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Are Online Penny Auctions Actually Gambling?
from the here-come-the-regulators... dept
A few weeks back, we wrote about a site that seemed to have modified the old "dollar auction" concept and created a borderline evil business plan that would get plenty of people to pay money to "bid" on way underpriced goods. People keep bidding, because the costs seem so low -- but since everyone has to pay to bid, the companies ends up making a ton of money -- often many times the actual cost of the product. Basically, the company and whoever "wins" the auction are likely to make out okay -- while every other bidder loses. Apparently, there are a number of such sites doing similar models, and the UK government is noticing that it's pretty similar to gambling and probably should be regulated as a gambling site.
The reasoning is that people are paying money and might not get anything back for it -- which makes it akin to gambling. However, depending on how these sites are run, it's not as though the results are a real gamble -- it's still about whoever bids the highest for a good, so it seems like a stretch to call it gambling. It is a dumb move to get involved in any of these auctions in the first place (in many ways, worse than gambling), but that doesn't necessarily mean that they should be regulated like gambling sites.
Reader Comments (rss)
(Flattened / Threaded)
Gambling doesn't have anything to do with a necessarily random chance that your investment will not pay off. Like with Blackjack, gambling can be in a highly controlled environment. I think the description of the site certainly constitutes gambling what with the risk versus reward system and it's definitely a zero sum game. Now whether or not it should be regulated is a different deal. I'm not sure I'm qualified to answer that.
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Any one who buyes into that stuff is frikkin retarded.
Speaking of retarded. I LOVE LAMP
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Howdy
A) I LOVE LAMP
B) This is actually a patented method of auctions that was "invented" in Israel around 8 years ago. It was quickly outed for being exactly that - gambling. The firm's name was Maxprice, and I assume their method of doing business is still considered legal in most countries.
Smooches
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Re:
You make a good point. E-Trade should similarly be regulated as a gambling site -- though these days, it's not much of a gamble; everyone loses.
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Re: Re:
You're an idiot.
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Penny auctions
I normally agree with Michael, but in this case he is the one with his head in the sand.
In any gambling endeavor, there is someone who wins. Often, it is the person who wagers the most, driving off the other gamblers. Nothing "different" here.
In the ultimate sense, this is no different; it is similar to "liar's poker" and similar games - it is gambling.
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Gambling? Get your facts straight.
It´s nothing like gambling.
You simply pay a small fee to be able to participate in the auctions.
Instead of charging users a "monthly fee" they charge them based on how actively they use the service. So for each bid you place you are charged a little fee.
Running a site like that costs money so it´s obvious they need to generate revenue from somewhere. They all have limits, only allowing ADULTS to participate, so if you don´t want to participate, then DON´T!
The UK gambling commission actually took a look at these sites and concluded that they are not similar to gambling and that they are infact real auctions with a funny twist.
Now, I´m off to win a new TV for 6£!
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The penny auction sites keep popping up. The newest one is ZOOZLE http://www.zoozle.com/
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The site that "Roddy Rod" is promoting seems to be a complete scam site. Just google it and find all the bull**** around it.
I do however completely 100% agree with John A´s comment about it not being similar to gambling, it´s simply a paid auction service.
I would suggest you use some of the legit penny auction sites around.
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not really...
I have to agree with john a...This is simply a different way to bid at an auction. Gambling would mean it was up to chance if you won an item or not, and having won several items on sites like swoopo I have to say that there is much more than chance involved. You have to watch how many others are bidding, you have to watch the clock, and most of all you have to have the stamina. This is not similar to picking a horse, or betting on black in the slightest. You win the auction, just as in any other auction, by being the highest bidder.
There's a good new site I just saw called 5050auctions.com with a really good price point, and where they give you half your bids back if you win. That means that if you invest in a couple hundred bids, and get your price point down to say 60 cents, spend those bids on an xbox or ipod, or just about any other cool little gizmo we like to play with, then you picked it up for really cheap. True, if you don't win, your out the bids, and that sucks, but if you do win, then you just picked up a bargain unlike anywhere else. Check em out: http://www.5050auctions.com
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Re: check it out
This is the only site that gives you 50% of your bids back if you win, and nothing goes for over 50 cents!! check it out
http://www.5050auctions.com/
They're giving away a great special!! 50% Extra Bids FREE!!
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re: check it out real auction site http://beta.bidsaver.com
Gambling or Auction?
RISK does not make gambling...everyone seems to confuse that. Now the legal definition of "gambling" varies by locale so in some places it MAY BE "legally" considered such.
Most people will realize its just an auction, a penny auction is what gets people attention.
The one that seems the most legitimate to me is http://beta.bidsaver.com
I saw and heard the testimonials of people and it looks like everyone that wins is getting GOOD items for 60-70% off!
Plus they ship to USA AND Candada. This is a TRUE auction / penny auction website.
check them out Bidsaver.com
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Actually no
I tried a whole bunch of sites and the only one I won anything on was www.bidnwin.me. After spending a lot of money on the other sites I happened on to this one to find "easy" wins like total item cost of 1/3 to 1/2 of retail price. Good savings if your in the market for the items there.
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penny auctions
I would DEFINITELY have to agree with Kelly.
The site Zoozle.com is a complete scam and also seems to be a huge rip-off.
I have been registering with and watching these sites a lot trying to see which ones seem legit and which ones seem like scammers.
Zoozle came out immediately after another called Bidkong.com, and it was surprisingly similar. Come to find out the designer of zoozle copied as much of the other site as they possibly could get away with. The creator of zoozle obviously has zero creative abilities, and only seems to be out to try and make a quick buck. User/bidder BEWARE!
On the other hand, there are a few of the sites out there that do seem to be a little more legit and less self involved though.
Ironically, I have found that the site (Bidkong.com) that zoozle has been copying, so far seems to be the best for at least a few reasons.
1)they offer the best prices for bid packages. Price/bid - as low as .55 per bid.
2)they don't seem to be as greedy and concerned with making profit all for themselves. They actually donate a percentage from the winning bids to a charity for autism. (which btw, I noticed that zoozle added that to their site soon after also. Go figure!) and...
3)I noticed that they also offer tips to help their bidders, which NO ONE else does. This just shows me that they actually seem to have a genuine interest in helping their bidders understand and win.
Also, I purchased a starter package on Bidkong.com, not too long ago and as of yet have not won anything, but in all fairness I haven't really been playing with the intention of winning. More just feeling it out really. Anyway, I had a question on a specific item that was up for bid so I contacted them, and received a reply back within less than 24 hours. I have nothing negative to say about them yet...
I've gone through almost every new penny auction site that has popped up recently, and in my opinion, this one seems to be one of the best looking and put together. Based on the site itself, and the communication and response time I received when I had a question, I would say that this site seems very professional and definitely worth checking out.
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You people are insane
Bidkong, bidsaver and bidnwin are all scams. Omg, I cant believe that you have actually gone in there and watched there auctions and didn't think they had autobidders. It is so obvious a blind man can tell. 5050 auction is probably one of the better ones out there. Thats all I have to say.
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Wow, just wow
I think most all of these sites use autobidders, sure there will be one or two you can win on but you know these sites are using autobidders.
I think the best way to use these is by using new penny auction sites, they have the least competition.
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New sites
I found a new site www.bidzooks.com and they guarantee they aren't using autobidders.
They must not be because there auctions start @ $1 and have been ending @ $1 and some change.
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Zoozle is no scam
I am the owner of Zoozle.com and think the owner of BidKong has a grudge against me since we both got our software from FeistySites.com and their graphics guy was lazy and used the same "Bid" button on our designs. I take offence to his rude accusations above. I have never and will never employ Auto-Bidders on Zoozle.com. It is a straight up, honest penny auction process.. unlike BidKong, which I've clearly seen running auto-bids. (sometimes it's pretty obvious)
Our bid credit price is actually cheaper than any other site, at only 50 cents.
If you google Zoozle + Scam, you will find this TechDirt article and our press release warning about scam sites like BidKong, GrabABid, and some others using a non-modified FeistySites.com penny auction script. (see our blog for more details on this) "Kelly" above probably didn't read the article.
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real ones and scammers
This is what I do know. Most sites do use 'bots', especially on high end items. The ones in my opinion to Stay Away from (unless you like winning bid packages & $10 gift cards) are:
SCAMMERS-
5050 auctions (same scammers as bidstick)
bidstick
centy24
pennycave
fantasticbid
rockybid
bidcactus
kbid.co.uk
grababid
bi degg
prestigebids
bidray
It takes a while to be able to identify bots from people (rookie mistake) because some people do bid like bots! haha.
Some advice before you throw your money away on the above sites. Go to a site, ACT like you have 50 bids, click the bid button when you think you should bid, use 50 pretend bids, see what happens, betcha you just saved $50.
High end items go to bots or sometimes a company will let it go to a real person only because that item has cycled through several times with their bot winning it, thus having a profit on it.
Low end items will go to real people most of the time.
A List of Real Sites? Well, I can't give out that and keep competition low. But the above info should keep some money in your pocket. Peace and happy bidding.
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Re: Actually no
I just won like the last 4 auctions they had. they have not listed anything to sell since. they accepted my payments for the 4 items I won. I got stupidly cheap deals on them so I am wondering is this company legit? has anyone actually gottne the items they won bids on? and how long did the shipping take?
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new auction
be sure to check out penniesrus....sure to beat all prices....coming soon!!!!!!!
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Re: new auction
when will this site be launched? will it be .com.net or what?
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BEWARE OF SCAM CHEAPOBIDS.COM
CHEAPOBIDS.COM LOOKS LIKE A TOTAL SCAM I'm OUT $60 bucks we need to report these scammers!
Same bidders, same winners all the time... this car auction is a total scam too.. look @ the names of the constant bidders
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Definately legit
I have won so much stuff from 5050auctions it's ridiculous, so i don't know what 2squirts is talking about. I've also received most of it w/in a few days. I don't know if it's because they're new, or they haven't gotten it down yet, or what...but I've taken care of most of my Xmas shopping literally for pennies on the dollar. I think strategy is a big part of it. I think the mistake most people make, and I noticed it from some of the posts, is that they buy 20 bids or 10 bids, and then they try to win ipods and tv's and the big stuff. But you have to realize that there are hundreds of other people just like you trying to win something for nothing, literally, because they give you 5 free bids just for signing up. So how many think, hey, I need to get lucky anyway to win, so I may as well go for the big stuff. Uh-uh, believe me, people are watching the big ticket items just like you are. To win them, you want to have staying power. That's why I buy in bulk. I wait for a 50% free bid special and stock up on bids...then it's literally just a matter of outwaiting and outbidding your opponents. In some sense I like swoopo's bidbutler because I don't have to sit in front of the computer all day...but on the flip side, I know that on a site like 5050 all I have to do is wait out the other guy...and believe me it pays HUGE dividends. Best of luck to you, and if I see you on a site, don't mess with BigAl
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Re: BEWARE OF SCAM CHEAPOBIDS.COM
I won an iPod on CheapObids.com for $5 and I got it within a week.
Maybe they have the same bidders because not a lot of people don't know about the site yet, but when they sign up they are like you trying to win the same featured car auction.
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Re:
zoozle is totally NOT a scam, google it and READ the info that THEY put out warning about other scam sites. They are actually one of the few legit penny auction sites around that do not use bots to bid their auctions.
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Re: real ones and scammers
What site do you work for, apart from pennytickbids.com
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Re: real ones and scammers
2squirts works for an auction site, and bad mouths all others, you just cannot believe any of his comments, how can you pretend to bid, his last comment says it all he does not want you to bid on any site to allow him to WIN
No other bidders he has a chance of winning what a SQUIRT
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penny auctions
I am not here to hide who I am. I am the owner of buzzerbidz.com. I have read lots of comments saying that these penny auction sites are making money hand over fist. Let me tell you it is no walk in the park to get one of these sites up and running. These take countless hours to set up and run. We have to find suppliers, ship out items won, search for new items to list, answer e-mails, help people with accounts, Learn how to read scripts and the list go on and on. I don’t think that most people realize what goes into these auction websites. Read the example above from anonymous: If a person bids $15.00 on a $299 product and is the successful bidder the penny auction pockets $1,500. But, would if the product sells for 34 cents? Then the penny auction would make a whopping $34 losing $265. And take into consideration that buzzerbidz give bonus picks at the end of each auction to the successful bidder to receive additional bids and no one counts the free bids that were placed on certain items. This also takes away from profit. These auction’s are a lot of work to run and it is like any other business. (to make a profit) Take your average fast food burger joint. Do you really think that it cost $1.20 for them to make a large soft drink? Think again! It only costs about 5 cents netting them $1.15 per soft drink. If they sold 500 of them a day, they would make $209,875.00 per year! And thats just on soft drinks. Granted some people will not always win, but if you are fast enough to be successful even if you put in $12.00 on bids and won a playstation for $15.00 it would cost you $28.00 for a brand new playstation valued at $350.00. We all have been at a carnival and tried to knock the bottles down to win a prize. Some of us won a huge stuffed teddy bear and some of us won a plastic spider ring. Some spent a $1.00 to win the bear and some spent $20.00 to win the ring. We as humans love entertainment and this is what buzzerbidz is all about. Meeting new friends while obtaining heart pounding excitement while shopping for things you want. I am just tiered of hearing all of the negative comments about these penny auctions. If you like them, then play. If you don’t then don’t play. It’s that simple! I just felt that I had to throw in my 2 cents worth! ( no pun intended)
President Of Buzzer Bidz Inc.
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you keep beating me!! haha
HEY!, it's BigAl!! So i've been on 5050auctions for about 2 weeks now and I really want to win the nintendo wii for my daughter for her birthday, but the last 2 that i bid on, you beat me and won both...i was wondernig if you would be willing to maybe sell one to me for say $40? I have a premier paypal account. Let me know man, my email is usmcbubb@yahoo.com THANKS BigAl!!!
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Re: Re: real ones and scammers
You are the joke. I do not hide behind a anonymous '3 squirts' ID. Haha. I bid on auctions, not work for them. Unlike you, I have proof of auctions I have won and lost. What is your bidder ID? I don't expect you to actually have one. But if so please share. Also. All of my statements are true and can be verified. Can yours?
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Re: Re: real ones and scammers
I think pennytickbids is a ripoff. So much that I can't chat on their site anymore because of speaking the truth. I don't work for any auction site, do you? Where have you bidded lately? You can find me if you look. Maybe at yottabid and zoozle today in their past auctions catagory. Thanks for your time and Happy Bidding.
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Re: you keep beating me!! haha
Did bigAl ever contact you? Or u think he likes collecting wii's? I'm not so sure if he is a real bidder. Do you know?
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Auction site information
Everybody should visit the digg below
http://www.digg.com/d1ql0R?e
Happy Bidding.
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Correct Digg Link
http://www.digg.com/business_finance/Scam_Penny_Auction_Sites_Bots_Shill_Bidders_and_Theives
Plea se comment when you get there. Even if it's just your bidder ID. Thanks!
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Re: real ones and scammers
I may need to pull Rockybids from the list above. More research is needed though. My associates and I are working to bring a website where reliable information can be found on many auction topics and sites.
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penny auction watchdog site
You may want to check out http://www.pennyauctionwatch.com it has a directory as well as information and forums where you can share your experiences with penny auctions.
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penny auctions
look man i have been playing on bidray.com for a month now and i spend total of 100$ from my own money , and of course i won TomTom GPS, flash driver 16 GB , all in one printer, camera and magazines for a year. so yh i lost money but i made alot more by winning these stuff
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penny auctions
I've just been turned on to penny auctions after following a swoopo link. Then after i started researching them i noticed there were a bunch of other sites like them. I did some digging "literally digg .com lol" and there was a post about which sites were good and which weren't as far as getting your moneys worth. one penny auctions site that I found to be pretty good is www.swipeitup.com just look at their past auctions and you can see they are consistently losing money lol. Which means a great deal for us!
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Stop scam penny auctions!!
Hey Guys, Check out Penny Auction Watch We need REAL bidders of penny auctions sites to collaborate and warn others of scam penny auctions since penny auctions are not yet regulated. Thanks!
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Re: New sites
I can attest to the fact that bidzooks isn't using autobidders. I have nothing to do with the company, but the owner is a good friend. He has been loosing his pants and getting integrity in exchange. Their company is currently in the hole, but they hope to change that using "ethics". They hope enough people will win things for little to no bids that it will increase their traffic. For his sake I hope he is right. It's an expensive venture from the sounds of it.
Just my two cents :-) no pun intended.
Chris
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it is gambling
There are a couple things that make it gambling. First the outcome is uncertain. And winning does depend on factors that are beyond the control of any one participant. Instead of the "luck of the draw" as in a card shuffle, you do not know who your competitors are, or how many there are, or how much they are willing to spend, or when they will give up, or what their skill level is. Skill and strategy can help: just as there are good poker players, there are some users who win more than others. But this is just as uncertain and addictive as most OTHER forms of gambling, and almost everyone involved loses, which is the ONLY way any of these sites can be profitable.
In addition to the fact that this really is gambling, though thinly disguised, consider that some of these sites ("the house") use a variety of methods to maintain their edge over users. Some site are blatantly abusive and run auto-bidders to act as shills. Others create rules that guarantee their profits in ways that are less obvious, but still end up reducing the chances of getting a real bargain after the cost of bidding is factored in. It is also a common practice to display items for auction with inflated values to encourage lots of bidding. The fact that some of these sites will not allow refunds is also a sure giveaway that there is no interest in customer service, just exploitation.
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Does anyone know if BidCactus is a scam? Anybody receive anything? I won a barnes and noble $50 gift card using 5 bids, *luck* and they said they will ship it in 14 days. It's 11 days and I haven't gotten a shipment email. I have asked why, and they said should be shipped because I was last of the fufillment cycle. I don't know I hope I didn't waste $18.75..
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Re: Wow, just wow
Ofcourse Jason..
whenever i bid for any product.. and ive checked the no of people online before i bid..
it automatically increases the bid amount..
and the user it shows isnt even online at times!!
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let the accucations fly
I see the frustrations of many people who believe they are being cheated by penny auction sites. However, you can't call a company a cheater just because you think they might be. That's called libel and if these sites were larger they would probably consider taking legal action against you. There are several sites listed here I know to be legitimate and others that seem to be fraudulent. Also, there is a difference between "scam" and "fraud". If you think penny auctions are scams, ie they are unfair games that people shouldn't play, that's fine, but fraud is stealing from people. A site like Swoopo is not stealing from people, so be careful what you call fraud and what you call a scam. I blog about the penny auction and entertainment shopping universe over at penny auction insider
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penny auction site
A up and coming site .. New sites are always the best.. Nice
site...good design and simple to use...
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They are all scams
This proves it..... http://www.pennyauctionwatch.com/2009/09/penny-auction-owner-asks-for-fake-members/
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They are all scams
This proves it..... http://www.pennyauctionwatch.com/2009/09/penny-auction-owner-asks-for-fake-members/
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Re: it is gambling
Hi, I do not agree that penny auctions are gambling. The fact that the outcome is uncertain does not constitute gambling. Neither does the fact that you do not know your opponent's skill level. This is as true of penny auctions as marathons. I think that any "house" using shills should be prosecuted. It is a shame that these bogus websites can continue to operate and basically steal from people. We run an honest operation. We try to be as responsive to our customers as possible resolve any issues and refund bids if the situation requires it.
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Check this page
http://www.ipennybid.com/page/transparency-policy
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big list of sites
I have found many more websites that do the same thing: ex http://www.prestigebids.com Competitive Bidding http://www.bidntime.com Here is a big list of them http://www.pennyauctiontraffic.com/
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Most penny auctions are scam
Check out the website and see how people are ripped off.
www.iwatchpa.blogspot.com
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