New eBay? Too good to be true?

[ray_gillespie]

Wow, I've just found this new auction website: http://www.telebid.com

Has anyone ever been there? I've never seen anything like it. It looks like a normal auction website but they charge you to put a bid on and then increase the timer every time a bid is placed! It's quite funny really, search the website for an offer that looks too good to be true and is nearly over, then watch was happens. I just watched a Nintendo DS with 11 seconds left and at £1.97 - the time is now back up to 5 MINUTES and the DS is already £8 hehe.

Wow, that's one to watch out for.

 

[LordOfLA]

Nice find!

Signed up Seen a nice looking samsung landline phone on there

 

[kcnychief]

thread moved

I'm reading this over - is this real and how can it be? It seems too good to be true really....

 

[fitz]

no.. it's an interesting concept.. too bad it's UK mainland only.

 

[ray_gillespie]

I think it is too good to be true - but I wanted people to find out for themselves by watching one of the bids...

 

[American Zombie]

If people keep bidding then the auction for an item could possibly never end.

From Terms:

Each new bid starts off a new “remaining time” for the auction.

 

[LordOfLA]

you buy "bids" in packs. once you run out of bids you have to buy a new pack. Eventually a bid will end.

Probably best to get inexpensive items. They have £2000 TV's up for 100% off (just pay £50 shipping), how that can be sustained I don't know. However its run by a German business so it could be legit.

 

[Dark Atheist]

bankrupt stock

 

[ray_gillespie]

I think the deal is that they make a fortune off bidding (50p per phone bid!) which they can then use to subsidise the products on there. They entice people by showing auctions about to finish at a very low price - but the price and the time keep on increasing. I wonder if there is some sort of consumer protection law that covers this - I think they're in a very grey area with their style of bidding: that "auction ending" time is so misleading.

 

[kcnychief]

no.. it's an interesting concept.. too bad it's UK mainland only.

It breaks my heart

 

[Xie]

Interesting concept indeed. Kinda the reverse of Sonys "reverse auction":

At noon E.T., the auction opens, the items are listed, and prices drop each hour until the Auction closes at 10PM. Once the clock starts, act fast and grab a sure deal -- or -- wait it out for a lower price and take your chances. Quantities are limited, so you may not want to wait too long to place your bid!

 

[Lawman82]

Well guys, you may want to take a look at the auction my department use for forfeitured and abandoned property from our police agency, what's the site you say, it's propertyroom. com. this site has a little bit of everything you may want new, used, and unknown. Guys just be careful about item that can't be be mailed, you may have to make a road trip to Cal. or New York. Have fun. Let me know how you like it.

 

[CriticalPoint]

Every item has an expiry time/date so it goes for whatever the highest is... That is of course, if it reaches that maximum! I was looking to flog my 160Gb SATA-II HDD's on there, then I realised you can't sell, just buy! Mental concept tho!!