Compare

Get Hot Drop vs penny auctions

In short

A penny auction charges for every bid, and what a win costs isn't known until the clock runs out. A Get Hot Drop lot has a fixed number of seats at one price, and a draw anyone can check picks the winner, who pays nothing more. If you only want the product, buying it costs less than either.

Side by side

DealDash is the example: its rules are public and it ships to all 50 states. Read on its help pages on November 12, 2026.

Get Hot DropPenny auction (DealDash)
To take partOne seat at a fixed price: 60 coins for a 1,299-coin phone in a 30-seat lotBids, bought in packs: about 14¢ each on the day we checked
Who winsOne player, picked by a drawThe last bidder when the clock runs out
The winner also paysNothing. We ship at our costThe final auction price. Shipping is free
Your rivalsA fixed number of seats, shown before you joinOpen at first; most auctions close to new bidders once the price passes about $5.00
If you don't winThe seat and boosts are spentBuy the item at retail for a limited time and get that auction's bids back
RefundsThe whole seat if the lot is cancelledA first bid pack, within 90 days

What penny auctions do well

A loss can become a purchase

With DealDash's Buy It Now, a bidder who didn't win can buy the item at retail for a limited time and get back every bid placed in that auction. The worst case is the shop price. (DealDash, auctions)

You decide bid by bid

You can stop at any moment, and who wins depends on what bidders do, not on a draw. A seat is taken once, and from there the wheel decides.

The field stops growing

Most DealDash auctions close to new bidders once the price passes a limit, usually $5.00, so late arrivals can't join an auction others have paid into. (DealDash, auctions)

Built-in limits

DealDash refunds a first bid pack within 90 days and caps one person at 50 wins a week and the same item 12 times in 365 days. (bid packs, platform rules)

The difference: when you know the cost

In a penny auction a win costs the bids you placed plus the final price, and neither is known until the clock runs out. The US Federal Trade Commission's example: an item won at $50 after 200 bids at $1 a bid costs $250. Everyone else's bids are spent too. (FTC, 2011)

In a Get Hot Drop lot the seat price is on the lot page before you join, and the winner pays nothing more. It is not a fixed bill either: boosts are optional and priced before you buy, but like bids they are spent whether you win or not, and a player who boosts in every round can spend more than the seat.

Which one to pick

A penny auction, if

  • You enjoy timing bids against other bidders
  • You would be happy to buy the item at retail if you lose
  • You are fine not knowing the cost until it ends

Get Hot Drop, if

  • You want the price and the number of rivals fixed before you join
  • You want to check how the winner was drawn
  • You accept that most players in a lot don't win

Neither, if

  • You need the product: a shop sells it for a known price
  • You are looking for a sure saving: neither is one

Sources, read on November 12, 2026

Out of date? Write to support@gethotdrop.com.

Pick a lot

Every lot shows its seats, its rounds and the seat price before you join

Browse lots