This is Surely Some Kind of Scam.. Isn't it?

Andysnap

Andysnap

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Andy Grant
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Yes
Actually, to answer my own question, it appears to be just that ; a scam.
I found another TP thread explaining what happens, so I'll give that one a miss then.
Damn thought I was on to a winner there. :bang:

Andy
 
Thanks guys. Thought it was too good to be true.

Andy
 
Life rule number 1: If it looks too good to be true, then unfortunately it is.
 
They rely on peoples greed.

You can see it in operation here, http://www.swoopo.co.uk/auction/canon-eos-450d-dslr-ef-s-18-55mm-lens/149928.html this auction has been as low as 3 seconds but jumps right back up again. At 50p per bid of 1p, it's gone up by £1.40 in the last few minutes(£53.07 when I saw it first) that's £70 to swoopo for basically nothing.

It's selling now at £54.48, if they started at £0 then they have made over £2500 so far and the camera isn't even sold yet!
 
Why is it a scam? It explains all the costs and risks completely before you even bid.

It's purely a game of luck. Just like any other type of gambling.

I've seen plenty of people win D90s for £6 when they've only spent a couple of hundred on bids. Still makes it cheap.
 
not for the 1000s of people that got nothing, a fool and his money are soon parted
 
wack61 said:
not for the 1000s of people that got nothing
Click to expand...

As has been said - it's a gamble more than an auction - you could say the same about bingo, poker or any other game....:shrug:

There's plenty of "how low" style auctions going on all the time - you text in and bid an amount, the lowest unique bid wins, but it costs you 50p or so to bid....
 
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Price for the above auction is now £91.43 which means swoopo have made over £1900 in 7 hours of bidding and they still haven't sold anything.
 
Run by the same people who run eBay...

Not that they'd tell you that.
 
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