Part of the nature of taking a vacation and in particular taking advantage of the discounts available on discounter vacation auction sites is that you are always taking a risk. In the case of bidding on a vacation package you will find that the actual name of your vacation hotel or condo is not revealed until you have been awarded the bid. So if you hate staying at the Holiday Inn but then find out that the vacation you bid on is at the Holiday Inn then there might not be that much you can do about it after the fact. This is the type of disappointment that you must be prepared to take if you decide to engage in online travel auction biddings or in purchasing vacation packages that are a bit vague with the details.

However, if you find yourself the victim of a real scam when it comes to bidding on a vacation on an auction site you are not without recourse. This would be the case if promised tickets did not show up in the mail or you were sent to a land where a hotel doesn’t exit or where your reservation has been sold to someone else.  You can also nail a seller if they do not deliver the goods in a timely fashion or deliver something less valuable then they advertised when they described the travel item in the first place.

However keep in mind that when it comes to going after a seller for false advertising it can be difficult to go after a seller who is selling a vacation or hotel booking with a minimum reserve bid that is already sixty percent or less of the vacation’s value in the first place.  It might be implied that you understand that something could be wrong with the item and that is why you are on an auction site offering discount travel in the first place!

However if you are really dissatisfied, you can go after the seller of a vacation if they fail to disclose all of the relevant information about the destination or the terms of the sale.

If you run into a problem try to work it out directly with the seller with the auction web site.  Some travel auction sites are more cooperative then others if you end up having problems. Know that some auction sites like eBay do not have a comprehensive intermediary program for people who encounter problems if they purchase a bad vacation and simply encourage bad feedback as being the best revenge.

You can always file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission by calling toll-free 1-877-FTC-HELP (382-4357) or visiting the FTC’s web site.

Online travel auctions are basically online markets or bazaars. The only difference is that in the case the wares sold are actually travel vacation packages.

Just as is so in any auction (online or off) sellers of vacations can offer one item at a time or multiple lots of the same item (known as Dutch or English auctions) Depending on which site you are on the travel package must go to the highest common denominator.

On almost all travel auction sites the seller of the vacation package can set a minimum bid.  This is called the reserve price, which is the lowest price that the seller will accept for the deal. Some auction travel sites disclose the reserve-bidding price during the auction and others don’t.  How exactly some of these sites work is explained in more detail later on in this book.

The bidding for each travel auction both opens closes at a scheduled time. You’ll be alerted via e-mail if someone outbids you, and then it’s decision time. Don’t get carried away. Decide in advance on the maximum amount you’ll spend, and stick to it.  Getting swept away by the competitive spirit that is generated by online bidding has led many people to pay more than market value for what is supposed to be a discounted vacation package!

After the bidding closes it is automatically disclosed who the highest bidder is.  . In the case of sales of multiple lots, the participants with the highest bids at the close of the auction are obligated to buy the items.

On some travel sites if no one bids at or above the reserve price, the auction closes without a winner. If there is a reserve price for your bid that is less (for instance one dollar on a reserve bid of ten dollars) it usually not even accepted by the site’s software.

At the close of a successful auction, the buyer and seller communicate, usually by e-mail, to arrange for payment and information about your travel package. It is usually at this point that it is revealed exactly where you are going along with any caveats such as black out dates for travel, fees, taxes and site charges.

Most travel auction sites offer all types of different payment options including credit card, debit card, personal check, cashier’s check, money order, cash on delivery and escrow services.

However, not all sellers of vacation packages on auction sites accept all of the forms of payment just mentioned; payment methods are usually thoroughly explained in the FAQ, Help or fine print sections on the auction travel web site itself.

If you are someone who loves to travel and you have never ever heard of online travel auction then you are going to also love the concept of the travel auction. The travel auction fun way to grab an exotic and inexpensive last minute vacation.

A travel auction works like any other auction. You browse the open auctions online, select one you like and then bid. You then monitor the bid and rebid on the vacation package. If you win you are obligated to pay for what you have one.

How do so many resort packages, cruises, five star destinations and exotic adventures end up on a virtual auction block?  Travel companies use auctions to sell holidays that, for a variety of reasons, may be difficult to sell using the traditional methods. They often choose to get rid of so-called ‘distressed stock’ in this way. The reason it is preferable to do put up these vacation packages on travel auctions is because offering discounts through travel agents can diminish the travel outfit’s ability to sell anything at full price.

However not all packages are put up on virtual auctions because they need to be offloaded. Sometimes this is a way for a company to promote or introduce a new type of vacation package and encourage people to take advantage of it and then tell their friends what a good time they had. Putting up a vacation for auction is a way of generating good word of mouth about your hotel, cruise or travel agency.

There are not that many sites on the Internet that run travel auctions. The three big companies that dominate the travel auction scene are eBay, Skyauction and LuxuryLink.  There is also Priceline, which also offers vacation packages, but it is not a true auction. Instead you offer the price you want to pay for a trip or vacation and see if it can be offered. There are some priceline coupons at CouponKid.com

On eBay travel is just one more category on its massive roster of products and services up for auction. As the name implies LuxuryLink is intended for high rollers when it comes to bidding. Skyauction offers the cheapest deals.

Although eBay is one of the pioneer sites when it comes to offering vacation package deals up for auction it is not necessarily the most specialized ones. Unlike the travel auctions offered on eBay, the vacation packages and destinations on Skyauction and LuxuryLink are exclusive to the travel industry.

Flexibility is the keyword when it comes to online travel. Most services up for bid may be used only during specific times, typically off-season dates that travel suppliers have had difficulty selling through traditional means. This leads to on the average, sixty percent in savings off of a trip and even more. Entire package vacations have been known to go for a bid of two dollars on the Internet especially on Skyauction.com where the minimum bid is only a buck. If you are the highest bidder on Skyauction then the vacation package provider must eat the loss. Higher minimum bids are set on other auction sites.

Participating in an online travel auction is not that different that participating in any auction on eBay. In fact one of the biggest sources of online travel auction is eBay itself. If you are not familiar with how online auctions work in general there is plenty of information about it in the next chapter in this book.  You can also usually find tons of information about these sites in their Help and FAQ sections

For people who have no particular destination or date in mind, and for those who want to try to get lucky with cheap accommodations for a planned trip, auction sites are a great choice.

One of the nicest things about online travel auctions is that you don’t have to be the victim of any high-pressure sales tactics. There is no pushy travel agent sitting there in person warning you that a great deal is about to pass you by. Instead you will be watching bids over a set number of days, so you know exactly when that good deal on a vacation is about to expire.

Also you can search for deals on vacations any time of the day or night by visiting a popular site such as Skyauctions.  You don’t have to jump on the first deal that you see because when it comes to travel auctions, there are always going to be more deals surfacing online.  Another thing to remember is that many deals repeat themselves as auctions in a seasonal matter so if you miss that hot deal this year you can usually bid on it or a similar deal the following season.

Online travel auctions are also unique because they can provide a spark of inspiration. Many people enjoy surfing the sites do get ideas about where they would like to go next or to see just how cheap certain destination vacations can be had using this unique form of bidding. If you like to surf online and have a true love of the unpredictable as well as a flexible schedule then purchasing your vacation this way is an ideal option for you.