Penny Auction REVIEWS – Which Penny Auctions are the BEST Bargains?

A ground breaking investigation questioning the credibility of the BBB was just brought to light on November 12th on ABC’s 20/20, click the following link to watch the segment: Better Business Bureau Probe.

The investigation and report clearly shows how the LA BBB allegedly gave a racist group an A+ rating, and a fake group labeled “Hamas” an A-. The Boston BBB even gave an F rating to the Ritz Carlton which happened to have only 2 complaints. The report alleges that the BBB takes illegal payments to raise ratings and is more concerned about making money than ensuring business credibility. After many complaints this investigation brought stunning evidence of how the BBB manipulates business’s credibility rating for financial gain. Just because the members are accredited does not always mean that they have been audited or pay taxes. It certainly calls for more public awareness when it comes to dealing with dishonest business’s and websites.

In this video, the Better Business Bureau reminds consumers of the importance of doing research when bidding on penny auctions. What’s interesting is that the video specifically mentions how some sites charge their bidders $150.00 without them knowing it—a clear reference to SwipeBids.com.

We’ve been warning you about the scams and practices used by fraudulent penny auctions to make a quick buck for quite some time now and it seems all the criticisms aimed at these auction sites have finally paid off.

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) released an article warning consumers about penny auctions, urging them to use caution when making transactions with auction sites.

Below is an excerpt of the article:

“BBB has received hundreds of complaints from consumers about penny auctions so far this year and we’re encouraging online bargain hunters to do their research,” said Alison Southwick, BBB spokesperson. “Unlike typical auctions, unsuccessfully bidding on an item through a penny auction will still cost you and BBB has heard from people who lost thousands of dollars bidding on items and have nothing to show for it.”

It’s unfortunate that the practices and schemes of a handful of sites can bring down what would have been a totally exciting and entertaining way to shop online. There’s no news of about penny auctions applying for membership with the BBB, but we wouldn’t be surprised if they were rejected or placed under additional scrutiny before being accepted.

This is another blow to penny auctions, and we can only hope that sites do the right thing so as not to put the industry in a bad light.