Week Adjourned: 12.4.10

The Gavel May be Coming Down in More Ways than One at QuiBids...Top Class Actions

The House Always Wins? So, some bad news for folks that thought they might be onto a good deal through an online auction site called QuiBids. QuiBids, LLC, got slapped with a class action this week, alleging deceptive and unfair trade practices and fraud in its operation of QuiBids.com.

For those not in the know, QuiBids.com is an interactive online website which allegedly allows its users to buy consumer products at greatly reduced prices by participating in online auctions. QuiBids.com claims that users of their website will pay 80-95% less than retail prices for thousands of consumer products, including high-end items such as HDTVs, laptops, and even automobiles, by bidding on their merchandise via online auctions. That sounds just a little too good to be true… 

The suit claims that virtually none of the consumers who participate in these “auctions” will win the right to purchase such high-end item products at those greatly reduced prices. And it also claims that the failure to win auctions is costly to QuiBids customers. Each auction draws hundreds or thousands of bids purchased at $.60 per bid. The losing bidders do not get back the cost of the losing bids. So—you guessed it—the overwhelming majority of customers will lose money using the QuiBids website, according to the suit.

The suit alleges that QuiBids.com does not tell its customers that they have virtually no chance to come out ahead financially. Thus, while QuiBids.com passes itself off as a legitimate auction house, its business operation is more akin to a casino or a lottery. Ummm.

By way of an example, in one auction, it is alleged in the suit, QuiBids’ profits exceeded $12,000 from the bidding on a $1,500 HDTV. “The ultimate winner paid $228.59, but 22,859 Continue reading “Week Adjourned: 12.4.10”