I recently purchased some bids on a site called Swoopo AKA Entertainment Shopping Inc.
Buyers should be aware that entertainment shopping is exactly what it is. It is gambling, but with much less odds than the casino. It does not support the community with its practices. Someone is sitting in a European country getting rich off of your money while you ignorantly buy bids of which will seldom to never win you an auction.
This company needs to have a gaming license. It is not like ebay and lures you in by low prices and manipulative business practices.
This business needs to have a gaming license so that the extra income can be generated back out into the economy, but it does not. And believe me it is gambling!
Unless you want your wallet to go flat and you love to waste money on gambling don't fall victim to their advertising. Just stay far away.
I wish I was warned before I bought bids, because they offer no refund and no resolution.
Here is a copy of the email they sent after I complained about the misunderstanding of what their business practices are.
There is no phone number, no contact information about this company. It is some criminal getting rich while you get pi**ed.
Thanks for taking the time to get in touch.
We apologize that Swoopo hasn't met your expectations. We have been running as an
online auction site for more than three years and operate in 6 different countries.
Our auctions work in the following way:
You purchase bids at the cost of $0.60 each, in the form of one of our BidPacks.
These bids can be placed on an auction in order to make you the leading bidder.
When you place your bid, the 'end price' of the auction increases by an increment
of $0.12; the countdown timer, then resets to a predetermined time (anywhere up to
40 seconds; this increment is occasionally reduced during auctions). The auction
finishes when the timer reaches 0. After winning the auction, you will then pay
the total 'end price' plus delivery and shipping. So, the total cost for your
auction win is your bids ($0.60 each) + the 'end price' + delivery and shipping.
We make this small charge to cover our costs, which enables us to offer brand new,
high-quality products for low prices.
When you click on 'register' at the top of the main page to sign up, there are 4
bullet points and a statement which explain all about how our auctions work. These
points are placed there so that everyone can be fully informed about our site
before they sign up.
The information is supplemented by the following link:
http://www.swoopo.com/new.html, which is included within the text on the
registration page.
We can assure you that we are running our business openly and legitimately and
never attempt to mislead anyone that comes to our site. The operation of our
auctions is explained fully in our Terms and Conditions, viewable at the following
address:
http://www.swoopo.com/terms.html
I hope this clears things up, but if not, please don't hesitate to get back in
touch. You'll also find lots of helpful information at http://www.swoopo.com/help.html
Regards,
Lisa
Swoopo customer support