When things are highly popular online, and there is a good chance you’ll make money from them, there will be times when certain people come along and try to scam or con the system (and people) out of their money. Con artists have become quite stealthy at this game, and will set up websites having you bid on items you will never receive. Some auctions are rigged by people attempting to drive up the price.

Scam sites only want to steal your money, so it’s best to know what you are getting yourself involved in before you actually sign up and start throwing your money around. If you really like the idea of Penny Auctions and want to play it safe, it is wise to look around and find out the best websites available for this. We cover this more in depth in our article ‘What To Look For When Choosing A Penny Auction.’

With scamming websites, you will bid, but will not receive your items. They steal your money, and regardless how many times you email them, you will never get an answer. The only good that comes from this is that the sites usually never last very long because of the quick ‘word of mouth’ and people alerting others ahead of time. Unfortunately, those protecting others have learned the hard way first.

When you encounter shill bidding, you are usually bidding against the owner of the site who is actually driving up the price of the item as you bid on it. It is a given that some auctions won’t be as popular due to the specific item; therefore, the owner risks losing money. So, in order to help themselves to a nice profit, they drive up the price of what would normally be a deal to the bidders.

It never feels good to be cheated, and if you are a victim of a scam, you should quickly alert others from taking part in the site, and also contact the hosting service that is providing the website. Chances are they will close the site given its purpose and intent.

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Filed under: Penny Auctions • Penny Bid Auctions