Lowestbideurope.co.uk = Scam!

[spec]

There are reports online, that winners on Lowestbideurope.co.uk; are having their winning bids rejected.

When the auctions drew to a close, the site administrators extended the Auction times by several hours, overruling the winning bids!

Since, bidders have to buy bids, they must be doing this solely to increase their profits.

It looks like a total scam!

[tolman]

'There are reports' could be close to 'there is a rumour'.

As far as I can see, even from a brief think, *if* they were going to set their mind to do anything dodgy, there are at least a couple of ways that would not leave any obvious traces, so doing something noticeable would seem a bit odd.
I'd want to know what actually happened, and what explanation there was for it before even thinking about forming an opinion about the allegations.

[spec]

I witnessed the auction first hand. That is why I know they are scamming people.

If you place the lowest bid on the site, bidders gain a "Green Unique Status" in their bid history; which means they are leading the auction.

A friend of mine was bidding on the site. He had placed a bid which had "Green Unique Status" as the auction ended. When he clicked on the "Closed Auction" page there was no trace of the auction.

When he clicked back on the "Auctions" page the auction time had been extended, by several hours. The site administrators had also changed the Auction Number, to cover their tracks.

[tolman]

I witnessed the auction first hand. That is why I know they are scamming people.

In that case, it might have been better saying that, rather than "There are reports online..."

If you place the lowest bid on the site, bidders gain a "Green Unique Status" in their bid history; which means they are leading the auction.

A friend of mine was bidding on the site. He had placed a bid which had "Green Unique Status" as the auction ended. When he clicked on the "Closed Auction" page there was no trace of the auction.

When he clicked back on the "Auctions" page the auction time had been extended, by several hours. The site administrators had also changed the Auction Number, to cover their tracks.

How would changing the number 'cover their tracks', since anyone with an interest in the original auction could notice that the auction had disappeared and reappeared with a different end time?

Was your friend's bid still linked to the new auction code?
If so, what difference did changing the Auction Number make?
If not, rather than it being the case of a deadline being extended, it would seem more that it was a case of an auction disappearing along with the paid-for bids, and the item being relisted.

If someone really wanted to rig a site like this one, couldn't they simply have generated fake bids, to wipe out people's unique status or fill in empty slots so that a new bidder would find them already occupied? That could push up the price the item went for, and/or result in it going to a bidder they'd generated and/or get some people to bid again?

[spec]

How would changing the number 'cover their tracks'

Because they were probably hoping that most bidders had logged off having placed their bids earlier. The auction did end after all during working hours. Plus, if there was a legal challenge by a winner to claim the item, they can say they have no record of such an auction number.

Was your friend's bid still linked to the new auction code?

No, the winning bid had mysteriously disappeared from the bid history; although we had observed it onscreen as the auction ended.

[skbuncks]

Have you raised the issue with Lowestbideurope?

skb

[spec]

Have you raised the issue with Lowestbideurope?

skb

My friend emailed them, but; got no answer or explanation regarding the result of the auction.

[FarSideOfTheMoon]

Way back at the start of the internet, I remember bidding on something on QXL (one time competitor to ebay) and winning it for a low bid from a seller. They just ignored the bid.

I wouldn't trust any auction site, never mind ones with a novelty aspect, as far as I could throw them. Too easy to run a scam with zero regulation.

[spec]

[QUOTE=FarSideOfTheMoon;74677]Way back at the start of the internet, I remember bidding on something on QXL (one time competitor to ebay) and winning it for a low bid from a seller. They just ignored the bid.

This pretty much confirms it then.

It's a disgrace, because they must be raking in thousands of pounds from unsuspecting people.

Digging deeper I have discovered that Lowestbideurope is owned by Netstar Solutions Ltd, which is registered as a dissolved company on the following site:

http://ukdata.com/numbers/05764268.html