gbub

I've found good prices on items at uBid, but every time I bid I ALWAYS get outbid if it's a better than average deal. They also have that convenient time delay where if you try to bid at the last minute on something, the time is increased by 10 minutes. Is it just me or does uBid seem to artificially increase the cost until they get it where they want? Is this legal?

uubob

I would truly doubt that they do what you are accusing them of. You are saying that you lose on very good deals. How about others seeing the same deals and placing a higher value on whatever is up for bid. They are a publicly traded company on NASDAQ (NASDAQ:CMGI)...

If you give specific examples, maybe ( say, 1 in 1 million change ) then something is fishy.

I've bought a number of things from them in the past ( speakers and such ). I lost a number of time and won a number of times....

gbub

This is why it's fishy:

If you bid within the last 10 minutes the closing time gets pushed back by 10 minutes, thus there is no reason to try to sneek in a bid at the last second like on eBay.

There are 2 of the same items up for bid. The 2 highest bids are from LC @ $89 and RR @ $79. I bid $89 on one 10 minutes before the end of the auction.

4-5 minutes later I am outbid not by RR, but by someone completely different. No more bids are entered after that because the auction ends 10 minutes later.

This happens EVERY time I've tried to do this. I could understand being outbid at the last minute, but it would seem more plausible if the guy I originally outbid then outbid me.

Why does someone always wait until within the final 10 minutes to bid? I wouldn't bid during the last 10 minutes so as not to push the closing time back any further.

Why doesn't anyone ever outbid the person who outbid me? It seems too coincidental that within the last 10 minutes someone outbids me and then 10 minutes later the auction ends with no more bids.

Provided I have just recently begun to use uBid again, but when I first tried them a couple years ago, I remember almost the same exact thing. Maybe I watch too much X-Files.

edited for grammar

[Edited by gbub on 05-22-01 at 10:25 AM]

Ben732

Most people who buy at auctions on a regular basis, know ahead of time how much they want to spend, and will often wait till the end of the auction to bid. If you bid at the last minute and it pushed the auction to be open for another 10 minutes, that means anyone can bid in that 10 minutes.

I've bought several items from them in the past. It's a shot in the dark, if you loose, try again... Not much you can do.

wingfan

As a "veteran" of this process, here is my opinion on U-Bid:
1) The speakers are especially made by the companies for
U-Bid after the retail pass through; with inferior
materials. I have seen this with speakers with
both Wharedale and Klipsch.
2) In my opinion, they have "hired guns" across all of the
time zones, to make they keep the bids up to the levels
they need. For example, a Denon 3300 refurbished receiver, is at $220 with 5 minutes to go; then several
bids quickly bring it up to the low $400's. At 6:00 AM on Sundays and Holidays!!! They always end up in the
low $400s.
3) Last year, shipping was $1.99 plus $.89 per pound. Now
it is in the $4 to $7 plus $.99 per pound area. Just like the CD and DVD clubs, this is hteir main revenue
stream.
Draw your own conclusions.

dirtrat

"As a "veteran" of this process, here is my opinion on U-Bid:
1) The speakers are especially made by the companies for
U-Bid after the retail pass through; with inferior
materials. I have seen this with speakers with
both Wharedale and Klipsch."


I don't believe this for a second. I've bought Klipsch speakers from them in the past and they are PERFECT! I doubt Klipsch would risk its reputation on selling inferior speakers just to sell speakers to UBID. As a "Veteran" I'd have to ask you for your PROOF of this, not your opinion!