Josh Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 I think your maths is wrong: 93% discount would give an initial full price of 800 / (1-0.93) = £11,400 Josh, did you do maths at school? £800 a saving of 93%, means they are saying the £800 is only 7% of the retail price. £800 is 7% of £11,428.57.... About right for a Mini. These sites are con's indeed though. Whatever you bid, unless you win, you lose with nothing to show for it. I'm also led to believe they have a baseline price (number of bids) at which it cannot go before hit so the site itself bids with 1 sec left to keep the price rising. Once they have made their cost and profit, they then let the timer run free. Oh yeah, ooops! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlotte Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 that's aero m for you..!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abz Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Funny enough I saw the advert or this a couple of weeks back on TV, the asian dude with the Apple Macbook Pro actually works at the newsagent down the road from me! I nearly spat my tea out when I saw him! Think I ought to ask him if he really want it for £10 or how ever much they were saying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Funny enough I saw the advert or this a couple of weeks back on TV, the asian dude with the Apple Macbook Pro actually works at the newsagent down the road from me! I nearly spat my tea out when I saw him! Think I ought to ask him if he really want it for £10 or how ever much they were saying. Offer him £20 for it then let me know where to send the money Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt H Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Things like this should be banned to protect joe blogs. It's basically using clever means to con stupid people out of their money. The person that owns that site must need shares in Horlix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Havard Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 A giggle from Charlotte? Whatever next...?? I am glad someone appreciated it anyway. H. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevie_b Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Things like this should be banned to protect joe blogs. It's basically using clever means to con stupid people out of their money. I don't think they should be banned. There's nothing illegal going on, and it's all up-front. The advertising is aimed at pulling in people who don't look into things properly, but those people will come a cropper whatever they get themselves into unless they wise up. I think it taps into people's greed, so I have only a teeny bit of sympathy for those who fall for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt H Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 I don't think they should be banned. There's nothing illegal going on, and it's all up-front. The advertising is aimed at pulling in people who don't look into things properly, but those people will come a cropper whatever they get themselves into unless they wise up. I think it taps into people's greed, so I have only a teeny bit of sympathy for those who fall for it. Some people need protecting from themselves. There are oodles of prohibitions in place already to do that in various other aspects of life. I don't agree with allowing people to be exploited just because they might not be as clued up as the average bear. Putting the onus on the punter not to get screwed is very backwards. The screwing enterprise should be removed in the first instance. The problem is it's legal, but that doesn't mean it's right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Some people need protecting from themselves. There are oodles of prohibitions in place already to do that in various other aspects of life. I don't agree with allowing people to be exploited just because they might not be as clued up as the average bear. Putting the onus on the punter not to get screwed is very backwards. The screwing enterprise should be removed in the first instant. The problem is it's legal, but that doesn't mean it's right. Is that also your take on gambling? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlotte Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 A giggle from Charlotte? Whatever next...?? I am glad someone appreciated it anyway. H. It was more just a grin to be honest. Maybe a little titter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt H Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Is that also your take on gambling? This is gambling. You need to be more specific. But my statement relates to anything that promotes an underhand way at getting money off you. edit to add: This sort of things says to the punter you could buy xx for cheaper than cheap, but that's not the case. It's gambling but behind smoke screens, it's this kind of deception I strongly disagree with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marco Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Swoopo is another site like that. I wasted £25 on it grr I'd rather use fleebay, if you don't win your item, you don't pay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevie_b Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Some people need protecting from themselves. There are oodles of prohibitions in place already to do that in various other aspects of life. I don't agree with allowing people to be exploited just because they might not be as clued up as the average bear. Putting the onus on the punter not to get screwed is very backwards. The screwing enterprise should be removed in the first instance. The problem is it's legal, but that doesn't mean it's right. One of the problems is that it's a sliding scale of business morality. At one end you have, I don't know, some whiter-than-white company in a whiter-than-white industry. At the other end, you have Nigerian email scammers, boiler room share scams and pyramid selling schemes. Where do Ambulance Chaser firms fall in this? Where does the National Lottery fall? A worrying proportion of people have winning the lottery as a serious part of their financial planning. Do they realise how slim their odds are? Maybe there needs to be warnings about these types of sites, but that would be yet more small print that no-one reads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 As long as the way it works (stating that it's £1/bid (or whatever the cost is)) is there for all to read - whether they choose to or not - then I don't see a problem. The concept of how it operates isn't difficult to comprehend. With regards to this type of site, stupid people will be stupid and screw themselves over regardless - tough sh*t IMO. If you don't want to dig yourself into a hole, put down the spade. It's not hard! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Animal Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 At one end you have, I don't know, some whiter-than-white company in a whiter-than-white industry. Unilever? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt H Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 One of the problems is that it's a sliding scale of business morality That's exactly it, there's a scale. And the way I see it, things like this sit right at the top of the out of order scale. They offer no benefit to the national community. Other seperate things you've raised need assessing on their own merits, but the topic at hand is this particular site and it's counterparts; there's only so much thread space to put the world to rights in Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt H Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Stupid people will be stupid and screw themselves over regardless - tough sh*t IMO That's naive, because stupid people in their masses will indirectly affect your life. That's one of the reasons control measures are implemented, to stop people from making mistakes that will effect others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 I'm not meaning as a general outlook, I was meaning specifically to this topic. My wording was pretty poor. Edited now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt H Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 I'm not meaning as a general outlook, I was meaning specifically to this topic. My wording was pretty poor. Edited now. I understand where you're coming from, but it makes me annoyed to think that some generic, decent person out there that works hard for his / her living may get suckered into this sort of thing thinking it's something it's not because of the smokes and mirrors. They would only to lose out and be simply lining the pockets of some ruthless enterprise with no moral fibre. It doesn't sit well with me that this sort of thing is allowed to happen. The bottom line is, if everyone understood how ridiculous such sites as this are, they wouldn't use them and therefore the site wouldn't exist. So the very fact that they do exist and are running means people are getting suckered in. No doubt it will go down the pan eventually as people wise up, but it won't be without casulties. But at that point, the con artists will be on with their next trick. Edit to add: I guess it's another thing if people use the site and end up being really happy with it and continue using it like they would Amazon or something can't imagine it though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbleapple Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Unilever? I can't believe this comment didn't get the appreciaiton it deserved. I laughed Animal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 I see where you're coming from as well Matt, don't get me wrong! I just look at such things as this with the standpoint of "If it seems too good to be true, it generally is". With this example in particular, there is a way to do it without becoming a casualty. It just requires that understanding of how to work it correctly. Like anything I suppose. Yes it sucks that people that aren't generally thick will get stung at times, but common sense can so easily prevent that. These sketchy techniques are - unfortunately - how these companies can make such easy money. Which (as much as I hate to say it) is as smart as any decent, honest enterprise. Granted, it won't be sustained in the same way, but short term, they do pretty good for themselves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevie_b Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 The bottom line is, if everyone understood how ridiculous such sites as this are, they wouldn't use them and therefore the site wouldn't exist. So the very fact that they do exist and are running means people are getting suckered in. No doubt it will go down the pan eventually as people wise up, but it won't be without casulties. But at that point, the con artists will be on with their next trick. Edit to add: I guess it's another thing if people use the site and end up being really happy with it and continue using it like they would Amazon or something can't imagine it though! Fair point that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt H Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Fair point that. Thanks, Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aero-M Posted January 25, 2011 Author Share Posted January 25, 2011 That's Aero M for you..!! A giggle from Charlotte? Whatever next...?? I am glad someone appreciated it anyway. H. It was more just a grin to be honest. Maybe a little titter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Havard Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 It was more just a grin to be honest. Maybe a little titter. My goal of a ROFL still remains.... Ok the joke was.........you were the OP, some bloke with one post made a comment about the site Madbid in some detail. The next post stated "bizarre first post" meaning the post above and I referred it to your original post as as a joke. I suppose you had to be there as it was a clever ruse used around the phrase "first post" and unfortunately at your expense Mr M..!! H. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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