Bidz.com Bid rigging, add on fees, high shipping that is not insured Culver City California
International sellers will not use them due to the high duties and shipping so they could not be bidding them up since they are frugal in their purchases. however since they added the submission of the autobid, it will tell you the bid was not high enough but if no one else bid they may provide a second chance offer. They may have more than one of the item but probably not. Their prices used to be less than Ebay prices and now they are higher by 1000s of dollars. Like the live sellers that were busted in New York by attorney general for bid rigging (via ex employee) for Ebay Live Auction bid rigging, it could be years before they get caught and it is an FCC crime that could get them kicked off the internet.
There is some evidence that all their items cannot be selling for the huge end prices that they are showing.
-they used to have one day auctions, now the high high end items show have huge bids in the thousands yet they keep the item there for 10 days. this indicates that they want more to see it and are not getting that top dollar otherwise they would take their money and run after one day.
-they raised the shipping for uninsured items to ridiculous levels. they used to permit priority mail for all items however now they limit this to item totals under 1,000 and have 40 and 50 minimum to Los Angeles Fed EX for over 1000 however Fed Ex does not insure jewelry over $500.
-they added a per item transaction fee out of nowhere.
-they also have mini appraisals that are not by any GIA or recognized appraisal society but some other quasi organization American International Gemologist which has a Pre-sale estimate report appraisal or something of that nature. I believe this is a method of recouping dollars.
I think that they have begun to set a floor like Roger but he has proof and I don't. All I know is that this organization is now publicly traded so it should be scrutinized by the SEC in addition to the CA State Attorney General for bid rigging practices.
I also agree with another post about their retails for items. These are double the actual retail with the exception of designer items by renown designers.
Bid rigging is also a problem on Ebay but Ebay is a venue and does have software that detects patterns in bidding and have become more aggressive. Bidz.com is controlling their own auctions which of course many losing money would get someone to bid in the competitive online jewelry business from another country or computer. Shareholders anyone could be doing it. The former owners are original USA, Iran (Persian), India and China. A few had been losing money as sellers on Ebay and opened bidz. It is not a bad concept but they should not make money on shipping uninsured items (they do require signatures). These factors tell me that they are trying to recoup the lost funds by add ons and shipping. It is suspicious in any event.
In their defense generally speaking the jewelry is new and in good condition. Sometimes it is not as nice as it looked and hollow gold. They package well so a signature is probably sufficient but they should not charge that much for shipping. On the contrary, heavy buyers are usually given discounts on shipping.
I think that they should be monitored however it could all be a coincidence and they good be selling more than Ebay is for higher prices. they are trading at $8 a share vs Ebay's over $37 share.
Mm
Encino, California
U.S.A.
3 Updates & Rebuttals
Marie
Portsmouth,Rhode Island,
U.S.A.
I agree BID RIGGING is obvious
#4Consumer Comment
Thu, November 01, 2007
Hello,
I have read everywhere about poor customer support at Bidz.com, but I got to thinking today of another theory on why, many years ago customer service in most sales area's used to be very good everywhere with the "have a nice day" attitude and mean it, to "it's your tough luck" attitude --maybe this company has other issues like low wages, no benefits, immigrant workers settling for more hours & less pay, bad conditions, lack of training, the work force reflects the standards of company--if the company has poor standards/conditions/pay --then so will the workers.
...and Lynne if your handling a lot of complaints, that are being hard to deal with at times..I would expect at least 100 bucks an hour for YOUR job..what they pay you?-- hope it is close to that figure or--YOU TOO are being ripped off.
....Ps..and I am not a customer with a bad experience at Bidz .
Lynne
Culver City,California,
U.S.A.
Thank you
#4UPDATE Employee
Tue, September 18, 2007
I have not been able to respond to this issue due to the fact that we are handling a lot of complaints and trying to reach understandings that suit the customer and respect our policies, I apologize as I handle complaints not just here at Rip OFF, but with other sites also.
In regards to our response, please remember there are two sides to every story and most customers are not honest on sites and would like to bash our company for simple reasons.
I am sorry for anyone that I have offended, but IF YOU COULD SEE THE THINGS THAT CUSTOMER WILL SAY OR WRITE, ARE HORRIFICLY OFFENSIVE....
So yes I am a human being and it is hard to deal with at times.
If you have questions in regards to BIDZ.com, please contact BIDZ.com and not users who have had a bad experience with BIDZ.com and are taking it out on the world.
BIDZ.com can be reached at 800-444-8124 to answer any inquiries.
Mm
Danville,California,
U.S.A.
response
#4Author of original report
Thu, September 13, 2007
In response to Bidz selling rusty gold.Gold does not rust but depending upon the alloy used it may need to be polished. If you keep it with sterling silver, sometimes the tarnish will spread to the gold alloys. Remember 14 kt is 58.5% gold the remaining alloys make up the other 100%, 18 kt is 75%. It does not usually happen but I would recommend keeping it separate from the silver. Also, I would check the weight they do post the weight of the gold or silver so you can tell the quality if it is light. A ring or pendant weighing 1.2 grams is tiny and light. Don't expect it to be as large as the photo. Check the dimensions since they enlarge the pictures like they say. You have 15 days to return the item if it is not as described so check items carefully.
Why didn't Bidz.com respond like I just did? That is the how Bidz.com should respond. Not yelling and accusatory tone to customers. I am really apalled at how they have handled complaints on this website. Some may seem frivolous but they are terrible at customer service you are correct about that. There service and disdain for customers is apparent whenever they are contacted either by phone or in writing. If they look at customers as the enemy, it is any wonder we suspect the worst possible motives for any suspicious activity? Whoever Mayra is, she says anytime there is a complaint it is due to the customers, like they are perfect and never make an error. Or they expect the customer to understand their high volume business. People make mistakes and when they do, they should try to expedite and accomodate the return.
They seem to be following the patterns of many online auction houses particularly those with live auctions like bidz. They lose some money so they fell they can justifiy bid rigging. New york and New Jersey are supposedly the prime culprits here but maybe California is lax and attracting more online bid riggers. We can't prove anything ourselves aand there are indications that none of us are alone is suspecting bid rigging. I would urge you to contact your state attorney general's office or the FCC. that governmental body that will kick off anyone for bid rigging. If they lose their FCC license it is bye bye bidz.com. It is the most serious crime that an auction house can commit over the internet since they view the integrity of the auction as the most important component of honesty.
http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumers.html
Ebay monitors bid rigging more than anything else. Why? They could lose their FCC license. If this is not the case, then they would have nothing to fear at bidz. It would be nice to know for sure one way or the other!
Descriptions you can always get your money back. If you send the item back, paypal will protect you if you get a signature due to FCC regulations regarding internet payments. They must refund your money that is why many do not like Paypal. Bidz accept paypal but not with a credit card so you lose some double protection that is provided by Ebay. I hope that helps. Make sure that you return items that are not as described.