New Ways to Waste Time Or How I learned to Quibid.

If you know a writer, you'll be aware that we will do anything rather than write. We will throw a load in the laundry, polish our jewelry, take the dead heads off the roses, all the while knowing that we should be sitting in front of the computer and the deadline is getting closer. I don't think any writer can sit down in relaxed manner at the computer every morning and say "Now to get on with today's 1500 words."

At least no writer that I know. My latest distractions are mostly social media, of course. I have to read my email, comments from my website, my blog, my group blog (Jungle Red Writers), Facebook, Twitter, my Amazon stats... and all this takes precious time I should be writing. I tell myself every day that I must write first and do meaningless stuff afterward. But I can't seem to learn the lesson.

And yesterday, when I have a book to edit and tax to finish, I stumbled upon Quibids. It seemed that people were buying iPads for fifteen dollars so I had to check it out. I signed up so that I could see what was going on, and next thing you know I find I have just bought $60 dollars-worth of bids. Now I have to use up $60 somehow. It turns out that isn't hard.

I don't know if you know how Quibids works, but each bid raises the amount by one penny (only the bid costs the bidder sixty cents). When the time gets down to zero the auction is closed and somebody has won. It goes very fast with people bidding like crazy and just when you think you have won, someone else jumps in. Some things went for 25 cents, and on some the bidding went on for hours. (and remember each bid is 60 cents.)

So I tried my hand and won a $25 gift card to Applebees for 25 cents and a professional steamer for 2 cents.  But along the way I had somehow spent $18 and then had to pay another five for postage.
So I guess there are small savings, but nothing like the bargains people feel they have scored. I have to use up the rest of my $60 and then I'm out of there. Maybe I'll use it all trying to score and iPad. Or maybe I'll stick to a Target gift card!