did happen some times.
If you want me to theorize this, it needs more detailed research and right now I don't have time for that.
The two credit card theory would not be necessary if free rebids were available in the area (locale) you're booking. As long as the second bid involves adding a zone that doesn't have the star quality of the zone you're targeting, then theoritically your two bids are still identical without the need of using a second credit card or Priceline account.
Good point... don't know why that didn't dawn on me... you could have two browser windows open at the same time, one affiliate and one not, with one having (for example) one zone selected and the other having two selected.
Quote:
Originally Posted by coolwulf
As far as I can say, in some cases, this is true! Bids going thru directly got passed can be rejected going thru affiliated links. (in some cases, it's even not one or two dollar difference, could be a few dollars) Check priceline affiliated program list, see the percentage they offered, then you will have an idea why we can see this difference!
I'm not sure what the "priceline affiliated program list" is, but I know that if person A has a successful bid of $35 through an affiliate link and person B has a successful bid of $35 directly that PL makes slightly less profit on person A's bid (assuming the same city/zones/dates/quality/etc). I assume that's the point of your last sentence of the first paragraph.
Quote:
And also I do agree, it's not always true, we have seen cases where bids can be the same amount of money, so it depends on when you 're bidding and also which link you 're going thru.
Could you clarify? I'm taking this to mean, for example, that I could bid through BFT's link a certain amount and get rejected but bid the same amount through BB immediately after and get accepted? And if so, inquiring minds want to know how you know this to be the case.
I can't imagine that it would be legal or moral for PL to charge more to customers who arrive there through affiliate links than those who arrive other ways (not that PL has been the epitome of morals, we all know that...). I equate it to a store charging me more for a piece of furniture after they found out I saw their ad in one of ten newspapers they advertised in.
Do you have a money back guarantee if the information you provide doesn't result in a successful bid?
Good point... don't know why that didn't dawn on me... you could have two browser windows open at the same time, one affiliate and one not, with one having (for example) one zone selected and the other having two selected.
I'm not sure what the "priceline affiliated program list" is, but I know that if person A has a successful bid of $35 through an affiliate link and person B has a successful bid of $35 directly that PL makes slightly less profit on person A's bid (assuming the same city/zones/dates/quality/etc). I assume that's the point of your last sentence of the first paragraph.
Could you clarify? I'm taking this to mean, for example, that I could bid through BFT's link a certain amount and get rejected but bid the same amount through BB immediately after and get accepted? And if so, inquiring minds want to know how you know this to be the case.
I can't imagine that it would be legal or moral for PL to charge more to customers who arrive there through affiliate links than those who arrive other ways (not that PL has been the epitome of morals, we all know that...). I equate it to a store charging me more for a piece of furniture after they found out I saw their ad in one of ten newspapers they advertised in.
Do you have a money back guarantee if the information you provide doesn't result in a successful bid?
You can find priceline travel affiliate program here:
I have to admit that my claim on "affiliated link results in higher winning bids" is still skeptical a little bit but I can gaurantee this happened before.
And about whether my provided information is certainly right, I can gaurantee that the time when we provided this information, our provided bid price will definitely result in winning bid. However, since the winning bid price tend to change with the time, we always encourage people to bid ASAP. And our policy is, if your bid doesn't go thru for some reasons, we 'll give you free request again.
Even if you wonīt get harassed at betterbidding, itīs nice to show support by going through their link. I always do. A few cents cashback through some other link isnīt worth the hassle.
$248 and counting on Ebates for me - all through Hotwire and Priceline. (I also book rooms for friends who ask for my help.)
