Increased competition is coming to the Kenyan e-commerce landscape, this time in the form of bids. BidPesa is an online shopping platform where users get to acquire products and services through an auction process. The platform seeks to use bidding as a unique selling point and position itself as Kenya’s top online auction platform. A fete that is realistic and highly achievable as the platform comes with offers of up to 95 % of on products from well-known brands and FREE next day delivery of items.
Getting started on BidPesa is simple, you need to sign up for a free account. You may register using your Facebook and Google accounts or simply fill out a form that requires your name, email, phone number and password on the registration page. Upon registration, your account is credited with 10 free bids which you can start bidding with.
Additional bids can be bought through MPESA at the cost of KES 10 for each bid. To top up your account simply go to the Lipa na Mpesa option, select paybill, enter 748604 as the business number, enter ‘Bidpesa’ as the account number and then the amount of bids you would want to purchase. A confirmation text will be sent to you on completion.
Just like in offline bidding, users on BidPesa will place bids on particular items at regular intervals, each bid raises the price up by one shilling until a bid is successful. A bid is successful and you get the item when you are the last bidder when the auction window closes and the clock gets to zero. Successful bidders also have the option of selling the item back to BidPesa or 20% less cash.
Another way of maximizing your benefits on the platform is through an affiliate marketing program. Upon signing up, you are provided with a unique BidPesa invite code which you can share with your friends and acquaintances across platforms. Or every user that uses your code when signing up, your account gets credited with KES 50 as a one time fee per user. The new user also gets 10 free bids in their account.
The online auction being introduced by Bidpesa should have the desired effect of taking the industry in a new and exciting direction while also providing great value without compromising on the quality of products consumers demand.
