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Travel Auctions

Buyer Beware!

There are estimated to be at least 500 auction web sites many of them offering travel deals. Some people have had good experiences and some bad ones. Here are some things you can do to help protect yourself from a bad experience:

If it is too good to be true, it probably is even with an auction!
Always click on the terms and conditions for the auction on the auction web site wherever they hide it and read the fine print. They may require you to accept a winning bid or may have a service fee if you decline the accepted bid or cancel a flight.
Only deal with sites that have secure transactions and always pay by credit card.
Never buy a travel deal that does not tell you the airline, cruise line or tour company name associated with the deal. Make sure the site is affiliated with well-known travel companies. If the auction site sells consolidator airline tickets, see if they are affiliated with a travel association like ASTA.
Don't trust the retail values listed on a site. Check other travel agency web sites and your local travel agent to see if they have an equal or better deal.
Remember, you usually have to have a lot of flexibility to accept a bid but you may get anywhere from 10% to 75% off retail.
If the site has a customer feedback section, check it out to see what their customers have to say.

Some Travel Auction websites resources

Google

Yahoo!

Priceline

SkyAuction

About - Travel Auctions

Here are some popular travel auction sites
Travel Auction website reviews	Google Excellent Romantic Vacations Epinions - Travel Auctions
Travel Auction Advice	Google BiddingforTravel.com BidonTravel.com About.com - How To Find Travel Auctions on EBay
General	Google Priceline SkyAuction Bidtripper.com They let you bid on air, car, hotel and vacation packages. BiddingForTravel.com Bid4Vacations.com They specialize in vacation packages of all kinds.
Luxury	Google LuxuryLink Auction bid on luxury vacations Online Luxury Vacation Auction
Adventure	Google Generous Adventures travel auctions

Priceline.com. This is another large auction site on the web. They cover airline tickets, hotels, car rentals, cruises and much more. Be sure to click on the How It Works link for each category page you visit before you place a bid.

Also visit and which are independent websites dedicated to making people informed bidders when using Priceline.com.

Remember, if they find a ticket at the price you asked, your credit card will be billed the full amount of your request (plus applicable taxes or airport charges). All Priceline.com tickets are non-refundable, non-changeable and non-endorsable. So make sure you are ready to buy the tickets you requested before bidding.