Swoopo: The Auction Scam

Ever since the rise of the massively popular online auction site Ebay came to be, there have been swarms of imitators attempting to achieve the same success.

And, of course, there is always a scam in the works that draws people in only to suck them dry under their noses.

Swoopo is one of the most cleverly designed scams that I have seen in quite a while.

On the outside Swoopo looks to be a bargain hunter's dream. Items constantly being sold up to %75 off the original price. Auctions are always available. You can see current bids in real time instead of refreshing your page on a minute by minute basis. Even the entire purchasing system is on a very secure page.

This is the beauty that hides the beast.

While you're bidding away at your heart's desire, trying ever so hard to get that amazing deal on the item you long to have Swoopo is working in the background charging you 60 cents every single time you place a bid. Not to mention every time you make a bid you add more time on the clock for that particular item. So, unlike Ebay, you can't come in at the last second, make the perfect bid, and be on your way with the item. You have to wait until no one bids on that item again. And don't forget you're getting put 60 cents in the hole each time you try to "swoop in" with a bid.

Also, bid increments are locked in at 15 cents. This isn't something you can change. That's why most items on Swoopo are sold so cheap. But if you really think about how many bids it takes to buy something like an Xbox 360 for $50 at 15 cents a bid you can see how Swoopo is able to do this:

$50 divided by $.15 = around $333.33.

So, in other words, that Xbox 360 is being sold for $333.33. An item that sells brand new in places like Walmart for $199. Swoopo makes almost $134 in profit. One person gets away with a cheap Xbox while others pay Swoopo an almost %75 over the actual cost of the system.

And there lies the beast under the beauty.

Don't waste your money playing the lottery on Swoopo, people. It's not a good investment. Ebay is a much sounder decision in the case of online auctions.

For those of you who have already fallen prey to this elaborate scheme, please make sure you know what you are getting yourself into before plunging head first into disaster next time!