Swipebids are SCAM artists.
Swipebids is an auction company that you are supposed to be able to buy things at a reduced price for very little money. You are supposed to be able to buy bids for 10 cents each and when the bidding ends,( after a preset time) if you were the last bidder you win the product.
I thought I would purchase maybe a hundred bids and see if I could win something that I wanted.When I hit the "Purchase Bids" button, I found out they had preset what they call a "Large Bid Pack" of 300 bids for $150.00, which they almost immediately charged my Debit card. When I called them about it, they said the second order for bids would be 10 cents a bid, not the first. I asked them where that was stated on their website and he admitted it was not on there. These bids cost 50 cents instead of the 10 cents that was advertised on their website.
I asked for a refund and they refused.I checked their auction and it starts out at a preset time, but when it get down to where the bidding time is almost over, (usually about 12 seconds) about 10 seconds is added after each bid so the time will not run out.I also noticed some bidders will have the high bid but will bid again anyway to keep the time from expiring.The only reason I can see they would want to do this is because they are company employees whose job is to run the price up and not allow the time to expire until they get the money they want for the item. I noticed that some of the winners are these same people. Also if the bidding is slow, they will add as much as 2 minutes to the time for it to end.
I also noticed they are selling the same items over and over again. I don't know if they have a large inventory of these items or if they are the same ones.When you bid, the price increases by 1 cent. If the last bid is $35.00 which is what most of the higher priced items stop at, it means they have had 3500 bids on that item at 50 cents a bid or $1750.00 for a $600 item. You also have to pay the bid price plus shipping to get the item you won.This is the biggest rip-off scam I have encountered so far on the internet. I have filed a complaint with the FCC and BBB of Utah, but have heard nothing from them as yet. If you receive an Email from them asking you to join the auction, DELETE it immediately. You will lose your money and have nothing to show for it.
I thought I would purchase maybe a hundred bids and see if I could win something that I wanted.When I hit the "Purchase Bids" button, I found out they had preset what they call a "Large Bid Pack" of 300 bids for $150.00, which they almost immediately charged my Debit card. When I called them about it, they said the second order for bids would be 10 cents a bid, not the first. I asked them where that was stated on their website and he admitted it was not on there. These bids cost 50 cents instead of the 10 cents that was advertised on their website.
I asked for a refund and they refused.I checked their auction and it starts out at a preset time, but when it get down to where the bidding time is almost over, (usually about 12 seconds) about 10 seconds is added after each bid so the time will not run out.I also noticed some bidders will have the high bid but will bid again anyway to keep the time from expiring.The only reason I can see they would want to do this is because they are company employees whose job is to run the price up and not allow the time to expire until they get the money they want for the item. I noticed that some of the winners are these same people. Also if the bidding is slow, they will add as much as 2 minutes to the time for it to end.
I also noticed they are selling the same items over and over again. I don't know if they have a large inventory of these items or if they are the same ones.When you bid, the price increases by 1 cent. If the last bid is $35.00 which is what most of the higher priced items stop at, it means they have had 3500 bids on that item at 50 cents a bid or $1750.00 for a $600 item. You also have to pay the bid price plus shipping to get the item you won.This is the biggest rip-off scam I have encountered so far on the internet. I have filed a complaint with the FCC and BBB of Utah, but have heard nothing from them as yet. If you receive an Email from them asking you to join the auction, DELETE it immediately. You will lose your money and have nothing to show for it.
Tags: Auctions
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by dea mcgee on -
i was just scammed by swipebid...i won a canon camera and contacted the "LIVE HELP" to make sure what i was seeing was true. the person typed that due to a technical problem i had not won the camera even though the web site said i had. when i asked what was she going to do about this she said for me to continue to bid on other items to try and win. when i asked her what about the bids i lost in the AUTO BIDDING, she said well you still got alot of bids, so just keep trying. this is absolutely outragous. then when i went back online to go and try to bid again, the site had frozen me out and would not let me sign back on. i am furious. first they tell you to buy bids, then bid and try to win. then they not only say no you didnt win, but we are not going to let you come back and try again. i calling them in the morning and im contacting the BBB if i dont get some satifaction. i truly wish i had read your blog before i got involved with such a despicable company. i will return and let you know what happens.
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Permalink Reply by James Jacobs on
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Dea,
I'm sorry you were scammed by this bunch of crooks. I contacted the FBI, FCC, Federal Trade Commission and BBB of Utah. I never heard from any of them. If you check Swipebids web site now, you will see they have removed the 10 cent bid ad and replaced it with an ad that says the bids are 60 cents. Also they have a lot of new items, small value items, that are selling for as little as a penny a piece. The bids are closing after a reasonable amount of time, sometimes after only 1 bid. Someone has changed their method of operation, although they may not give you the item you won. I suggest you check out each of the web sites for the Federal offices and file a complaint. I don't think Swipebids will be in business for long, but maybe if they have enough complaints about them, someone will make them refund the money they stole. Thanks for writing. J.B.
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Permalink Reply by Sandy Smaill on
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If you all check out Quibids.com (sorry U.S. only), you will see that swipebids stole their site from these guys who are legitimate. You will also see page after page of actual products up for bidding that go for 'normal" bidding. Don't waste a penny at Swipebids, they only swipe your money!! You hardly see many "bid" packs up for bidding at quibids and tons of nice items to bid on. This is probably an original penny bid site and it reads legitimate and SHOCK they list a email and contact information for their company and warn you that you owe taxes on your winnings. It's a shame it probably hurts them to have swipebids take business away from them. If you're not totally soured, have a look at that site. Spend time reading first and see what you think.
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Permalink Reply by PG on -
You need to file a report with the FTC, not FCC, and the BBB has no enforcement power, they are useless.
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Permalink Reply by Sarah J Appleby on
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Summary and important points:
As this is page 1 of this thread and the one which comes up on searches and links, here is a link to the petition for anyone who has been scammed by Swipebids:
>>>> http://www.petitiononline.com/cca4jwsb/petition.html
Here is the address of Swipebids:
Swipebids.com
Just Think Media / Terra Marketing Group
Suite 204, 85 Cranford Way
Sherwood Park, Alberta, CANADA T8H 0H9
Company owner: Jesse David Willms
Background info on company: http://www.webcops.net/just_think_media_spam_scams_8001.html
http://watch.ctv.ca/news/w5/w5-just-think-twice/#clip312665
http://tech.ca.msn.com/article.aspx?cp-documentid=24449570
Where to complain:
The Internet Crime Department of the FBI.
Website: http://www.ic3.gov/complaint/default.aspx
Complaints can be filed online
The FTC - you can file a complaint online at:
https://ftccomplaintassistant.gov/FTC_Wizard.aspx?Lang=en
or by phone: http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/contact.shtm
If you are in the United States you should also file a complaint with the Attorney General of your state:
http://www.naag.org/current-attorneys-general.php
View others Swipebids complaints and reviews online:
Swipebids reviews
http://www.pennyauctionwatch.com/2010/02/swipebids-penny-auction-re...
http://www.pennyauctionwatch.com/2010/05/swipebids-jesse-willms/
Facebook Group: (Please join!)
http://www.facebook.com/pages/SwipeBidscom-is-a-Bloody-SCAM/1290802...
Many thanks to Michael Larson (above) for creating the Facebook group and the petition and to all others on this thread who have contributed to the above info and elsewhere.
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Permalink Reply by Sarah J Appleby on
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Have posted this link on a few message boards etc where I found other victims of Swipe Bids fraud have posted complaints and negative reviews:
Facebook Group:
Swipebids is a bloody scam!
While I am not a big fan of facebook at least it is an easy way to gather people together for action... :)
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Permalink Reply by Olu Fasugbe on
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Please join the class action lawsuit that we are organizing against Swipebids.com My email address is olufasugbe@hotmail.com. My number is 916-873-4331.
Do send your contact information. The more people we have together, the great our chances at crippling the highway robbery business practices of this stupid auction site.
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Permalink Reply by Jay Mischel on
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Thanks for the advice, Michael.
They banned or 'blocked' me, too, when I started writing to my special 'carer for VIPs', "HARDIE SAUNDERS", querying what was going on and why they hadn't shipped the small item I bid on and 'won' last May despite the fact that they'd charged me around $10 for shipping.
This little exercise has cost me many hundreds of dollars, and, I am ashamed to admit, it's apparently the second time I've been scammed for large amounts by the same people - I'm another who applied for a free sample of Acai. My account was charged huge amounts month after month. A hard lesson to learn. Please keep me appraised of what legal actions are taken.
Jay
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Permalink Reply by Sandy Smaill on
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Good for you Michael, no snake here, wish I had fangs to bite them with!! I backed off because of the stress the whole thing caused me. I figured I tried what I could, R changed his cc's so they couldn't "take" money from them cause there seemed to be charges for bid packs he didn't win/buy on them, it's hard to prove when he thought the place legit at the time. We tried things without luck, I wanted it in the past and move on licking wounds.
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Permalink Reply by Michael on -
Olu Fasugbe - there is something about your request for contact information being sent to your email address that has a fox in the hen house feel to it. Sorry if I'm wrong but I too "DO NOT TRUST YOU". Everyone remember: "Just because you are paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you." I just joined this site today because Swipebids ripped me off for $150.00 and I won't rest until justice has been served. After I supplied my bank with all the research that I had done on Swipebids through the dispute process the bank gave me my money back. But they told me that they didn't get the money back from Swipebids. Instead they put my research in their database to be read by claim agents for future cases with Swipebids. The bank stated: Our research indicates that the transaction(s) was processed incorrectly or was not "authorized". And that is why they put the money back in my account. Swipebids won't be winning any more disputes with them.
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Permalink Reply by Jay Mischel on
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Hii, Justin,
In answer to your questions:
1. I spent up to 8 hours at a time on Spybids and NEVER saw a live auction of Government or surplus items.
2. At no time did I ever see an auction of any type of furniture.
3, At no time did I ever see an auction of ANY kind of Automobile. Of course it wouldn't have mattered if I HAD seen any of the above because even if I had bid, won and purchased any of these items they wouldn't have been delivered.
4. Saw very unusual bidding practices, e.g. the same people bidding against themselves to up the price; when I 'won' an iPad a 'sold' sign came up - in someone else's name. Other times when I 'won' the clock would freeze at 0:00:00 for quite some time, until someone else came along and bid.
And when I won a small item I'd bid on out of curiosity I was charged around $10 for P & H, but it was never sent. It could have been a car if they'd ever had one, but I still would not have received it.
This is like a lottery, not an auction, but even when you win - you lose!
Justin you, Sarah and Michael are doing a superb investigative job. Thank you all.
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Permalink Reply by Jaryd on
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You are ABSOLUTELY RIGHT!! The SCAM is SIMPLE! They get a whole bunch of people to sign up and pay for Bids. If you bid anything on an auction, you IMMEDIATELY lose your money if you don't win!
Since there is supposedly ONLY ONE winner, all of the other hundreds of people who Bid and LOST, just lost their money. That could be thousands of dollars on ONE Auction!!!
So Basically, you are BIDDING all of your money away on NOTHING! There is no guarantee that you will ever win!
This is like a LOTTERY not an AUCTION. The definition of an auction is the Bidders do NOT lose their money if they do NOT win the Auction. You do NOT pay any money unless you have won.
WARNING: STAY AWAY FROM THESE SCAMMERS and other sites like them. Another one is "SWOOPO"! I think they are the same company. Their websites are practically identical!!
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