Published June 23, 2010 | 
Update: Recently Swipe Bids re-branded their website as Swipe Auctions. I have started a new website dedicated to scams where you can review my report of Swipe Auctions Scam.
If you would like to see in depth how penny auction websites function in general, I wrote a very thorough article here at (How Penny Auctions Work)
I am going to divulge a lot of information about the inner workings of Swipe Bids through out this entire article. Buyer Beware. Armed with this knowledge you will be able to make an informed decision regarding Swipe Bids as well as any other Penny Auction website.
At the bottom of this article, you will find many user comments about their experiences with Swipe Bids which you will probably find useful. Also feel free to add your own opinion and knowledge of Swipe Bids and Penny Auctions.
Swipe Bids is a penny auction website that promises savings of up to 90% and unbelievable deals on EVERYTHING! And their registration page and home page makes everything look great… You might even say, too good to be true? You might even considering googling “Swipe Bids Scam” or “Swipe Bids Reviews” to see what other people have to say about such fishy (perhaps fraudulent) claims. Also be careful, this same company operates several websites with different names, and there are many other “clone” websites out there that are all the same.
YOU HAVE TO PAY EACH TIME YOU BID!!!!
Well Here’s How Swipe Bids Really Works
And each time you bid, the auction’s timer increases just a little bit, by about 10 seconds. So you’ve gotten your camera bid in, you’re about to win a $1000 camera for $124 and there’s 3 seconds left on the clock, right? Wrong, someone else just bid extending the action another 10 seconds and increasing the price by another PENNY …. and this can go on for HOURS.
Gee, how much do these bids cost? Well this is the thing overlooked by most people when they sign up for Swipe Bids penny auction website. They instantly charge you $150 to your credit card to buy 300 bids. This is only shown on the second registration page, after you have already typed in a bunch of personal information… And they make this a little sketchy because the second page looks almost identical except for where they slip in this wording telling you about the $150 charges to your credit card, Its not like a shopping cart with a checkout. A LOT of people don’t notice this part, nor do they notice where it says “no refunds”.
OK so this far it isn’t technically a scam, its just misleading and a little slimy. However, this is where we expose the SCAM part of the process. Swipe Bids has the power to shill their own auction’s bids. In other words, behind the scenes Swipe Bids may at the last second bid on their own auctions to extend them a little longer to keep things from selling at either
- Too low of a price
- Before enough people have spent enough money on bids for them to make a profit on the auction
You see, that’s how they make money selling things so cheap, the bids cost money therefore subsidizing the cost of the actual item, and with each bid, its like a SWIPE of your credit card… Get It LOL. Any one auction may have hundreds or even thousands of bids by the time the auction is finally won, and those bids are what pay for the auctions item and put money into Swipe Bids fraudulent pockets (OK, so this isn’t technically fraud yet but read on). Take this example… What if an auction is ending too early without enough bids? Swipe Bids can step in and bid themselves to up the anti and force you to spend more bids and extend the auction a little longer… And who is going to be able to stop them or monitor this process? Swipe Bids wont even give away their location if you ask!
Sure there are some winners, some people do in fact win very cheap items… however for every one winner, there are SEVERAL losers. Everyone has to pay for their bids, regardless of whether they win the item or not. And in order for swipe bids to actually turn a profit, the odds need to be stacked highly against you – the bidder; so that you will actually, in the end, not save any money at all… If everyone actually saved money, If EVERYONE actually won things for 90% off, the website would be bankrupt. This is the same way casino’s work, the odds are stacked against the gambler. OK OK, casinos are not a scam, people know how casinos work and the house NEEDS to win a majority of the time, however Swipe Bids has the ability to hide behind the internet and can pull all sorts of nasty tricks on you if they want to.
You see, all auctions on Swipe Bids are started by Swipe Bids themselves. They control everything, and if they plug an auction into a mathematical formula and see that their product’s auction is about to end without turning a profit, their software can easily place it’s own bids to extend the duration and force people to buy more bids for the item. HOW ELSE would they be able to operate with such a low volume of customers? I mean this website is NEW and its not well enough known to have an enormous volume of bidders across their pages of listed items, I mean its got nowhere close to the traffic of Ebay, comparing Swipe Bids to Ebay would be like comparing a SkyScraper to a grain of sand in traffic size…. On top of this, they are unlikely to get a lot of return visitors because each auction needs to have several losers, each of whom can waste in excess of $100 in bids on just one auction.
- By the time the auction ended (5 hours later than the first image at the top), the camera in the Swipe Bids auction pictured had had another 13,105 BIDS!!
- At even 10 cents a bid (you can bid on bids and usually win them around this price), people still spent $1,305 on bids alone, and the guy who one had to buy the camera for $256 on top of whatever he spend on bidding.
- Only 1 person won that camera auction, and only after spending several hundreds in bids
- Several people lost this auction and threw their money down the drain and wasted several hours of their lives
- There is no way to know if Swipe Bids extended the auction superficially on their side in order to make more money (is it a coincidence that it ended so abruptly so early (11:00pm), but right after they cleared over $100 in bids (AT LEAST) over the MSRP of the camera?)
So do you still want to try Swipe Bids? What are your thoughts?
117 Responses to Swipe Bids Scam – How Swipe Bids Actually Works – The Secret is OUT!
I Confidently host all of my websites with Hostgator
I could not believe it would happen to me! I had spent several days and bids trying to win a lot of 10.00 walmart cards so I can get things I needed so badly. Low and behold I find out three weeks later they disqualified me from 90% of my winnings because I won them when I was only to win two times. Did they tell me? No!!! I found out by asking why I have not recieved any of my winnings for over a month and they still have not paid me my winnings. So I was cheated at of 680.00 dollars in winnings. What now? I am left out and they dont even care to honor there winners!!! Beware and be careful!!!!
Well folks, here is “some” of my experience with Swipebids.com. This was me after trying to “recover my money” after they wouldn’t give me my “membership fee” ($150.00) back by trying to “win” something.
Don’t I feel like a stupid fool now?
IMPORTANT! READ THIS! IN ADDITION TO WHAT BOON SAID ABOVE, SWIPEBIDS MAKES MUCH MORE THAN $100.00 OVER MSRP!!! I FIGURED OUT APPROXIMATELY AND IT WAS LOW BALLPARK, HOW MUCH THEY SCAM OUT OF UNSUSPECTING PEOPLE. READ ON! THE PART WHERE I ADDED IT UP IS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE LETTER.
Letter To Swipe Bids
Swipebids.com August 8th, 2010
To Whom It May Concern:
I joined your website on the strength of the endorsements you had from the news stations like NBC, etc. I also believed your own self promotion of your website, saying how honest, caring and how you didn’t rip people off by having your employees or family members bidding and no bots. Since then, I have felt and been nothing but rooked and robbed. It is misleading and full of lies or twisted truths and omitted data.
I was referred to Hardie’s email (Hardie@swipebids.com) by Tracey (?) because I was not satisfied by the way the I M customer service people were “handling” me. She left the message on my cell phone. They were not handling me. I was brushed off when I asked important questions about how things worked. I was made to feel stupid for asking questions and a nuisance. They acted like they didn’t understand what I was talking about, or even hear me and didn’t answer my questions. I ended up irritated, frustrated, and aggravated. This happened about 6 to 8 times.
One of the selling points on your website for telling whether an auction website is indeed valid and not a rip-off was, you asked whether the website is in North America,( yours isn’t). Your address is in Europe. You also don’t have a phone number to call. This was another criterion. Everything has to be done via the IM “customer service”, who don’t seem to know anything and don’t have the authority to handle anything.
Since I complained on the feedback survey after the IM, Tracey told me I was now a “VIP” (whatever that is supposed to be). Was that just to appease me? Now that I have added things up, I see that it was. I really see no difference what so ever in my status or treatment. But, I decided to give it my all early this am, and actually bet on, and win something, (before I used up all my bids and put 2 and 2 together.
I had close to 4,000 bids. I thought this was surely enough to win something. I was bidding on a Mac Book Pro, I had to quit when the “bidder” wouldn’t accept any more bids from me. It was like I was invisible, my bids weren’t being accepted and my name wasn’t on the list of bidders. I went to check my bids and they were all gone, much to my amazement and disbelief. I also wasted 5.5 hours doing this, as well as the $430.00 I spent buying bid packs and one $10.00 Wal-Mart card! I have nothing left. UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!! To add insult to injury, I also have to pay for the shipping on the wal-mart card. You say this isn’t gambling, but it is. It’s like the slot machines.
A person ends up spending $100.00′s of dollars with the membership fee and buying bidpacks, and ends up spending conceivably thousands on bids in order to “win” something that they still have to pay for. Then, since they now have a year membership, they are drawn into having to buy and bet on many items for it to seem like any kind of a deal. Is it ever as advertised?? I doubt it. I think everyone is being rooked. None of the members can confirm this with one another either, so I can see how they can get down on themselves or feel to blame, if they don’t go on and take advantage of the membership to recoup their money.
There is no way anyone can just go in and bid on one or two items, get a great deal (as you so benevolently promote) and get out, without having to justify not buying more. You have to buy more to make it worth while. This forces people to buy things they don’t particularly need or want.
I have another grievance while I’m at it. There are no cell phones or big screen TV’s, or much of a variety of electronic items as advertised when I first came on to the site. I remember testimonials even. It is just the same 10 or so things (an estimate). This is false advertising all the way around, as well as fraud!
As stated above, you make people have to spend more and more money to try and recoup the money spent on membership, bidpacks and bidding. The bids cost between .60 to .37 cents/ bid. This causes people (including myself) to have to continue to bid to get the “deals” and make them seem like deals. In other words, you lose a lot of money if you quit and don’t at least win something.
You say people have won these items for extremely low prices on the website, many examples there, so I don’t have to tell you. I really believe those testimonials to be bald faced lies, as I have been on the site many times and participated at many different times of the day and for many, many hours at a time. It is like a shark tank. People are cut throat. I can’t believe there is any time of the day or night when “hardly anyone” is there bidding. Just not true. This was also promoted as a thing to do on your website, to just watch for a while and see what times of the day aren’t so busy.
And, to add to that, all the items have a lead time of up to 33 hours or so, and that is just to the end of the professed bidding time. The “real bidding” goes on for several hours after that, to completion. In the 5.5 hours I spent, I saw many bidders come and go. The bidding wasn’t over then and was going hot and heavy when I was forced to quit when I ran out of my 4,000 bids. Who could sit there and bid for so many hours?? Unless you can predict when to jump, you still have to at least sit there and watch. I have never personally seen the low prices on items won, as promoted, due to the actual bidding that I have seen and participated in.
I had read (prior to today, since you have once again changed things), on your website that the average cost of each bid was .17 cents. One penny’s worth of bids = .17cents. One bid buys one penny. Maybe that is average for the bidpacks won and given when logging on etc. Maybe that isn’t even correct, because I just looked at the new and improved faqs and instructional video as well as definitions, (all things that I complained were lacking on your website), and I saw that the bidpacks cost between .60 to .37 cents/ bid.
Now, let’s just say (for examples sake) that the average bid is .17 cents. This has to be multiplied by 5, since the minimum bid for just about anything but bidpacks is 5 bids at a time. Multiply .17 x 5 = .85 cents for each bid placed. Every .85 cent bid is only a penny increase in the price of the item, so we are spending (conservatively) .85 cents/ bid. 10 times .85 cents is $8.50. That comes out to $8.50 to each dollar bid. Let’s say the product costs $140.00 at close of bidding. That is where the bid was on the Mac Book Pro, when I ran out of bids and had to quit. So, everyone just spent $8.50 to each dollar bid. That comes out to $11,900.00 that you just profited, for something that costs between $400.00 to $1,000.00 retail, and you also pay wholesale for it! Not to mention that the person who won still has to pay you the $140.00. You are just raking in the bucks!!!!! That isn’t even your quoted average of .60 to .37 cents/bid, so you could get double or triple of my estimate! This is just dollars and cents (or sense), bread and butter. It is what you can expect to make off of every product per bid. The higher the bid, the more you rake in. I feel like a stupid idiot for trusting what you said and for not adding it up all the way. We are all lambs to slaughter.
On top of all of this, the “Auto Bidder” is a crock, a lie. It doesn’t work the way I was told by your website and customer service, in lieu of no explanation at the time. I now see that you added some kind of explanation, but it doesn’t work the way you say. It doesn’t use up one bid at a time the way it says, it eats them all up at one time (and it is actually 5 to 10 bids at a time, counting as one). I lost many bids to it also that were not authorized. It confirmed the amount and I changed my mind and it went ahead and took them anyway. It was for 95×5, and when I went to look at the auto bidder, they were all used up. This was one of the things that your customer service didn’t help me with. I was trying to understand what happened and how it worked. My understanding was what it says in your (new) explanation. It didn’t work that way. I later tried 5×5 bids and it gulped them all down at once again. I also saw it happening with others when I was bidding. It doesn’t work the way you say it does. It is just another way of rooking people out of gobs of bids at a time, like a wood chipper.
You have it trickily worded; “beware; if another person had more autobids (than your autobids,) it (the autobidder) will cancel out your autobids”. I see how you can backhandedly refer to that as an excuse. That’s what I meant above about half truths and untruths. How is anyone supposed to know how much another person has autobidded? There is no way to check or verify, thus pressuring a person to put many, many bids in, (conceivably 4 thousand or more), so they can be confidently the autobidder is working the way you say. There is no way to confirm, even after the fact, the amount of bids that you or anyone else in the bidding pool for the same item, placed. So, you can conveniently say that someone had more, so theirs were “cancelled out”?
After adding everything up like this, I can see where my bids went. It is so unbelievable, you wouldn’t think possible that you would be so crooked and underhanded. I personally feel like a stupid fool. I am so glad I didn’t recommend this site to any friends or family. You even have all the endorsements to “share the fun” with facebook, youtube, twitter and so on. You say how secure the website is from predators, but you don’t warn them about yourselves. I know I’m not a dumb person. I was just bamboozled and it took me a while to figure out what it was. Your money back guarantee is also misleading, but you know that. You say if you must use up all of the bids on account and if you haven’t won anything in a month, you will get a refund. Well, the refund is for the membership fee, the bids were free. I also thought I was trying the website for free to see how I liked it. You said we got 300 free bids. I didn’t understand there was a $150.00 membership. I swear that it said something about needing the credit card info in the event that I wanted to buy more bids, it would be easier. I can’t prove it and you have changed things several times since I “joined”.
Gail Miller
NOW, AS AN ADDENDUM, I SPENT MANY HOURS WATCHING TO SEE WHEN AUCTIONS ENDED AND I NEVER SAW ONE EXCEPT THE ONES WHERE PEOPLE WERE BIDDING ON MORE BIDS.
I STARTED TO SUSPECT THAT THEY JUST CUT IT OFF AFTER THEY MADE A VERY FAT CHUNK OF CHANGE (IN THE THOUSANDS AS STATED IN MY LETTER) I HAD THE FEELING THAT THEY MANIPULATED THE AUCTIONS, BUT COULDN’T PROVE IT. I NEVER SAW ANYTHING SELLING FOR AS CHEAPLY AS THEY SAY. MAYBE THEY LET ONE THROUGH ONCE IN A WHILE TO PERPETUATE THE THING.
THEY STATE THAT THEY DON’T ALLOW EMPLOYEES OR FAMILY AND CLOSE ASSOCIATES TO BID (I ALMOST SAID BET, AS THAT DESCRIBES IT BETTER). I WISH THERE WAS A WAY TO PROVE IT. DON’T ANY OF YOU OUT THERE WANT JUSTICE OR YOUR MONEY BACK?
ANYONE A LAWYER?
OMG Gail, as seriously as I consider this to be completely illegitimate and downright criminal, you completely wasted your breath writing a letter to “Swipebids” or Jesse Williams. He is a CON ARTIST to the fullest degree. First I hear the business is is Canada. Then Colorado. Now Europe? Jesus man, you’ve been had. Check out the links in the above comments. People are doing something about this and I know they’re gonna win. JUSTICE WILL PREVAIL.
The price has gone up. They got me for $ 159.00. I did not see it until I went to pay for 40 bids that I won.
I’m sure glad I found this website… When I heard that lady speak so excitedly about winning NEW products for 90% less then retail it really sounded quirky (as if she was trying to lure me like a fish). I am reminded of that saying “if it sounds too good to be true it usually isnt”…
I do most of my online purchasing from retailers or from *buy now* ebay listing… I know how much the item costs and what to expect not to mention theres “buyer protection” I can rely on (along with paypal) if things were to ever get “screwy”…
“Hey, I have this large suspension bridge to SF Id like to sell you!!! 90% OFF”!!! lol
Fortunately, I did not get suckered into this, but I was thinking about it. I mean, the fact you have a news video on the front page makes you feel like it is legit…Not to mention, I found it on a youtube ad! Why are they allowed to have advertisements about this site! Absolutely ridiculous…
I know!! I was ready to go, wanting to buy everything. I figured it wouldn’t be on the news if it wasn’t legit. Some things are too good to be true
If you seriously found it on a youtube add then you need to report that. GOOGLE bought them out and as far as I know, its a respectable company. I dont think GOOGLE will appreciate this and maybe they have the clout to get a LAWSUIT for using their name???I dont know, but its worth a try for sure.
I am SOOOOO glad i didnt do this site…the news report about the police giving their items and getting a share made it seem real legit. Thank you, I would wanted blood if i got scamed by these pricks
Exactly these jerks were real clever, they showed us all that stuff in the video about police seizures, well we’ve all heard of police auctions, so there’s association there that it might be for real, then its a ‘what seems like a reputable newsstation’. But if you listen carefully that video is for a different company called Propertyroom.com.I think a few different CLASS action Lawsuits are in order here.
I should have done my homework before venturing on SwipeBids. I was trying to open an account -as on all legit bidding sites-. I entered my credit card and lost $159 right away. As for the bidding process, I have not seen anything that complicated. Buyers beware! ebay or propertyroom are easier to use. Scam! Scam! scam!
Watch out , SwipeBids took 150 dollars from me. I applied for the refund, followed their instructions chatted with someone that told me to get a hold of them at a later date,the later date is over 60 days so your bank cant file a fraudulent charge.This company should be put out of business, its a Canadian company that is set up to steal peoples money!!!!They lie and talk you in circles you can call but not about a refund!
If something fraudulent occurs and it goes on your bank statement and they take money and or you are negative you have to file a dispute no matter what then go to the better business bureau website and file against them>
the “refund” is a scam in and of itself! It is a set up to failure on your part. I called the ref# on the charge on my bank statement and the recorded message I got was something like “most or all other auction sites won’t give U a refund, but we want to be gracious, fair and wonderful but you need to do it online. So I went online and they said (and showed me their refund policy) “you have to use up all of the 300 (free) bids they give you with the membership. Then you download and fill out their form etc etc and mail it in.” So, I went online and bid on some bid packs and used up all my bids. I didn’t think to try bidding on actual items as they recommended taking your time and bid on the bid packs (so you have enough bids to actually bid on something). Amyway, I got back to them and told them I did what they said and I wanted my money back. They said I couldn’t have it now because I “won” something, the bidpacks!! OMG! They seem to constantly evolve their policies, depending on these situations. They morph and they even say they have the right as it is stated in the terms etc that u agree to.
thank you for confirming what I thought myself. I had no idea it was for a “membership fee”. When I complained about this and told them I thought I was getting 300 free bids to check it out, they shot over a (supposed) page where it said the fee was for membership. I thought I must be delusional for not seeing this. I know I am not and I’m not as stupid as they make me feel when I chat with the (ever so helpful-not) live operators.
I am considering perhaps a class action suit. Anyone interested?
Gail
I as well was thinking about bidding on an item from that site. And like Samisan said “if it sounds too good to be true it usually isnt”…. After finding several scam sites selling Acai berry suppliments, I realized I should really do some research before I released any CC info. Luckily this blog popped up and revealed the scam. I hope more people will begin to goole these “Great Deal” sites to find out possible scams and I hope more people will keep publishing the “truth” and revealing these scams like bloggerboon!
BTW…..Samisan- That’s a great deal on the bridge…. Does it come in pink!! LOL!!
Swipebids.com is a total scam site. They scammed me out of $150. There is a lot of information on this on the web. Just Google: swipebids scam
UNFORTUNATELY, I WAS A VICTIM. I TOTALLY AGREE WITH THIS ARTICLE AND WOULD ADVISE, BUYER BEWARE!!!!!!!!! RUN…….
Thank God for Google, it saved me from getting sucked in to SwipeBid.
I got duped and feel so stupid… I didn’t read about this scam until it was too late. I’m out $159 and I’m not even going to try bidding on anything. I wouldn’t wish this site on my worst enemy. Don’t fall for this!!!
I noticed that after I filed out the registration a page came up and said, your payment has been received. WHAT! I did not even know I was paying anything to join. I canceled by credit card immediately while the card company said the payment to them was yet pending. It was the only way to make sure they did not take my money. Wow, what a scam! Imagine the money they are making.
I am so glad to read this, not for what happened to you but for confirming that I’m not crazy!!! I could really kick myself for getting sucked in, but they’re good at it. I got taken for a lot more.
ha ha
I was pulling out my AMEX card and just before I joined, I decided to poke around the web to see what other people were saying about swipebids. I actually did not even see the $159 sign up fee, I just thought they had to have my credit card on file for when I did have to pay for something.
Thanks for revealing this info!
Roger
my thoughts are if you can afford to lose money, by all means; but the majority of people i know cannot. therefore, i will do ebay instead. if we all pull together and say no to this scam, it will either die or change their unscrupulous practices.
Want know who owns the site? Information is public and required by all domain registrars; unless, they pay a fee to keep it private. Guess what? He didn’t pay the fee. Probably too interested in making…uh….I mean scamming people for money. LOL. However, keep in mind that he’s the one that bought the domain and it doesn’t necessarily mean he’s the one running the site. But more than likely he is. If not, he sure knows who is. Anyone feel they were really scammed by swipebids.com, go after him. I haven’t fallen for his tricks, but I sure HATE people like this. Nothing but greedy, selfish scum to me. I was raised that you work hard for you money and it doesn’t come easy. I usually beat the hell out of people like this.
http://www.track-ip.com/whois/swipebids.com
Registrant [2020849]:
Ashton Manning netsolvenetwrks@gmail.com
983 Washington Avenue
1202
Los Angeles, CA 90345
US
Phone: +1.650-345-3453
It makes me feel better to know I am not the only dope who got scammed. Perhaps my situation wet a bit further… After 3 weeks of bidding, buying and losing, somewhere in the swipe bids software there must be a way for them to help you continue! I stopped in mid-April and never bid again. I received my monthly bank statement for May. On May 24th there were 125 debits for $1.01. This is just part of it. All along swipe bids was debiting my account! $49.01 here and there or $29.01 now and then. They kept it going until they had overdrawn me so many times I had 1,027.00 in overdraft fees alone! Be careful! Banks are greedy people too. I have filed a police report and hopefully these people will be shut down. They are very slick people and there is no way to predict or prevent what they will do next
Here is a current Chat I am having with Swipe Bids to get my money back that they have told me three times that they are “trying” to process, but they are having “technical difficulties”. The fact of the matter is that I was drawn into the hype trying to win a TV that was broken during a move and paid 150 dollars to join for a year. The worst money I have ever spent.
Below is a dialogue from their Swipebids Chat on trying to get my money back for the 5th time.
Please wait for a site operator to respond.
You are now chatting with ‘Milly’
Milly: Thank you for visiting SwipeBids. We are here to help you win auctions, save money and have a great time. Who am I speaking with?
you: Michael XXXXXXXXX
Milly: Hi, may I have your email address and zip code please?
you: champXXXXX@XXXXXXXX
Milly: Please wait while I check your order details in our system.
Milly: Ok, how may I assist you?
you: I have been waiting for $150 refund for about 4 weeks now. Every time I write I am told you have “technical issues” and I have to wait longer. Do you adhere to a refund policy for unsatisfactory or not?
Milly: I apologize for the inconvenience but every possible effort to process your refund through our Merchant account has failed. Due to strict credit card regulations we have been prevented from issuing your refund by cheque. At this point, our only recommendation available is to have you contact your bank and ask them to process the refund to your credit card.
Milly: Is there anything else I can help you with today?
you: I don’t understand. Every effort has not been taken to give a refund. I have not limited you to refunding the credit card. Issue a refund back to the credit card that was utilized. I have no issues with that. How am I going to have the bank process a refund if you have not “officially” authorized a refund. The next move is on Swipebids
Milly: Again, I do apologize but there are no further details available to provide you with. I am doing the very best I can as a live chat agent to provide you the information I have been given. As previously stated; our only recommendation available is to have you contact your bank and ask them to process the refund to your credit card.
you: Milly,
you: This is ridiculous. What I should do is publish all the chats I had with Swipe bids to get my money back. your company has not problem taking money, but refunding money you can’t figure out. Pretty sad. What is a manager’s name and number I can contact.
you: apologize are over
Milly: Manager name is : Sarah Russell
Milly: To get assistance via phone, please call this number: 1-866-389-3870 (Mon – Sat 8 am – 9 pm & Sun from 10 am – 6 pm Eastern Time). If you are planning to call in regards to a refund, please be informed that they will not be able to assist you with a refund and will direct you back to our Livechat site. However, I am here to provide you immediate customer service.
Milly: You need to file dispute in this case with your bank. we can’t process your refund at our end as our merchant is not allowing us to refund it. I am sorry for that.
Thanks for this site. I was all set to try and win and Ipad for my nonverbal autistic grandson to use for Tap To Talk since he cannot use a Nintendo DSi that I bought him. I thought that the bigger screen and simpler that a lap top would help him communicate but the cost is a bit much. Well, losing $159 is a bit much also I’ll just save that $159 up toward buying from someone honest.
Canceling the credit card as soon as you see you have been had is also a great idea to remember.
Again, thanks for this info. It sure pays just to do a web search before buying or trying something.
I went to the website for swipe bid. I simply read the terms of use and it states clearly the following under section 8! People should read the terms first before getting upset at the company!
(b) Bids
Before You can bid on a Product, You must purchase a membership which comes with 300 bids (‘ Bids’). Bids may be purchased in packs of 135, 300,1325 and 3000 (‘ Bid Packs’) for the then current price listed on the Website. Payment can be made by Visa and MasterCard only. BID PACKS ARE NON-REFUNDABLE. Once a bid is used, it is deducted from Your account and cannot be used again. SwipeBids reserves the right, in SwipeBids – sole discretion, to change the Bid Packs fees and charges in effect, or to add new fees and charges, by posting such changes on the website or providing notice to You. In addition, you do not hold SwipeBids – responsible for any overdraft charges or fees which you might incur during the ongoing Membership.
I’m glad I researched on the web since I almost tried it…
Who is their merchant?
Also, might there be grounds for a class action suit against them? Seems as if there is plenty of chat evidence stating they will do a refund but they’re not doing it…
I guess the best thing to do in the meantime is to use word of mouth and sites like this to keep people away…
Swipe Bids is DEFINITELY A SCAM!
If you actually listen to the video on the home page, it’s not even about them(swibebid). It’s about propertyroom.com
Wish I had found this site earlier. I signed up one morning. Found out they charged me $159. Pissed off I used the online chat to get a refund. I was informed that they adequately advertise the $159 fee and there are no refunds. Adequate advertisement my butt, they mentioned it once in very small writing. Now I am more pissed. I finally did find out that if you use all of you bids and win nothing you can fill out a refund form. Two weeks later I got my $159 back. BUYER BEWARE!!!
Live Chat is usually a 3rd party with limited access and authority. How did the phone call go?
hahahahahha you guys if you watch that police video listen to the name of the website they dont say SwipeBids.com they say PropertyRoom.com a legit website .
Hey I noticed that too Mike and I thought: WEll huh that’s strange why is it called PropertyRoom.com if its swipebids? WE gotta trust our intuition more, eh? LOL LIKe I said let’s get these MUthas. With enough backing, people could really make a lawsuit and WIN. I think its a good idea to start a REAL website that researches these claims and offers and posts the TRUTH naming all the scammers like Swipe Bids out there. WHat do ya think?
Everyone, please visit http://www.SwipeBidsVictims.com to contact a lawyer handling this case. They are happy and waiting to take your calls and emails.
Olu (who has posted above) has helped http://www.PennyBurners.com get involved. We donated the domain, hosting, and maintenance for the SwipeBidsVictims website.
I’ve been robbed 659.00 by Swipe Bids,
looking to file class action suite
Irv schemer here. I was scammed by Swipebids On July 30/31, 2010.
Like most here, I have the same grievances against swipe-bids. I don’t have time this AM
to tell my story but it is EXACTLY as most of you’ve had happen to you, but WORSE.
I had my bank account “swiped” out from under me without my authorization, but I’ve got
concrete evidense against them that will be all of our keys to getting our money back.
I think that we can finally expose these guys if we file in class action.
I have a family full of Lawyers and a sitting Circuit Judge, an ex Feeral Judge and
a number of EX-Prosecutors and a recent- past 20 year States Attorney.
I have been doing a daily investigation of the supposed auctions and what I have found
is too disturbing to talk about over and over.
I have already, as most of you have, had my banks fraud and dispute departments involved
and am in the process of having all credit and debit cards I own, blocked and changed.
I know this is a multi-million dollar scam daily and it has been advertised everywhere
because they have the money to spend on the advertising.
You all are right in believing that this is misrepresentation and fraud.
I first realized it the first night I signed up for the $159.00 membership fee and
read all of the info available on the site to see how I could participate in an auction.
I was called that very evening by my Visa card ‘Red Flag’ dept. that there was
suspicious usage of my card going on as we spoke and that the charges were ORIGINATING
FROM GERMANY!……Whoa!!!!!! I told them that I was purchasing a membership in auction
site and had only authorized the purchase of 2 items.
Luckily when the charges started flowing in, Visa blocked the card and none were paid.
I will write a comprehensive report in the next couple of days to give all of the
victims here my experience and findings about Swipe-bids in the next couple of days.
I know how stressful it is dealing with these thieves who are making millions daily
while the rest of us suffer through the anxiety.
I have figured out how to catch them at their own game and have already started
painting the big picture.
I don’t want to disclose on this site what I’ve been doing to collect this evidense
as they are surely reading it so I will leave an my email address to contact me.
My name is Irving Schemer and I can be reached at : irv1102@comcast.net.
Please leave ‘Swiped-Bids’.com in the subjectline to tell me who you are.
You could copy and paste your experience written above into the body of your email
and I will contact all of you back in mass once I have talked to my family’s law firms.
I have in my possession many changes that were made to the swipebids’site after I
engaged them in live chat about my concerns as to what I actually had to pay for on
their site.
I will open all of your eyes as to what they are doing as soon as my council gives me
the OK to start gathering the paperwork for class action.
After you leave me a verifiable contact Tel.#, and I know who you really are, I will
do my best to talk to as many of you that I can by video conference or phone.
Thanks for letting me know know about your experiences. You are not alone in this
scam and we will unite and SEEK JUSTICE!
Sincerely,
Irving L. Schemer BSc CDT MDt
PS I am a dental Laboratory Owner…not a Lawyer
Great Assesment! What a scam this is! Here’s another thing Swipe Bids don’t tell you:
They charge you $150.00 for 300 bids, which is equivalent to 50 cents per bid. You can actually take the 100 free bids they offer and bid on “bid packs” (which come in packs of 40, 500, 850, 5000 and possibly some others). Here’s the trick….take these free bids and bid on bid packs early in the morning. A pack of 40 bids starts out $1.00. If you place one bid and win you will pay $1.01 for 40 bids. This is equivalent to a little over 2.5 cents per bid. So you could get 320 bids for $8.08. This is a huge differnce then the $150.00 they charge you for only 300 bids. Don’t get me wrong, I am not defending Swipe Bids in any shape or form! I got suckered for the 150 bucks myself. Also, you will need a lot of bids in order to win anything on this site as the auction time keeps getting extended each time someone places a bid. AND……here’s another kick in the pants! Some of the better Swipe Bids auctions charge you multiple bids each time you bid! For example; if you’re bidding on an Ipod classic or a WII, each time you bid on this item (to purchase mind you), it will suck 5 bids off you balance. So if you bidding against other people and you have submitted 20 bids, it really just cost you 100 bids because it’s 5 bid per click! So if you’re lucky enough to win an auction you should be asking yourself, “What was my final caost for this item anyway?”. This is calculated by what you paid for you’re bids intially plus the price of the item PLUS the major shipping charges they bang you over the head with! I won a $100 walmart gift card (you know, the one that is the size of a credit card) and they charged me $9.50 for shipping! Talk about an abusive over charge! Here’s my conclusion: If you want to play the Swipe Bids Scam game, you need to accumulate a lot of bids bidding on the bid packs early in the morning. You could technically accumulate 10,000 bids for a price of about $253.00 (bidding solely on bid packs of 40). Here’s the math: 10,000 bids divided by a pack of 40 = 250. This means you would have to win 250 Swipe Bids Scam auctions bidding solely on the 40 bid pack. And 250 wins at a price if $1.01 = $252.50. And with 10,000 bids at a price of roughly $253.00 you could probably win some decent items and justify the price. Again, i am not defending this site at all. I’m just letting everyone know how to beat these low life’s at their own game! Apologies on being long winded but it’s the only way to expose this type of scam.
Larry M.
Please wait for a site operator to respond.
You are now chatting with ‘Carol’
Carol: Thank you for visiting SwipeBids.com Livechat Line. Our goal is to provide you with excellent customer service while assisting you with any questions or concerns you may have. We are here to help you win auctions, save money and have a great time. May we start with your name please?
you: erica
Carol: Hi, I would be happy to assist you with your concern, so in order to pull up the details of your account, can you please provide me with your full name, e-mail address and zip code?
you: i had a couple of questions before i signed up for swipebids
Carol: Ok, How may I assist you?
you: is this company accredited by the BBB?
Carol: We stand by the customer service and quality standards of the Better Business Bureau. That’s why we are offering our customers complete customer satisfaction day in and day out.
you: is swipebids accredited by the bbb or does swipebids just meet the quality standards of the bbb?
Carol: You can visit the site of BBB or contact them regarding our company.
you: okay thank you for your time, carol
————————————-END CHAT LOG——————————————-
I don’t think my questions are painfully difficult to understand, but I can’t manage to get a straight answer from any representative regarding their qualifications or their accreditations.
I actually think I stopped looking at the website when I went to their Sign Up page and I saw that the heading that says SwipeBids.com Gives Customers Big Savings! was copy and pasted… the white around the image doesn’t line up with the white box on the webpage… lol. I don’t know if I’m just anal, but I doubt a decent business would make due with a bunch of copy-pasting to design their website to attract and appeal to customers.
Seriously if a web site offers stuff this good, check it out first. I saw it and thought this would be great, bid on an Ipad and get it cheaper than in the stores. I didn’t fill in any info for signing up since I am a bit paranoid of online purchasing. So I did a online search of Swipe Bids just to see what people have said. I did find one site praising it and how awesome the deals were, but there were many hits that said otherwise. I like to know both sides of the story before I make a decision and the negative side of Swipe bids was overwhelming. The common theme of the scam is the $150.00 they charge to your credit card right off even though it says there is no fee to sign up. Then the endless entries of people trying to get their money back. I do thank you for posting these conversations with Swipe Bids live chat. Around 90% of the postings had identical conversations with the operator. I felt frustrated just reading them. I feel for you for getting ripped off, do what you can to get your money back but be prepared to be disappointed. From the many post I have read, many of those people were fighting with the company and their bank for several months with little to no headway. Unfortunately Swipe Bids may have found a loop hole in the law that allows them to operate unscathed… for now. If you are attempting a lawsuit and feel that you can win, then follow through, but make sure you do your homework before you register the suit in court because they certainly did. That’s why they are still getting away with this scam for as long as they have.
Future note, do not sign up for anything until you have researched it and feel comfortable that it is OK. Even then, just as a precaution if you are required to fill in personal info such as name, phone number, address, etc then put gibberish in the spaces and see where it gets you or at least false info like Big Bird, 123 Sesame Street, Hollywood CA… If the site as for your credit card number before you are allowed to view anything then stop there. I do not recommend putting anything in there as you may inadvertently put a real number in there and cause a world of hurt for someone else. All a scam needs is 1000 people to sign up without reading anything and charge them $150 right away before they realize it and the scammers have made $150 000 dollars in a short time frame. The longer they stay open online the more money they make. Once the scammers see a reduction in their ‘income’ the site will probably be abandoned and they will disappear with all their pickings. Then later a new site will open with a new scam bringing in money to them. Again the math is easy to do. Read some of the forums, I was amazed on the amount of money some people have said that they have lost to Swipe Bids.
Please do your research. My search on Swipe Bids was measured in milliseconds and my reading lasted only about an hour. I wanted to see what was out there and from what I saw, it unfortunately is a scam that seems to somehow function on the very edge of the law.
Good luck to those who are fighting to get their money back and to those who haven’t signed up…DON’T. Think before you react.