After reading what I thought was a legit "article"/report about BidRack, and signing up for an account on their web site by paying $75 for 150 bids (50 cents per bid), I realized I had actually clicked on an advertisement. I actually believed the bit in the “article” (i.E. Ad) that they were a BBB accredited business. Then while looking at and trying out the web site, what a disappointment to find I had fallen for such a scam. The only items of value on this site are iPads (but the 16GB low-end model with no 3G), and everything else is a cheap trinket like Spiderman watches, head massagers, and eye shadow.
For an iPad auction for example, there is one going on right now on the BidRack site with a current winning bid of over $51.99. It took $55.32 / $0.01 = 5,532 bids to get there. That means so far a total cost of 5532 * $0.50 = $2,766.00 that BidRack will collect (or much more!) for a $799 retail item that can be found easily for less $600. This is a scam and a rip off.
As Clark Howard says at (Link Removed), "I cannot believe the various state attorney generals are asleep at the switch on this one. Lotteries can only be run by states. Gambling can only operate when permissible under state law. So anytime money is collected from losers in a game of chance is patently illegal."
The BBB of Delaware has put out a report on BidRack: (Link Removed) – “BBB of Delaware has received 222 complaints on a company called ‘BidRack’… To date, BBB of Delaware has not received a response from the company on any of the complaints.” On the BBB web site at (Link Removed), the BBB rating is D - and they are certainly not accredited.
I have reported BidRack to the FTC, and I am doing everything in my power to help shut them down. I am actively searching for a class action law suit to join against them; I was told you have one in progress so please sign me up as part of it.
The time required to "win" anything is outrageous and certainly not worth the time and effort required if you are even successful in the end. Even if you “win”, perhaps by using their automated BidBuddy, I would spend far more in bids than I would ever recoup in the actual value of an item.
In the end, I gave BidRack $75 for absolutely nothing in return. I will be contacting my credit card company in order to get a refund of the charge. What they are doing is simply wrong. Let's shut them down!
-Kristi Starr
Allen, Texas
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