I recently closed my DealFun account. I’m not sure I would use the word “scam” but it certainly seems deceptive and confusing. It makes one wonder if something more is going on. I joined with the misguided idea that I would be able to get a new 32” LED TV for a price far below retail. When I bought my “bidpack” for $99, I was promised that I would win something the first day… which I did. I “won” and have since received a $25 Target gift card. Bolstered by my “ability” to out bid others, I ventured into bidding, first for a few less expensive items and then for a TV. When my bids were running low I began bidding on "Bid Vouchers" to increase my number of bids. I won a few of those but never a TV, try as I may. When I did lose, I went to their “But It Now” option to see how much I could buy the item for, only to learn that my bids would not qualify me to make a purchase because they weren’t purchased bids but vouchers bids. I also soon learned that voucher bids have an expiration date after which they just go away. Disillusioned, I used up my remaining bids on a laptop shoulder bag. I didn’t win that either. I then closed the account. I too, like previous posts, began to wonder of the possibility of bidders who were somehow on the take or employees. Twice I was in a bidding war when suddenly; before the end of the count, the item had been “won” by another bidder… (Perhaps it was a newbie who was getting their “promised” first day win). Oh, and for the TV’s… they were few and far between. All in all, it was hard to swallow the notion that I could have bought a $25 Target card at the store for $25, but not me… I went to DealFun and bought one for $99.00. Now, the company will argue that it was a fair auction and I am simply a disgruntled loser. To that I say that it doesn’t appear to be a level playing field, and folks, this is not an auction; this is a lottery and the odds aren’t good. When I Googled and found this site, it was interesting that DealFun also has what appears to be their own website “blog” discussing bid auctions as a possible scam…http://www.pennyauctionsreview.org/
Wow! Shrewd marketing! It would be great if DealFun refunded the difference between my purchase and my Target card, but I don’t really expect them to respond.
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