Comments on: Got a Question for Swoopo? http://technologizer.com/2008/10/06/got-a-question-for-swoopo/ Reviews, News, and Opinion About Personal Technology by Harry McCracken & Friends Sun, 21 Mar 2010 12:40:50 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 By: Bess http://technologizer.com/2008/10/06/got-a-question-for-swoopo/comment-page-6/#comment-31480 Bess Wed, 09 Dec 2009 01:30:36 +0000 http://technologizer.wordpress.com/?p=2692#comment-31480 THIS ARE THE REAL PROBLEMS WITH SWOOPO :( Swoopo is a scam site because they use scam techniques to modify auctions and increase their profit There is some problems with swoopo that frankly i think make anyone loose faith in the fairness of the site. Some of the problems are time-outs, unfair currency conversions, and different action description for the same item in different country sites. I will take an auction and illustrate how this problems make the site a very unfair environment: Ex: "Auction ID: 256264" (check it out for urself, by going on both sites, just click the different country flags) i am from Canada and the item description for the item in the Canadain website is: This iMac features a 2.66GHz Intel Quad Core Processor,1TB Hard Drive, 4 GB RAM, 27" display and Mac OS X 10.6 in the US website the item description is very different: This iMac features a 3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo,1TB Hard Drive, 4 GB RAM, and a 27-inch display -this are 2 different Apple computers and in an auction that is something horrible to do, because it attracts more bidders for no reason. There are people that are looking for the 3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo iMac that will be attracted and people that are looking for the iMac features a 2.66GHz Intel Quad Core Processor, and they will all bid. but the problem comes with the fact that all the bids are added on top of each other to each other. This is wrong because the different countries are biding in 2 different items, so we should have 2 different auctions because we have 2 different products. -the above example can be simplified if you consider bidding for a car, the US will bid on the Toyota for example and Canada will bid on Honda. Now the bids from both cars will be added together and so will the times. So if so far 100 US customers bid in this penny auction the price for the Toyota would be $1 dollar, and if 50 Canadian customers bid on the other auction, the price of the Honda would be 50cent = $0.50. this would be fair but swoopo adds the price and makes the price for both cars 1.5 dollar at this point, and the worst part, is that the time has been increased over and over because they have combined this auctions. in the end tho they will only sell one car and either the toyota if a US customer wins or the honda if the canadian customer wins, making double the profit just like that. WOULD YOU BID ON THIS?? Than they will auction the other car the same way. THAT IS WRONG!!! CURRENCY CONVERSION -Now lets say that we are bidding on a "Nikon D90 with 18-105mm Kit + 150 FreeBids". the price on the US website for this item is USD $1,339.00 while for the same item (excluding that the problem mentioned above exists, since the running 2 different items in the same auction happens more with laptops and desktops), a "Nikon D90 with 18-105mm Kit + 150 FreeBids" with the same item descriprtion, the price for it on the Canadian website is CAD $1,652.49. Now some might say that makes since since the US dollar is higher that the Canadian dollar, but today the rate is 1USD = 0.95 CAD while when calculating Swoopo's rate you get 1 USD = 1.23 CAD, now how is that fair. This problem is even worst when considering the iMac auction above where the US price is USD $1,699.00, and the Candadian price is CAD $2,284.99 buming the rate to 1 USD =1.34 CAD which is very high, that is 40 cent extra per dollar IT'S CRAZYYYYYY !!!!! TIME OUTS - this is an obvious problem, basically the times just gets stuck on you leaving you confused and sometimes having to refresh in the final seconds and it could cost you the auction, which can be devastating if you are bidding on an item for a while and have used 100ds of bids. this is caused by the website glitches and network lag some times. now the worst if combining all of the 3 factors mentioned above into the same auction which happens on almost every penny or high price auction. Now i know it was long and i apologize, but i hope you learned something more because what i have mentioned are all facts and you can verify them. Sites like this are very addictive and there are people who i feel bad about because they will still play even knowing this crazy odds. Well my advice is stay away, but im not your mother so GOOD LUCK!!!! THIS ARE THE REAL PROBLEMS WITH SWOOPO :(

Swoopo is a scam site because they use scam techniques to modify auctions and increase their profit There is some problems with swoopo that frankly i think make anyone loose faith in the fairness of the site.

Some of the problems are time-outs, unfair currency conversions, and different action description for the same item in different country sites.
I will take an auction and illustrate how this problems make the site a very unfair environment:

Ex: “Auction ID: 256264″ (check it out for urself, by going on both sites, just click the different country flags)

i am from Canada and the item description for the item in the Canadain website is: This iMac features a 2.66GHz Intel Quad Core Processor,1TB Hard Drive, 4 GB RAM, 27″ display and Mac OS X 10.6

in the US website the item description is very different: This iMac features a 3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo,1TB Hard Drive, 4 GB RAM, and a 27-inch display

-this are 2 different Apple computers and in an auction that is something horrible to do, because it attracts more bidders for no reason. There are people that are looking for the 3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo iMac that will be attracted and people that are looking for the iMac features a 2.66GHz Intel Quad Core Processor, and they will all bid. but the problem comes with the fact that all the bids are added on top of each other to each other. This is wrong because the different countries are biding in 2 different items, so we should have 2 different auctions because we have 2 different products.

-the above example can be simplified if you consider bidding for a car, the US will bid on the Toyota for example and Canada will bid on Honda. Now the bids from both cars will be added together and so will the times. So if so far 100 US customers bid in this penny auction the price for the Toyota would be $1 dollar, and if 50 Canadian customers bid on the other auction, the price of the Honda would be 50cent = $0.50. this would be fair but swoopo adds the price and makes the price for both cars 1.5 dollar at this point, and the worst part, is that the time has been increased over and over because they have combined this auctions. in the end tho they will only sell one car and either the toyota if a US customer wins or the honda if the canadian customer wins, making double the profit just like that. WOULD YOU BID ON THIS?? Than they will auction the other car the same way.

THAT IS WRONG!!!

CURRENCY CONVERSION
-Now lets say that we are bidding on a “Nikon D90 with 18-105mm Kit + 150 FreeBids”. the price on the US website for this item is USD $1,339.00
while for the same item (excluding that the problem mentioned above exists, since the running 2 different items in the same auction happens more with laptops and desktops), a “Nikon D90 with 18-105mm Kit + 150 FreeBids” with the same item descriprtion, the price for it on the Canadian website is CAD $1,652.49. Now some might say that makes since since the US dollar is higher that the Canadian dollar, but today the rate is 1USD = 0.95 CAD while when calculating Swoopo’s rate you get 1 USD = 1.23 CAD, now how is that fair.
This problem is even worst when considering the iMac auction above where the US price is USD $1,699.00, and the Candadian price is CAD $2,284.99 buming the rate to 1 USD =1.34 CAD which is very high, that is 40 cent extra per dollar IT’S CRAZYYYYYY !!!!!

TIME OUTS
- this is an obvious problem, basically the times just gets stuck on you leaving you confused and sometimes having to refresh in the final seconds and it could cost you the auction, which can be devastating if you are bidding on an item for a while and have used 100ds of bids. this is caused by the website glitches and network lag some times. now the worst if combining all of the 3 factors mentioned above into the same auction which happens on almost every penny or high price auction.

Now i know it was long and i apologize, but i hope you learned something more because what i have mentioned are all facts and you can verify them. Sites like this are very addictive and there are people who i feel bad about because they will still play even knowing this crazy odds. Well my advice is stay away, but im not your mother so GOOD LUCK!!!!

]]> By: jrw http://technologizer.com/2008/10/06/got-a-question-for-swoopo/comment-page-5/#comment-25448 jrw Fri, 11 Sep 2009 00:51:15 +0000 http://technologizer.wordpress.com/?p=2692#comment-25448 I want to see a current manifest of obliging winners names and addresses who can proove they won with photos of merchandise and shipping/lading papers, before swoopo gets a penny out of me! I want to see a current manifest of obliging winners names and addresses who can proove they won with photos of merchandise and shipping/lading papers, before swoopo gets a penny out of me!

]]> By: Brian http://technologizer.com/2008/10/06/got-a-question-for-swoopo/comment-page-5/#comment-21916 Brian Wed, 29 Jul 2009 00:01:14 +0000 http://technologizer.wordpress.com/?p=2692#comment-21916 Swoopo isn't the only option, and there are definitely ways to beat the system. Check out other sites like bidfire.com. Swoopo is swamped with users so stuff is expensive/hard to get. A site like bidfire has the same few users winning so your chances are MUCH better. Swoopo isn’t the only option, and there are definitely ways to beat the system. Check out other sites like bidfire.com. Swoopo is swamped with users so stuff is expensive/hard to get. A site like bidfire has the same few users winning so your chances are MUCH better.

]]> By: Rambunction http://technologizer.com/2008/10/06/got-a-question-for-swoopo/comment-page-5/#comment-20433 Rambunction Tue, 07 Jul 2009 16:47:04 +0000 http://technologizer.wordpress.com/?p=2692#comment-20433 If you want to win at Swoopo, you should check out Swoopo Spider (http://swoopo.rambunction.com). Swoopo Spider collects and analyzes the data you need to win. If you want to win at Swoopo, you should check out Swoopo Spider (http://swoopo.rambunction.com). Swoopo Spider collects and analyzes the data you need to win.

]]> By: Barry Murphy http://technologizer.com/2008/10/06/got-a-question-for-swoopo/comment-page-5/#comment-18675 Barry Murphy Tue, 16 Jun 2009 23:19:03 +0000 http://technologizer.wordpress.com/?p=2692#comment-18675 I watched for 10 hours the same auction going, the unique bids only went up by 1, this means they made $28,800 on a TV that is worth $1500, this is on the .co.nz version of the site. Checking site stats at many locations it appears they ate only getting 5000 page views a day, thats no where near the 28,800 bids which would cause page views. I watched for 10 hours the same auction going, the unique bids only went up by 1, this means they made $28,800 on a TV that is worth $1500, this is on the .co.nz version of the site. Checking site stats at many locations it appears they ate only getting 5000 page views a day, thats no where near the 28,800 bids which would cause page views.

]]> By: Frankie http://technologizer.com/2008/10/06/got-a-question-for-swoopo/comment-page-5/#comment-17235 Frankie Wed, 03 Jun 2009 15:38:21 +0000 http://technologizer.wordpress.com/?p=2692#comment-17235 I was looking for a good bid site to sign up for and try out...saw Swoopo and GrabABid...thanks to this review, my skepticism has been confirmed. I was looking for a good bid site to sign up for and try out…saw Swoopo and GrabABid…thanks to this review, my skepticism has been confirmed.

]]> By: Diana http://technologizer.com/2008/10/06/got-a-question-for-swoopo/comment-page-5/#comment-17036 Diana Sun, 31 May 2009 05:44:49 +0000 http://technologizer.wordpress.com/?p=2692#comment-17036 Thank heavens I decided to look for reviews on Swoopo. I recently registered and was about to bid a smallest bid pack. There was something that really stood out to me, though, and I emailed them for an answer. I'll see what they say. My question was this: If the bid amount is in increments of $.15, and my bids costs me $.75 each, and one bid is used for each increased increment, then doesn't that mean I am losing $.60 per bid? If so, there's no way to win as far as I can tell. I figured out that based on the price they claim was actually paid for the same item in an earlier auction of $108.00, the actual costs to the winner of the auction would have been $540.00. That's $108.00/$.15=720 bids x $.75=$540.00. Does that make sense? I'm not that great at math, but this is what it looks like to me. Thank heavens I decided to look for reviews on Swoopo. I recently registered and was about to bid a smallest bid pack. There was something that really stood out to me, though, and I emailed them for an answer. I’ll see what they say. My question was this: If the bid amount is in increments of $.15, and my bids costs me $.75 each, and one bid is used for each increased increment, then doesn’t that mean I am losing $.60 per bid? If so, there’s no way to win as far as I can tell. I figured out that based on the price they claim was actually paid for the same item in an earlier auction of $108.00, the actual costs to the winner of the auction would have been $540.00. That’s $108.00/$.15=720 bids x $.75=$540.00. Does that make sense? I’m not that great at math, but this is what it looks like to me.

]]> By: Victim_of_GRABABID http://technologizer.com/2008/10/06/got-a-question-for-swoopo/comment-page-5/#comment-16456 Victim_of_GRABABID Fri, 22 May 2009 18:57:48 +0000 http://technologizer.wordpress.com/?p=2692#comment-16456 Hi Dman2000: Glad (or I should say sad...) you had a similar experience. Actually I also did an assessment like you did, though I observed at 1 second instead of 5 seconds. I did not mention that because I thought it's a technical clue for their crimes. They should be aware that they are not the only programmers in the world. And they are not smarter. By the way, as a control experiment, Swoopo did not have this kind of problem, as far as I can assess.... Good luck! Hi Dman2000:
Glad (or I should say sad…) you had a similar experience. Actually I also did an assessment like you did, though I observed at 1 second instead of 5 seconds. I did not mention that because I thought it’s a technical clue for their crimes. They should be aware that they are not the only programmers in the world. And they are not smarter. By the way, as a control experiment, Swoopo did not have this kind of problem, as far as I can assess…. Good luck!

]]> By: clare http://technologizer.com/2008/10/06/got-a-question-for-swoopo/comment-page-5/#comment-16295 clare Wed, 20 May 2009 15:39:01 +0000 http://technologizer.wordpress.com/?p=2692#comment-16295 Hi all, I am a member of swoopo and kind of agree that it is a lottery site. Though i did manage to win a PS3 game for £2 and received it within 2 weeks, I also use ten-pence.co.uk where I won a wii for 40p!!! not had anymore luck with them though and refuse to buy anymore bids, i always tend to use my mobile on that site as its only £1 per bid so your in control of how much u are spending. Ten-pence is the best site I have found as I received my wii within 2 weeks also...... Hi all, I am a member of swoopo and kind of agree that it is a lottery site. Though i did manage to win a PS3 game for £2 and received it within 2 weeks, I also use ten-pence.co.uk where I won a wii for 40p!!! not had anymore luck with them though and refuse to buy anymore bids, i always tend to use my mobile on that site as its only £1 per bid so your in control of how much u are spending. Ten-pence is the best site I have found as I received my wii within 2 weeks also……

]]> By: Victim_of_GRABABID http://technologizer.com/2008/10/06/got-a-question-for-swoopo/comment-page-5/#comment-15660 Victim_of_GRABABID Mon, 11 May 2009 23:07:27 +0000 http://technologizer.wordpress.com/?p=2692#comment-15660 I highly suspect many of the bidders are robot programs at GRABABID. Before my bidding, the same kind of auctions have never passed 2 days in a whole week. However, one auction I attended lasted 7 days, and the other lasted 3 days! Also on few occasions my name did not show up as the last bidder in the central panel, though I was indeed the last one on the right panel. After my bids were gone, all the auctions I attended ended uniformly around 1 hour later! No matter what auctions they are, the other 'bidders' would compete as keen as possible. Why did people compete for $75 as hard as $1000? The only explanation is they are not human beings! They are robots!! By the way, the website surely has not responded to my complaints! We should do something to stop this shameless site! I highly suspect many of the bidders are robot programs at GRABABID. Before my bidding, the same kind of auctions have never passed 2 days in a whole week. However, one auction I attended lasted 7 days, and the other lasted 3 days! Also on few occasions my name did not show up as the last bidder in the central panel, though I was indeed the last one on the right panel. After my bids were gone, all the auctions I attended ended uniformly around 1 hour later! No matter what auctions they are, the other ‘bidders’ would compete as keen as possible. Why did people compete for $75 as hard as $1000? The only explanation is they are not human beings! They are robots!! By the way, the website surely has not responded to my complaints! We should do something to stop this shameless site!

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