This an internet auction host that hosts auctions from supposedly different auction houses. I have bought several things, some went smoothly some not. Usually from different vendors. I have found that like the previous complainant the if I used a max bid the numbers were pushed up. Using a max on the opening bid usually starts as the starting price. I placed a max bid based on my research. The next day sure enough my max bid was reached and. Surprisingly I did not win. I checked with one of my previous good vendor and he confirmed some of the games some of the houses play. So beware when dealing with auctions, there are shills and tricks used to up the bids. It is not a honest environment. So I asked another auction house, that I have had dealings with, and his response was and I quote "Unfortunately, we see a lot of this with other auction houses where they have "floor bidders" bid up items either to push prices past a reserve price or just to get a higher winning bid. Many times these "floor bidders" aren't even real bidders, they are the auctioneer putting in shill bids. There is nothing really to do in those situations. Since we run timed auctions, we don't have floor bidders so I am not sure about the rules when a floor bidder and an online bidder have the same price. I guess it is up to the auctioneer at that point to decide who wins and they I guess chose the floor bid because the reserve price wasn't met. Hope this helps."
BEWARE, your maximum Bid is not protected but, instead, it is freely divulged to the seller who then engages in shill bidding.
For Online Bidding, invaluable.com recommends that you enter a 'maximum bid' amount and they assure you that "our secure bid technology will place bids for you without ever revealing your maximum bid".
Do not believe it!
Immediately after entering your maximum bid on the auction day, you will see a flury of bids raising the price of the lot to just below your maximum bid, thus automatically making you bid your maximum through their "secure bid technology"!
I have been had on two separate occasions where I was unable to attend the online auction and where I had placed a maximum bid. As by miracle, on both occasions, I "won" and the price was the maximum bid that I had placed.
DO NOT EVER PLACE A MAXIMUM BID IN INVALUABLE.COM ONLINE AUCTIONS. THEY WILL RIP YOU OFF.
They are dishonest and do not offer any buyer protection.
Invaluable, LLC. Reviews
This an internet auction host that hosts auctions from supposedly different auction houses. I have bought several things, some went smoothly some not. Usually from different vendors. I have found that like the previous complainant the if I used a max bid the numbers were pushed up. Using a max on the opening bid usually starts as the starting price. I placed a max bid based on my research. The next day sure enough my max bid was reached and. Surprisingly I did not win. I checked with one of my previous good vendor and he confirmed some of the games some of the houses play. So beware when dealing with auctions, there are shills and tricks used to up the bids. It is not a honest environment. So I asked another auction house, that I have had dealings with, and his response was and I quote "Unfortunately, we see a lot of this with other auction houses where they have "floor bidders" bid up items either to push prices past a reserve price or just to get a higher winning bid. Many times these "floor bidders" aren't even real bidders, they are the auctioneer putting in shill bids. There is nothing really to do in those situations. Since we run timed auctions, we don't have floor bidders so I am not sure about the rules when a floor bidder and an online bidder have the same price. I guess it is up to the auctioneer at that point to decide who wins and they I guess chose the floor bid because the reserve price wasn't met. Hope this helps."
BEWARE, your maximum Bid is not protected but, instead, it is freely divulged to the seller who then engages in shill bidding.
For Online Bidding, invaluable.com recommends that you enter a 'maximum bid' amount and they assure you that "our secure bid technology will place bids for you without ever revealing your maximum bid".
Do not believe it!
Immediately after entering your maximum bid on the auction day, you will see a flury of bids raising the price of the lot to just below your maximum bid, thus automatically making you bid your maximum through their "secure bid technology"!
I have been had on two separate occasions where I was unable to attend the online auction and where I had placed a maximum bid. As by miracle, on both occasions, I "won" and the price was the maximum bid that I had placed.
DO NOT EVER PLACE A MAXIMUM BID IN INVALUABLE.COM ONLINE AUCTIONS. THEY WILL RIP YOU OFF.
They are dishonest and do not offer any buyer protection.