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Penny auction sites
I'm talking about scam bid sites like beezid.com and madbids.co.uk
I've always thought they were total scams, but my cousin in the UK just bought herself a new macbook pro for £40, and besides being green with envy I'm now wondering if people actually use these sites and get good deals, or if it is all a smokescreen and you don't save a penny. Anyone have any experience with them so far? |
Re: Penny auction sites
It's like a lottery. If you are lucky then you'll get something for less than it costs in the shop, if not then the money you spent to try to win is gone.
If she got it for 40 quid then there were probably another 20-40 people who spent almost as much and got nothing. The worst part is that it feeds off a psychology that makes you want to keep playing to make up your losses - just like gambling. |
Re: Penny auction sites
No, she did NOT buy a Macbook Pro for 40 quid. She bought it for that much in penny bids. There's not telling how many bids she had to place to get it for that price and then she has to pay the 40 on top - plus shipping, if I remember correctly.
The ONLY people who profit from this kind of out-and-out scam are the people who run the auctions. If you ever go to one, notice that sniping is impossible and the clock resets every time a bid is placed. This is NOT to give you a chance to get the item, it's so that auction fever continues and they are making more money with every bid. My advice, run, don't walk, away from these sites and avoid them like the plague! |
Re: Penny auction sites
I opened an account at one (quibids I think it was) just to see what it was all about. Once I saw how it was working, I closed the account straight away - didn't even fund it cos it looked like a money pit.
I'm curious though...your sister bought it for 40 quid which was presumably the winning bid on that auction - do you know how much she had spent on previous losing auctions before she got to a win? Or was this her first time? I've heard of some sites that give you a reasonably good "win" early on to get you hooked, then suck you dry in the subsequent auctions. |
Re: Penny auction sites
Originally Posted by Yorkieabroad
(Post 9906021)
I opened an account at one (quibids I think it was) just to see what it was all about. Once I saw how it was working, I closed the account straight away - didn't even fund it cos it looked like a money pit.
I'm curious though...your sister bought it for 40 quid which was presumably the winning bid on that auction - do you know how much she had spent on previous losing auctions before she got to a win? Or was this her first time? I've heard of some sites that give you a reasonably good "win" early on to get you hooked, then suck you dry in the subsequent auctions.
Originally Posted by Guindalf
(Post 9905893)
No, she did NOT buy a Macbook Pro for 40 quid. She bought it for that much in penny bids. There's not telling how many bids she had to place to get it for that price and then she has to pay the 40 on top - plus shipping, if I remember correctly.
The ONLY people who profit from this kind of out-and-out scam are the people who run the auctions. If you ever go to one, notice that sniping is impossible and the clock resets every time a bid is placed. This is NOT to give you a chance to get the item, it's so that auction fever continues and they are making more money with every bid. My advice, run, don't walk, away from these sites and avoid them like the plague! |
Re: Penny auction sites
Originally Posted by Guindalf
(Post 9905893)
No, she did NOT buy a Macbook Pro for 40 quid. She bought it for that much in penny bids. There's not telling how many bids she had to place to get it for that price and then she has to pay the 40 on top - plus shipping, if I remember correctly.
The ONLY people who profit from this kind of out-and-out scam are the people who run the auctions. If you ever go to one, notice that sniping is impossible and the clock resets every time a bid is placed. This is NOT to give you a chance to get the item, it's so that auction fever continues and they are making more money with every bid. My advice, run, don't walk, away from these sites and avoid them like the plague! It's when the bids are 50p and £1 a bid and the bids go up in increments of 1p that you worry. You could easily spend a fortune to then pay extra to claim your prize |
Re: Penny auction sites
Originally Posted by njmackem
(Post 9907263)
Hang on, if its penny bids, even if she big against herself 40,000 times it would still mean she got a Macbook Pro for 80 quid, which is a bargain in anyones eyes.
It's when the bids are 50p and £1 a bid and the bids go up in increments of 1p that you worry. You could easily spend a fortune to then pay extra to claim your prize I'll give him your number. BTW, Did you know that 'gullible' isn't in the phone book? :eek: http://www.aarp.org/money/scams-frau...r-ripoffs.html http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/dpp/n...3F-mar-23-2011 http://classactionblog.mdpcelaw.com/...ctions-a-scam/ The only positive pages I could find were riddled with ads to sign up for 'bid packages' on, yes, you guessed it, penny auction sites! |
Re: Penny auction sites
Originally Posted by njmackem
(Post 9907263)
Hang on, if its penny bids, even if she big against herself 40,000 times it would still mean she got a Macbook Pro for 80 quid, which is a bargain in anyones eyes.
It's when the bids are 50p and £1 a bid and the bids go up in increments of 1p that you worry. You could easily spend a fortune to then pay extra to claim your prize |
Re: Penny auction sites
Originally Posted by Uncle Ebenezer
(Post 9908178)
Erm ... 40,000 bids at a penny woud be £400.00.
Interestingly over the weekend I joined Beezid to see if I could win anything. I am happy to announce that I will be receiving my samsung tablet shortly. It went for $13.67, of which I bid 31 times at 60c a bid. I calculated at 60 cents a bid and the additional $13.67 I paid (plus shipping of $25.00 I get a 10" tablet for $57.27. Even if the website pushed the bidding up to make its money (they will have received $820.20 just from bids) I still come away with a bargain. You can do well on these sites, but you need to be sensible. I defy anyone to tell me otherwise. |
Re: Penny auction sites
Originally Posted by njmackem
(Post 9911385)
yeah ok so I had a mare on my calculations on that one.
Interestingly over the weekend I joined Beezid to see if I could win anything. I am happy to announce that I will be receiving my samsung tablet shortly. It went for $13.67, of which I bid 31 times at 60c a bid. I calculated at 60 cents a bid and the additional $13.67 I paid (plus shipping of $25.00 I get a 10" tablet for $57.27. Even if the website pushed the bidding up to make its money (they will have received $820.20 just from bids) I still come away with a bargain. You can do well on these sites, but you need to be sensible. I defy anyone to tell me otherwise. |
Re: Penny auction sites
Originally Posted by njmackem
(Post 9911385)
yeah ok so I had a mare on my calculations on that one.
Interestingly over the weekend I joined Beezid to see if I could win anything. I am happy to announce that I will be receiving my samsung tablet shortly. It went for $13.67, of which I bid 31 times at 60c a bid. I calculated at 60 cents a bid and the additional $13.67 I paid (plus shipping of $25.00 I get a 10" tablet for $57.27. Even if the website pushed the bidding up to make its money (they will have received $820.20 just from bids) I still come away with a bargain. You can do well on these sites, but you need to be sensible. I defy anyone to tell me otherwise. |
Re: Penny auction sites
Here's you first hit of crack...take it, it's free!
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Re: Penny auction sites
Originally Posted by Guindalf
(Post 9911890)
Here's you first hit of crack...take it, it's free!
:getcoat: |
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