Swoopo!!

DBentley415 · January 27th, 2011, 08:57 PM

Has anyone here ever used swoopo.com?
My marketing professor introduced us to it the other day in class, and it seemed pretty interesting.

Essentially, it's just like eBay, but when you bid on something you actually pay to bid so if you don't end up being the highest bidder you still lose money. For this reason, it takes a lot more technique/skill than eBay.

If anyone's looking to buy some relatively cheap electronics it seems to be the place to go, as long as ur able to play the auctions well. They even have a page that outlines techniques for bidding which is pretty cool and useful for people new to the site.

Flashmonkey · January 27th, 2011, 10:10 PM

Holy crap they're selling an iPad for $20!!!!!!!!!!!!

Edit: Ah crap that site is U.S only...and the canadian version isn't as awesome (http://swoopo.ca)

headshrink · January 27th, 2011, 11:07 PM

Verrrrry interesting. That is going in my Favorites.

It does look a little too good to be true. There isn't a whole lot of profit in electronics hardware, and the prices of some of those items I am looking at are presumably hundreds less than it costs to make. With Apple as controlling as they are, I can't see them letting iPads go for over $700 off... they are masters at price fixing. I just noticed that if somone bids in the last few seconds, it turns the clock back 30 sec. An iPad is going back and forth right now.... it is actually a little frustrating because it keeps getting put back, but it only goes up by pennies at a time.... they could be at it all night!

For arguments sake, lets assume it is all legit. I predict it will go the way of the ebay. Starts off cool, then as businesses join, it looses the "garage sale" aspect, and many items go for retail (sometimes more).

dubojr1 · January 28th, 2011, 06:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by headshrink

Verrrrry interesting. That is going in my Favorites.

It does look a little too good to be true. There isn't a whole lot of profit in electronics hardware, and the prices of some of those items I am looking at are presumably hundreds less than it costs to make. With Apple as controlling as they are, I can't see them letting iPads go for over $700 off... they are masters at price fixing. I just noticed that if somone bids in the last few seconds, it turns the clock back 30 sec. An iPad is going back and forth right now.... it is actually a little frustrating because it keeps getting put back, but it only goes up by pennies at a time.... they could be at it all night!

For arguments sake, lets assume it is all legit. I predict it will go the way of the ebay. Starts off cool, then as businesses join, it looses the "garage sale" aspect, and many items go for retail (sometimes more).

The site IS making their money. Ipad for example... The last one sold for $57.30 and look at how many bids was put on it. 1,673 bids. At $.60 a bid that's $1,003.80 just in bid money. Add the 2 together and the ipad sold for $1,061.10!!!

headshrink · January 28th, 2011, 11:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dubojr1

The site IS making their money. Ipad for example... The last one sold for $57.30 and look at how many bids was put on it. 1,673 bids. At $.60 a bid that's $1,003.80 just in bid money. Add the 2 together and the ipad sold for $1,061.10!!!

I didn't consider that.... VERY good point.

wvninja · January 28th, 2011, 11:51 AM

Also consider the fact that if you start a bid war in the beginning and you don't win, your throwing your money out the window. Some people know when to quit and some don't want to feel like they have wasted their money in bidding. I've also seen some of those auction sites where you not only pay for each bid then you also pay a reduced set amount for the item as well.

I'll stick to buying outright like
woot.com
deals.woot.com/sellout
slickdeals.net

CZroe · January 29th, 2011, 04:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wvninja

Also consider the fact that if you start a bid war in the beginning and you don't win, your throwing your money out the window. Some people know when to quit and some don't want to feel like they have wasted their money in bidding. I've also seen some of those auction sites where you not only pay for each bid then you also pay a reduced set amount for the item as well.

I'll stick to buying outright like
woot.com
deals.woot.com/sellout
slickdeals.net

This. I frequent these sites. Swapoo is just an honest pyramid scheme.

I'm more interested in actsofsharing.com where you list your stuff and hook up loans and trades with complete strangers. It's all on the honor system which means that you may only want to offer certain things to a trusted group (like the Ninjette community) or you may risk it and rely on the feedback system to keep others honest. One good way to minimize risk is to only agree if the other party has something of equal or greater value that you'd like to borrow. I can see this being awesome for games, tools, and movies. Heck, anyone need to burn a Blu-Ray disc or two but you aren't going to buy a BD burner just for that? LMK and I'll register and throw mine up (still haven't gotten around to registering). I may need to borrow a front triple-tree stand some day soon.

DBentley415 · January 29th, 2011, 09:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by headshrink

Starts off cool, then as businesses join, it looses the "garage sale" aspect, and many items go for retail (sometimes more).

I'm not sure if businesses can join because the items being sold aren't just from random people like on eBay. "Swoopo.com has warehouses in Germany, Great Britain and the US to ensure that auction winners receive their items quickly and without problems." (from swoopo.com) So i'm pretty sure it is all of their own products they get from the companies themselves.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wvninja

woot.com
deals.woot.com/sellout
slickdeals.net

I love these websites! My calculus teacher in high school used to use woot.com all the time and buy the random crap boxes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CZroe

Swapoo is just an honest pyramid scheme.

I'm more interested in actsofsharing.com where you list your stuff and hook up loans and trades with complete strangers.

but it's not really a pyramid scheme.....more like strategic gambling

actsofsharing.com sounds really cool I've never heard of that before!

I'm also a huge fan of groupon.com. Just yesterday I bought $30 of bath and body works items for $15 which is super exciting for me

They just came out with a whole new line of scents and I've been waiting to pounce on them! The only catch was you had to use the coupon online which means u can't smell the candles..etc before buying, but I already knew which ones I like from being in the store so it was nice for me....except that u still have to pay shipping.....but nevertheless i'm SUPER excited to get new candles

We also have something like it called moochomoocho.com for deals on campus here at UW-Madison.

January 27th, 2011, 08:57 PM	#1
DBentley415 ninjette.org member Name: Kayla Location: Wisconsin Join Date: Jun 2010 Motorcycle(s): 2008 Kawasaki Ninja 250 Posts: 206	Swoopo!! Has anyone here ever used swoopo.com? My marketing professor introduced us to it the other day in class, and it seemed pretty interesting. Essentially, it's just like eBay, but when you bid on something you actually pay to bid so if you don't end up being the highest bidder you still lose money. For this reason, it takes a lot more technique/skill than eBay. If anyone's looking to buy some relatively cheap electronics it seems to be the place to go, as long as ur able to play the auctions well. They even have a page that outlines techniques for bidding which is pretty cool and useful for people new to the site. __________________________________________________ In paradise there ain't no clocks...

January 27th, 2011, 11:07 PM	#3
headshrink ninjette.org certified postwhore Name: Bob Location: CA Join Date: Dec 2008 Motorcycle(s): '08 Ninja 250r, '14 CBR500r Posts: A lot.	Verrrrry interesting. That is going in my Favorites. It does look a little too good to be true. There isn't a whole lot of profit in electronics hardware, and the prices of some of those items I am looking at are presumably hundreds less than it costs to make. With Apple as controlling as they are, I can't see them letting iPads go for over $700 off... they are masters at price fixing. I just noticed that if somone bids in the last few seconds, it turns the clock back 30 sec. An iPad is going back and forth right now.... it is actually a little frustrating because it keeps getting put back, but it only goes up by pennies at a time.... they could be at it all night! For arguments sake, lets assume it is all legit. I predict it will go the way of the ebay. Starts off cool, then as businesses join, it looses the "garage sale" aspect, and many items go for retail (sometimes more). __________________________________________________ Honda Interceptor VFR800 DLX (2014, 8th gen) Honda CBR500r (2014) - FOR SALE Kawi Ninja 250r (2008) - Restored and passed-down within family, only to be abandoned

January 28th, 2011, 11:51 AM	#6
wvninja ninjette.org sage Name: Nate Location: west virginia Join Date: Apr 2010 Motorcycle(s): 2009 Honda CBR600RR Posts: 633	Also consider the fact that if you start a bid war in the beginning and you don't win, your throwing your money out the window. Some people know when to quit and some don't want to feel like they have wasted their money in bidding. I've also seen some of those auction sites where you not only pay for each bid then you also pay a reduced set amount for the item as well. I'll stick to buying outright like woot.com deals.woot.com/sellout slickdeals.net __________________________________________________ "Riding a motorcycle is like playing sports, not everyone is cut out for it." - WVNinja

January 27th, 2011, 10:10 PM	#2
Flashmonkey Professional belly dancer Name: James Location: Toronto Join Date: Apr 2009 Motorcycle(s): 1992 GSX-R 750 Posts: A lot.	Holy crap they're selling an iPad for $20!!!!!!!!!!!! Edit: Ah crap that site is U.S only...and the canadian version isn't as awesome (http://swoopo.ca)