Full FeedPay to bid? Meet swoopo.com
New to the US market is swoopo.com an auction site, but not one like you know and hate love like eBay. No, swoopo is a very different and interesting concept. The price you pay is the cost of bidding plus the ending final price. Confused?
Each bid costs $1. Yes, you pay to bid. You can buy bids in groups of 20 up to 500. So every time you bid, you are charged $1. Now the flip side of this is the prices are very low on goods. For example, a 2nd gen 8gb iPod touch just went for $73.80 (final sales price, who knows how much that person spent in bids to claim it). They seem stocked with lots of gadgets, laptops and even jewelry.
But wait, there is more
It gets more interesting. The rules are bids are increased in $0.15 increments. So, that iPod grossed the site $565.65 (final sales price divided by the number of bids plus sales price). Each bid pushes back the auction timer 15 seconds giving others a chance to respond to the bid. Bidding starts for each product at $0.15, which is figured into the above equation.
It looks like the company will do OK. Getting paid $565.65 for a $229 product says there is some power in this model.
Scammers?
Like anything though, some people believe it is a scam.
“This site is a complete joke! It is just a big SCAM. I stared at the counter until it went down to 1 second hit bid, and NOPE I didn’t win…”
One commenter on that complaint site says swoopo isn’t a scam, and he himself had won several laptops at amazing prices.
Buyer beware. Let us know in the comments if anyone gives this a whirl. Math majors only, please.
Site [Swoopo.com]
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Nice tool for Swoopo. It shows you all bids, not only the last ten.
wikiwif.de/bidwatcher.php
on October 2, 2008 at 09:09 AM - LINK@walter - Can you please advise how this tool works, unfortunately the language is German on the site.
on October 3, 2008 at 08:20 AM - LINKVisit this site! It’s cool and trustful !
The prices are really cheap indeed and the chances of winning are huge.
IF you spend so much money with swoopo and get a product for more that worth, with kcbidz you always you have a good deal and you will pay less than 90% off retail price!
on October 3, 2008 at 12:16 PM - LINKOk people here is the scoop on Swoopo! You pay for your bids up front which the minimum is 20 max is 500 there called bidpacks each amount of the bidpack you buy is $1 per bid number 20=$20 etc.. once you get in to bid this is the TOS:
on October 4, 2008 at 11:33 AM - LINK( Each new bid resets the ‘remaining time’ for an auction up to, but not above, the displayed countdown reset value (usually, 10, 15 or 20 seconds). The one exception to this rule is when two Bid Butlers bid against one another. For more information, please consult the ‘Help’ section. The auction ends when the remaining time reaches zero. The user who was the last to bid then wins the auction. All other bids on the item expire and will not be refunded. The last bidder is determined based on the records in Swoopo’s database and Swoopo’s decision regarding who is the last bidder shall be final (save in the case of manifest error). When the bid butlers are on and several go at it they will run the clock up not just a few secs like it says it where it wont go over 10,15,20 secs it can go up hours if it wants to you would think the amount of bids per 10-20 sacs would add together ie.. 10 bids at 15 secs would be 150 secs or 2mins 30 secs but I have seen it several times jump up 30 mins or more. Also if you calculate the prices on this ea. Bid costs you $1 regardless of your win but only moves the bid price up $.15 at this rate if the product costs $500 retail & Winning bidder price has reached say $300 that means 2000 bids have been made on this item @ $1 a bid that’s $2000.00 they made just on bid money not to mention the $300 the bidder will pay on the purchase granted some auctions the winner may not pay anything for at the end or a small set fee but they don’t care about that they made $2000.00 – wholesale cost not retail and they are looking at a nice profit of at least $1500. There is no way this can be legal I have tried to email these people about problems with this site it freezes up and quite a bit but here is their ploy on that (A system outage has occurred if no bids can be submitted for items due to an unforeseeable disruption in a system. In such a case, auctions will be temporarily halted and the remaining times for the auctions, the current bidding price and the current highest bidder will be maintained. After the disruption has been resolved, the auctions will be continued and 10 minutes will be added to the remaining times for the auctions. Temporarily halted auctions are clearly indicated. Bidders who are bidding on temporarily halted auctions shall have no right to a refund for bids used or other costs incurred.) This is crap I have been on here a few times and the site pauses and freezes and sometimes it does what it says but then I have lost auctions because of it and I have a feeling that they have people on here to make the bids go up there is no regulation of this site no one contacts you back on your email complaints I have sent a few and no response. It boils down to this who has spent more on their bidpacks and how long you are willing to stay on this computer and keep bidding on something because if you have been bidding for HOURS & its down to the wire and you think everyone has given up and you make your last bid hoping to get it and someone new just woke up logged into it noticed the bid, makes one bid because the last bid you made upped the time 10-20-30secs or a big jump due to bidbutler they have time to pardon the pun swoop in and take it with $1 bid after you spent say $50 in bids and all night sitting up and guess what you don’t get anything except your out $50. It’s a scam if you ask me stay away!!!
It is a terrible site, I tried to win 4 Nintendo’s WII’s today, and they did not go full price by any means however after sitting all day, so I could give my son a great surprise for xmas,I am sorry I ever found it. Thought I could afford this site, but could not. They do not tell you a land line interent is not fast enough to get through on the bidding, it is also interesting that I see a name “Swoopoteam” (hope you won the Dyson Vac), betting on the auction in a consistent fashion. Well I have certainly learnt my lesson and will be telling every one I know to steer clear. I know it is my fault and I take full responsibility for my actions today, but just had a little hope that maybe I could make my sons xmas a little better this year after all that has happened for us.
on October 12, 2008 at 10:22 PM - LINKI signed up, after a mate said he won a PS3 for £80. I didnt hurry up to buy any bids, because i wanted to check it out. I did a load of research, and watched the site for several days. Yesterday i figured i’d try my luck, just waste £25 to see what happens.
And after i started bidding, i noticed the cracks in this “business model”. Worldwide bidders? Bidbutlers? Thats not the way to do it.
@ Chris Bauman:
I know this would ruin your christmas bonuses and your CEO wont be able to buy that new porsche he really wants, but maybe give yourselves a more respectible name and do the following:
-Remove BidButlers.
-Localise auctions. (UK = UK only bids.)
-Reduce the time added to every bid. (seriously, WTF?)
Im aware that swoopo doesnt give a damn about the customer and is a business entity doing its best to make a profit, but its just going to make swoopo look a lot worse. Maybe thats what you guys want. Hell, I might just invest in my own business idea that would actually be a lot more legitimate, i’d still make a nice profit, and people wouldnt be cheated, and wouldnt feel cheated.
Infact, i’d suggest locking an auction. Basically, have a set auction - with 20 slots. each person pays £5 to get a slot to bid. Then, they pay 25p per bid, and the auction amount increases by 5p per bid. The 20 would enter the bid, and bid up as normal, and with a maximum of 20 people bidding and no bid butlers - everyones a winner. The company would make a nice profit, the people would have a better chance at the bidding, and everyone can understand and take the risk as they wish. And make it localised - I dont like the fact that i have to bid against several thousand people around the world, makes me feel cheated. If its a localised bid, its a better chance for all, and people would actually be more interested because they’d feel they have a better chance.
But nevermind all of that. I have a bad opinion of swoopo, and intend on educating anyone that asks on the negatives of the site, and do my best to steer people away from this online marketing scam.
on October 13, 2008 at 05:22 AM - LINKhttp://www.kcbidz.com is much better than swoopo. You will never pay more than retail price even you spend $50 in an auction.
for example: KCBIDZ auction an iPhone 3G unlocked for $7.68.
You need to bid between $0.01 and $7.68.
Let’s say that you invested $50 in this auction and
your winning bid is $1.23. You pay for an iPhone 3G
unlocked $50 + $1.23 = $51.23.
Shipping is Free!
So for a product with retail price of $699.99 you pay $51.23.
YOU SAVE $648.76 that means 93%.
So what are you waiting for? You enjoy entertainment shopping go to http://www.kcbidz.com that is not a scam for sure.
on October 13, 2008 at 01:07 PM - LINKJust google for: swoopo lottery
http://www.google.com/search?q=swoopo+lottery
-> 2000 search results
or: swoopo lottery scam
http://www.google.com/search?q=swoopo+scam
-> 3600 search results
I was a bidder for 6 month. My recommendation: Stay far away.
on October 14, 2008 at 03:51 AM - LINKyup i was swooped i join did some bidding placed a bid on item i was like yea i got it took my dollar for bid looked on list for my name no bid i didnt get it scam stay away
on October 25, 2008 at 10:51 AM - LINK@ Christine..
From Section 2 of terms and conditions…
“During the registration process, the user must choose a username. The username must not be offensive, be selected to deceive or mis-inform other users, may not offend common decency or infringe upon the rights of third parties.”
You said you saw swoopoteam, I just saw a user adminstaff.
I’d say both of those could “deceive or mis-inform other users”
adminstaff was bidding on a PS3 that ended up going for 449.40.
http://www.swoopo.com/auction/sony-playstation-3-80-gb/111090.html
My vote? Scam
on October 26, 2008 at 02:48 AM - LINKMore info from my last entry…
the UK version of the same “auction”.
http://www.swoopo.co.uk/auction/ps3-playstation-3-sony-console-80gb-hdd/111090.html
sold for £209.72 retail value £299.99..
German, Spanish, and Austrian versions:
299,60 € and retail 399.00 €.
Before figuring in the bids, the US site sold for 112% of retail, while the Euro versions were 75% of retail, and the UK version was 70% of retail.
So even if this were a legit site, the US “bidders” are at a disadvantage.
on October 26, 2008 at 12:07 PM - LINKI like all the idiots on here calling this a scam because they lost the auction. How about you learn to auction better!
on October 26, 2008 at 10:40 PM - LINK“Learn to auction better!”
I don’t believe it’s an auction site, so how can I learn to do it better? There’s nothing out there, other than claims by employees that this is legit.
Please see my previous post, as users here in the US, we are automatically at a disadvantage. I would not call it a scam if I believed there were any chance at all to actually win. When you see users burn through hundreds of bidbutler bids, on multiple auctions but yet still somehow continue to bid on several auctions how can any of them if they are true bidders expect to come out ahead, or even break even. Then you can watch people win an aution then bid on the same item again. When it states in the terms that a commercial or semi-commercial individual CANNOT bid. what other purpose would that person have to continue bidding on the same type of item?
on October 28, 2008 at 12:20 AM - LINKTell everyone to stay away from Swoop.com unless they’re
willing to gamble.
There is only one guaranteed winner (Swoopo) and a whole lot of
people losing money at $1/bid everything they try to grab
something for cheap.
Swoopo also operated illegally in several states without proper
commerce permits. Also, once you buy your bids, there is no way
get your money back for unused bids. It’s very much like
gambling and not an auction. However, in most gambling you
could cash-out anytime you like and trade in your chips for
cash. Not at Swoopo. They really want your money!
In no auction do you have pay every time you submit a bid. You
only pay when you are the highest bidder. With Swoopo, you pay
to bid and you pay again to buy with many of the “auctions”.
STAY AWAY!
on October 29, 2008 at 03:45 AM - LINKWe are ready to sell ready system, similar to swoopo. Take a look http://www.uspel.net
on October 30, 2008 at 10:41 AM - LINKReady to discuss the price.
Wow I just saw a brothers of arms get sold for 18$ some quick math states that the winner spent 120$ on bidding. 18+120= 138$
on November 1, 2008 at 01:50 PM - LINKSo he spent 138$ on a game with a value of about 30$. I agree MK its more like a lottery
I run across http://www.kcbidz.com and look so great compare to swoopo.
on November 2, 2008 at 09:17 PM - LINKThe reason that I like kcbidz is because they give you free bids and more bonuses when you buy credits.
For example :
If you recharge your account with $50 thy give you 5% in bonus so you can play in an active auction for more and another 50 free bids to play in the free bid zone.
So go and play at http://www.kcbidz.com because they give you more for your money than swoopo
Better than swoopo- http://www.kcbidz.com
Here is a list of how kcbidz members will be rewarded when they buy credits:
$10 - 3% bonus account credits + 10 free bids
$20 - 5% bonus account credits + 20 free bids
$50 - 6% bonus account credits + 50 free bids
$100 - 7% bonus account credits + 100 free bids
$250 - 8% bonus account credits + 250 free bids
$500 - 10% bonus account credits + 500 free bids
http://www.kcbidz.com is not a scam and do not sell overprice products like swoopo.
Go and join them!
on November 3, 2008 at 03:16 PM - LINKHave you guys checked yellmann.com already? I don’t consider it as a scam because I just registered and got 2 free bids. So what have I lost… nothing….plus they have quality products there , not any cheap crap
on November 11, 2008 at 04:48 AM - LINKswoopo seems tainted. never had any trouble on ebay
on November 13, 2008 at 12:05 AM - LINKRemember the Golden Rule: IF IT LOOKS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, THEN IT PROBABLY IS.
on November 14, 2008 at 01:31 PM - LINKI too was lead to the site via a link while shoping for a laptop. Upon seeing the rediculously low prices, I felt an urgency to place my bid before it was too late. Actually what I felt was greed. Just as I was getting ready to register, first time user, common sense kicked in. I searched swoopo.com and landed on this great blog. Swoopo is such a scam. If they are allowed to continue doing business, then they should change the name to SCAAMO.COM
I think Swoopo is great business. I have found also http://www.yellmann.com. UK based company offering similar type of auctions of gadgets.
on November 14, 2008 at 03:33 PM - LINKWISHED I had found this before I blew £10.00 trying to get my kids Christmas gifts!!! Even if you get a free voucher to spend on purchase as a new customer.
on November 15, 2008 at 09:43 AM - LINKIt’s definitely a great idea, one of those that play with human nature. I
on November 16, 2008 at 11:32 PM - LINKI just spent $20 for 30 bids, and I still have 20 bids left. I’ll keep playing till I ran out of bids, but I won’t be buying new ones. Because there was an auction and there was a bidbutler(a bidding bot) and myself. I wait till the last 5 seconds and I placed a bid, which put me on top. All of a sudden when 2 seconds were left, like 5 users came in and started bidding. That was a tad bit accurate for me or maybe I’m just being paranoid. But ya.
on November 17, 2008 at 03:39 AM - LINK