guns 4 pennies

[woolleyworm]

Originally Posted by Bobitis

I dunno about guns fer pennies, but I did check out the On Target site.

Seems really convoluted to me.

Near as I can tell, ya can get a penny fer a buck. So every time ya bid, yer betting a buck. Are people really that stoopid?

Then they got this automated bidding system. Supposedly, ya can bet while yer away. So, if 100 bidders all have this 'option', and they all wait till the last few seconds to bid; the 'option' can rack up thousands of bids in a matter of seconds?
And the site reserves the right to pick the winner?

Then of course, no other 'optional' bidding software is allowed?

Stinks like scam to me.

Caveat emptor.

Also, get this - YOU CAN BID YOURSELF UP !! WTH IS THAT???? SCAM, that's what that is!! I used my free bids just to see and sure as stink, you can UP bid yourself !!! They also didn't mention anything in the "rules" about the 30 sec re-occuring timer once a bid is placed. They may have since added that in, but it was not in the disclosures previously. The timer is bs along with the entire penny auction network of scammers.

Is it a scan sure it is. Who the hell buys a penny for a buck?

But, it is on the consumer to figure that out for themselves. I see no need to ban them or go crazy on them for what they are doing.

[ampaterry]

You don't buy a penny for a buck, guys.

The dollar per bid only covers your RIGHT TO BID, it does not include the penny you are bidding; you have to pay that separately.

[Bobitis]

This just in...

Ya can bid to get bids.

I can pay to get ta pay? Really?

[RunningOnMT]

I see no advantage to this for the bidder, and I seriously doubt the bargains they claim people are getting. It doesn't matter where an auction starts out but where it ends up. Other bidders simply wont allow you to steal an item. Plus the losers have paid a premium just to participate.

There is a new one OnTarget Auctions. I just noticed them pop up on here as well.

Same exact thing as guns 4 pennies.

[woolleyworm]

Originally Posted by cpttango30

There is a new one OnTarget Auctions. I just noticed them pop up on here as well.

Same exact thing as guns 4 pennies.

That's who we've been talking about for the past 4-5 days; guess I should have pm'd you to clue ya in on that earlier. There was a OTA thread, but since they're sponsors, it's a bit more discrete to discuss it here.

Originally Posted by RunningOnMT

I see no advantage to this for the bidder, and I seriously doubt the bargains they claim people are getting. It doesn't matter where an auction starts out but where it ends up. Other bidders simply wont allow you to steal an item. Plus the losers have paid a premium just to participate.

I don't doubt the deal, so long as the high bidder didn't spend a ton of bids. Profits on items from these sites often are many times over retail, even with the high bidder only paying a few bucks. Yes, the losing bidders are the ones that are big time losers that create all that profit.

[Bobitis]

Originally Posted by woolleyworm

Also, get this - YOU CAN BID YOURSELF UP !! WTH IS THAT???? SCAM, that's what that is!! I used my free bids just to see and sure as stink, you can UP bid yourself !!! They also didn't mention anything in the "rules" about the 30 sec re-occuring timer once a bid is placed. They may have since added that in, but it was not in the disclosures previously. The timer is bs along with the entire penny auction network of scammers.

Yeah, that clock 'reset' is a real gem ain't it?

Every time someone bids, the clock gets set back. Add the autobid, and yer broke in a heartbeat.

[woolleyworm]

Can anyone tell me how this is truth in advertising? Cause I have a million ways it ain't !

"Winner!
contactjoon
Saved 94%"

well, the auction didn't meet reserve, there was no winner and he didn't "save" anything since there was no money transacted. So to me, it's just another false smokescreen to think that someone actually did win a 1911 at that price. If it were advertised as High Bidder xxxxxxx last bid at 94% off, then that's more realistic.

[Bobitis]

The current auction has ended. See results here:

http://ontargetauctions.com/complete...ry.php?id=1087

Looks like the auto-bidder works quite well.

50 bids went for 156 bucks. The top two spent $85 for a 50 dollar item.

And then the claim for the winner:

Savings
+ Retail Value:
$50.00
- Current Bid:
$1.56
- Bid Credits Used x $0.65
$0.00
- Taxes & Shipping Fees:
$4.50

Savings Total:
88% or $43.94

So the winner really spent 65 bucks, plus S&H for a 50 dollar item.
How on earth does 65 bucks for a 50 dollar item create a net savings of $43.94?

Dayum! People be stoopid!

[woolleyworm]

Originally Posted by Bobitis

The current auction has ended. See results here:

http://ontargetauctions.com/complete...ry.php?id=1087

Looks like the auto-bidder works quite well.

50 bids went for 156 bucks. The top two spent $85 for a 50 dollar item.

And then the claim for the winner:

Savings
+ Retail Value:
$50.00
- Current Bid:
$1.56
- Bid Credits Used x $0.65
$0.00
- Taxes & Shipping Fees:
$4.50

Savings Total:
88% or $43.94

So the winner really spent 65 bucks, plus S&H for a 50 dollar item.
How on earth does 65 bucks for a 50 dollar item create a net savings of $43.94?

Dayum! People be stoopid!

Depending on free bids, it depends on how many bids they actually purchased and placed. You can win one of these auctions with just one bid, but it's very very rare. It usually comes down to outlasting the opposing bidders.

BTW - doing a little digging on the auction now. will bb in a few.

.

[woolleyworm]

Originally Posted by Bobitis

The current auction has ended. See results here:

http://ontargetauctions.com/complete...ry.php?id=1087

Looks like the auto-bidder works quite well.

50 bids went for 156 bucks. The top two spent $85 for a 50 dollar item.

And then the claim for the winner:

Savings
+ Retail Value:
$50.00
- Current Bid:
$1.56
- Bid Credits Used x $0.65
$0.00
- Taxes & Shipping Fees:
$4.50

Savings Total:
88% or $43.94

So the winner really spent 65 bucks, plus S&H for a 50 dollar item.
How on earth does 65 bucks for a 50 dollar item create a net savings of $43.94?

Dayum! People be stoopid!

the "winner" put in 49 bids, so if he bought them as cheap as possible which is .65 ea, then that = $31.85 + the bid amount of $1.56 to shipping/taxes of $4.50 equals a total of $37.91 for 50 bids.

So this means he bought these 50 bids for $0.76 each!!!! Proof that people are IDIOTS !! and who would spend a $1000 to buy bids which don't guarantee you ANYTHING at all........

at this point, I'm going to just roll with Tango and say the heck with it, throw my hands in the air and just let the idiots that want to get sucked into those sites meet their financial demise.

and just think of the profits on this one, it's not like anyone had to "make" the bids or that there's any overhead in producing bid packs, it's the equivalent of our gov't printing new money.... hell, we'll just make more!!
at 156 bids, they're looking at a min profit of around $100+ off this auction........ Damn, if only I had no moral backbone to take advantage of morons.......

[Bobitis]

Originally Posted by woolleyworm

Depending on free bids, it depends on how many bids they actually purchased and placed. You can win one of these auctions with just one bid, but it's very very rare. It usually comes down to outlasting the opposing bidders.

BTW - doing a little digging on the auction now. will bb in a few.

.

If ya look at the bid history, the 30 second reset is quite aparent. The loser simple ran out of bids, and the winner spent way more than he needed to.

My mama always said....


"Winner!
contactjoon
Saved 94%"

That's a riot Woolley! What did he win?

[woolleyworm]

Originally Posted by woolleyworm

the "winner" put in 49 bids, so if he bought them as cheap as possible which is .65 ea, then that = $31.85 + the bid amount of $1.56 to shipping/taxes of $4.50 equals a total of $37.91 for 50 bids.

So this means he bought these 50 bids for $0.76 each!!!! Proof that people are IDIOTS !! and who would spend a $1000 to buy bids which don't guarantee you ANYTHING at all........

at this point, I'm going to just roll with Tango and say the heck with it, throw my hands in the air and just let the idiots that want to get sucked into those sites meet their financial demise.

and just think of the profits on this one, it's not like anyone had to "make" the bids or that there's any overhead in producing bid packs, it's the equivalent of our gov't printing new money.... hell, we'll just make more!!
at 156 bids, they're looking at a min profit of around $100+ off this auction........ Damn, if only I had no moral backbone to take advantage of morons.......

I had put the bid list into an excel file so that I could sort them easily, well it was my oversight, but the actual winning bidder only put in 30 bids, so the idiot that put in 49........ he actually LOST $31.85!!!!

I was looking at the SOG tac Hawk on ontargetauction.com

You can buy it for $59.95 (MSRP) + $8.50 shipping

Or you could go to amazon.com and get it for $27.55 with free shipping......

You see people doing this all the time.

I watched a person bid $1500 on a $700 laptop. WHAT yes on ebay to get around the fees someone was selling a laptop for .01 with shipping costing $699.99 Funny thing was it was about 6 new people that would just bid and bid and bid on the thing.

You just have to sit there and shake your head at them. ********* is a scam as well I think. I seen $150 Remington 511 rilfes being sold for $500. What I hate is that people go to the CMP buy a Mossy M44us for $150 then put it right on ********* for $400.

[StoneChimney]

This is all very unfortunate. I am not sure I want to continue as a Forum Sponsor and be lumped in with this....

[woolleyworm]

Originally Posted by StoneChimney

This is all very unfortunate. I am not sure I want to continue as a Forum Sponsor and be lumped in with this....

You're not "marketing" guns for 200% profits are ya? I've had no reason to question your ethics, morals or integrity. I'm look forward to reading your posts and gaining more insight from your background and informative posts. I don't see your name being lumped into the penny auction business in the least.

[RunningOnMT]

Dittos. I wouldn't lump you in with that racket either StoneChimney. You have a product line that I"ll likely be interested in, in the future. Sponsorship is between you and the administrators but don't leave the forum.

[StoneChimney]

No intention of leaving the forum. However, when a site gets branded as promoting or being sponsored by potential scam outfits, all sponsors tend to get a bit of splatter on them.

[sprky777]

Ok, I watched Guns4Pennies for about 6 months. I got an idea how much certain items sold for and who was bidding.
Ideally, you bid on something right when the auctions starts and hope few join in and your opponents drop out early. That is how some bidders get a $600 shotgun for 5 bids and the final price is only $0.63.
Sure, when that happens G4P loses money on that item but on average they make much more profit than losses.
So, finally I decided I had learned the system well enough to pull the pin and buy some bids. woo hoo!
I started bidding on a nice Sig P226 .40SW. Most were final pricing at under 350 bids so worst case I should get to about 175 in and win if I don't quit. Well, some crazy bidders joined the fray and also would not quit. I finally dropped out after 200 bids. That P226 went over 2600 bids final. So G4P made $2000 on a $800 pistol.
OK, bad luck. try again.
Started bidding on an AR15 Colt 6920, $1100 gun. I had seen a couple go under 600 bids so I should be able to run up to 300 or so for my part and maybe win. Early on the bidders would drop out after 10 bids or so each. others would join, bid, drop out. good so far. then some other crazy heavy bidder got on and again would not quit. I dropped out after about 150 bids just to watch what would happen then maybe get in again later. Well, all the other bidders also dropped out and the rifle sold after about 6 more bids. Colt 6920 for around 450 bids. The crazy guy got it for maybe 50 bids.
Ok, now a nice Ruger 22/45 ultralite came up. I had been watching for this one. I thought I would just watch the bids and get in at about 200. The bidding was going back and forth between about 5 different bidders and was running heavy up to 350. I had my mouse over the bid button just waiting for others to drop out so I could get in. SOLD. everyone just left at once and some other guy got that $400 pistol for 5 bids.
This was killing me. I only had a few bids left.
Shotguns. That's the ticket. They all go cheap because everyone bids on the ARs and pistols. Shotguns typically go under 300 bids. some go for 800 or more but usually not.
So I picked a nice Benelli M4 $1600 gun. Watched the bids get off to a slow start with seeming disinterest. After the bids got to 250 I jumped in and it was me against one other guy. I set my auto bidder with 50 bids so I would look like I was in to stay. discourage competition. other guy went to auto also.
my 50 bids were ticking down, 3, 2, edit add 25 bids. still going. others would join, bid 5 or 10 times then drop out. still me and the other guy on auto.
my bids were again ticking down 3, 2, 1, edit add SOLD! WTH! I didn't get the add in time and no one else was lurking to bid snipe the other guy. he walked away with that M4 for a final of about 600 bids, of which maybe 100 were his.

So I took my chances and lost every time. Was it by chance? I still wonder. I do not want to falsely accuse G4P of perpetrating a scam but it seemed the hundreds of auctions I watched for patterns would generally go cheap and the ones I joined suddenly had competition until I ran out.
There are a dozen or so what I call HEAVY BIDDERS that seem to bid WAY over MSRP on many items. They can't be spending that much on auctions when they could just buy outright for less. And I don't believe anyone just likes bidding on auctions so much they don't care about the price and just pay to play.

So how do we know that those that 'win' are actually winners and not just the gun being recycled back into a later auction? Could the winners be 'sponsors' that get free bids just to keep the site looking busy while the real players always lose to the house?

If G4P is legitimate then it is on average a HUGE money making machine. They could afford to give quite a few guns away in cheap auctions.

Recent examples: custom 1911 knighthawk .45 MSRP$2600 went for 17600 bids. The company made $9300 profit after sale.
Keltec RFB (which I really wanted) $1500 went for 11600 bids. profit $6400.

So G4P can afford to lose a Barrett M99 50BMG for 481 bids because no one wanted to waste their bids that early in an auction that was certain to go to 20000 or more. One lucky guy got a cheap prize. but it wasn't me. never is me. what I have I've paid for and that is the way it is for most everyone else.

Guns4Pennies can be fun if you have some money to throw away, you may win a prize but you will most likely feed the pool for the house and some other player to take.

end of rant.

[sprky777]

Oh yeah, and BID auctions to win BIDS.

All the last most recent bid auctions for Bids, 14 of them, totaled 3765 bids placed to win 3600 bids. But, worst case the winner was bidding against only one other person so only half the bids were from the winner leaving a total winning cost of $1354 dollars counting buying the bids, paying the win cost and the service charge of $2.50 per win. That puts the won value over cost at $2448 value in bids for $1354 cost. a net gain of $1094 in bid value of course. That net gain in bids could be used against other auction items to offset high final bid prices.

I guess the best theoretical strategy would be to bid hard on all BID auctions then use your banked bids to win one desirable item to offset your costs.

[goofy]

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