Something Fishy About this Auction Site
-
- Posts: 1
- Joined: 4 years ago
Something Fishy About this Auction Site
There is definitely something fishy about this auction site. Almost all the auctions are getting unreasonably high bids. It's as though there are ShopLC employees who were hired to outbid or at least bid very high bids on items so that you end up paying much more than if you had just bought the item straight from the non-auction portion. This is a scamming people as it is not a true, fair auction.
-
- Posts: 1376
- Joined: 3 years ago
Re: Something Fishy About this Auction Site
I don’t waste my time or energy anymore on the RA. In fact haven’t bought for a while. H![😊](//twemoji.maxcdn.com/2/svg/1f60a.svg)
-
- Posts: 39
- Joined: 3 years ago
Re: Something Fishy About this Auction Site
Caveat emptor! It’s good practice to keep an eye on prices at other companies (the hosts love to show comparison pricing!) and also try not to get emotionally caught up in the thrill of winning or beating a rival (which is a lot of fun!
)
![Laughing :lol:](./images/smilies/icon_lol.gif)
-
- Posts: 35
- Joined: 3 years ago
Re: Something Fishy About this Auction Site
Hello,LoveRespectPeace wrote: ↑2 years agoThere is definitely something fishy about this auction site. Almost all the auctions are getting unreasonably high bids. It's as though there are ShopLC employees who were hired to outbid or at least bid very high bids on items so that you end up paying much more than if you had just bought the item straight from the non-auction portion. This is a scamming people as it is not a true, fair auction.
Last week I I sent a message to the moderator regarding this subject and have not heard back.
I am dumbfounded by the absurd and ridiculous high amounts that people are bidding, in particular the Swarovski items.
There are items being sold in the clearance section for as low as $10.00, yet people are bidding astronomical amounts.
Another good example is the Karis line which is not sterling silver. The pieces with Swarovski sell on the regular site at very low prices but yet people are even over overbidding on Karis just because they contain Swarovski crystals or zirconia.
It just doesn't make any sense. It's an honest observation, but seems they don't care to address it.
-
- Posts: 726
- Joined: 4 years ago
Re: Something Fishy About this Auction Site
Hello Elle Tee and all: your post is absolutely spot on. About a week ago there was discussion about robots bidding as programmed which you can’t ever beat. I’m totally amazed at the bidding on the Swarovski items, some I’ve bought previously for $9.99. This morning I saw a bid which had to be fake for over $400. This makes no sense. Some of the Swarovski prices are still the same on the regular website they were weeks ago. 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄
-
- Posts: 34
- Joined: 3 years ago
Re: Something Fishy About this Auction Site
Yes there is definitely something going on If you check and chart the timing of bids placed you can’t help but see it. In addition to what ever else is happening there are also revenge bidding wars going on. I believe that sometimes the war is between a legitimate bidder and a computer. I think there are also computers bidding computers up. You can tell by all the strange different names that are used and by the timing of the bids. Also wars between real bidders. Only solution has already been suggested. Card on file with $ on it. You win you are charged. That’s what it’s like in most auctions. The fact that shoplc doesn’t do that indicates something. Some auctions allow their own employees to bid on items. Check the fine print to find out. I haven’t. I think what it comes down to is if you are having fun and winning items at prices you are ok with fine. If you are getting frustrated and wanting things to change maybe time to take a break. Who knows what will happen. Maybe they will put “reserves” on items that they don’t want to sell below a certain price. This would be more honest than having an item bid up. Been feeling frustrated myself. May take a break and see if any changes.
-
- Posts: 1376
- Joined: 3 years ago
Re: Something Fishy About this Auction Site
There won’t be any changes. If there are any GOOD CHANGES, I WILL EAT A Anchovy.
. ![Laughing :lol:](./images/smilies/icon_lol.gif)
![Confused :?](./images/smilies/icon_e_confused.gif)
![Surprised :o](./images/smilies/icon_e_surprised.gif)
![Shocked :shock:](./images/smilies/icon_eek.gif)
![Laughing :lol:](./images/smilies/icon_lol.gif)
-
- Posts: 199
- Joined: 4 years ago
-
- Posts: 45
- Joined: 3 years ago
Re: Something Fishy About this Auction Site
This is a known issue with no solution. If everyone engaged in overbidding and not purchasing there would be no rising auctions. I have heard the explanation that folks like to bid and win whatever they think they may want and then after a lot of items won are in their shopping cart they pick and choose what they truly want to purchase and then let the rest expire and return to the rising auctions. Maybe that’s what everyone is supposed to do. I am sure that is NOT what was/is intended. At the very least it comes off as fishy, scammy and downright fake.
I actually tabulated several bidders by name and dollar amount on the rising auctions, a couple of nights ago. For my foray into this folly, one evening I typed a search for ‘sleeping beauty’. Of the over 300 auctions a bidder (De#%ie) was winning at that snapshot in time, over 26% (like 80) of the total auctions and was ‘on the hook’ for almost $9,0000.00 worth of jewelry had the auctions all ended at that moment. The next morning I again performed a search for sleeping beauty in the rising auctions and there it was again, the very same bidder with again 26% of this time, over 400 auctions and if memory serves, over $11,000.00 worth of jewelry. Keep in mind this was ONLY a search for sleeping beauty, there is little to no wonder that there were even MORE auctions that this bidder was overbidding on, and the auctions were nearly half of them over bid, rediculously overbid.
When I spoke with a customer service representative, they considered what I said, but were curt and most emphatic in the notion that ShopLC will not force anyone to buy anything that they bid on and may win. So surely, with no penalties or enforced contractual agreement to actually purchase items, any person may bid on and subsequently win, no matter how much they engage in over bidding, not to mention over bidding on thousands of dollars worth of merchandise. Customer service, and I use the term loosely, was only helpful in the sense that they took my call and listened to what I had to say. It appears that with lack of enforcement some ‘customers’ at ShopLC rising auctions view them as nothing more than a ‘virtual play space’ and have no intention of purchasing after bidding senselessly.
Most probably though, with the rising auctions three things can be deduced: 1) The problem is known 2) they are unwilling or don’t care to fix the issue 3) with the amount of complaints here in the forum it leaves customers questioning if something ‘fishy’ is indeed going on? All this makes the few customers that actually think they are participating in something that is fair or even realistic, at the very least disadvantaged, disappointed and frustrated.
Also, the notion that ‘teams’ of people looking for this activity and deleting or limiting accounts is erroneous, today under the same search mentioned above, the very same people are overbidding on huge numbers of auctions.
What was the definition of insanity?
I actually tabulated several bidders by name and dollar amount on the rising auctions, a couple of nights ago. For my foray into this folly, one evening I typed a search for ‘sleeping beauty’. Of the over 300 auctions a bidder (De#%ie) was winning at that snapshot in time, over 26% (like 80) of the total auctions and was ‘on the hook’ for almost $9,0000.00 worth of jewelry had the auctions all ended at that moment. The next morning I again performed a search for sleeping beauty in the rising auctions and there it was again, the very same bidder with again 26% of this time, over 400 auctions and if memory serves, over $11,000.00 worth of jewelry. Keep in mind this was ONLY a search for sleeping beauty, there is little to no wonder that there were even MORE auctions that this bidder was overbidding on, and the auctions were nearly half of them over bid, rediculously overbid.
When I spoke with a customer service representative, they considered what I said, but were curt and most emphatic in the notion that ShopLC will not force anyone to buy anything that they bid on and may win. So surely, with no penalties or enforced contractual agreement to actually purchase items, any person may bid on and subsequently win, no matter how much they engage in over bidding, not to mention over bidding on thousands of dollars worth of merchandise. Customer service, and I use the term loosely, was only helpful in the sense that they took my call and listened to what I had to say. It appears that with lack of enforcement some ‘customers’ at ShopLC rising auctions view them as nothing more than a ‘virtual play space’ and have no intention of purchasing after bidding senselessly.
Most probably though, with the rising auctions three things can be deduced: 1) The problem is known 2) they are unwilling or don’t care to fix the issue 3) with the amount of complaints here in the forum it leaves customers questioning if something ‘fishy’ is indeed going on? All this makes the few customers that actually think they are participating in something that is fair or even realistic, at the very least disadvantaged, disappointed and frustrated.
Also, the notion that ‘teams’ of people looking for this activity and deleting or limiting accounts is erroneous, today under the same search mentioned above, the very same people are overbidding on huge numbers of auctions.
What was the definition of insanity?