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BidCactus review: Auction site is a con!! 170

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4:34 pm EDT
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I was excited to try this auction site. However, after spending $75 (it cost 75 cents for each bid!) and a whole day (from 10 a.m. to 6pm), I didn't even win one bid! Please DO NOT waste your time and money. This is an auction site for people who have the extra dough to throw away. If by chance you do win a bid, you most likely would have spent so much money buying the rights to bid at 75 cents per bid, you would be better off just buying the product yourself!

Update by djdj
Aug 10, 2009 4:57 pm EDT

Bidcactus is a scam, there are only a few auctions running, and most everyone is bidding at the same time, chances are you are NOT going to win, meanwhile you are out the amount of money for bidding! Totally agree, BIDCACTUS is a SCAM
!

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170 comments
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tbrown71
Concord, US
Feb 21, 2014 7:39 am EST

I am a victim too. I've filed complaints with the Better Business Bureau. Paypal will not refund either (although they still process payments for Bidcactus). Karma, God's Judgement, whatever you want to call it - will eventually come around. Nothing happens that goes unnoticed. I tried to get my daughter an ipad for Christmas - Craigslist said that they just sold the one they offered but that they won theirs on Bidcactus. Why wouldn't I believe them? So like you - I invested (more than I should have) only to have multiple items in the pending status under fulfillment. They were quick to give bids won - but anything of value is still pending - as of Dec. 2013. Frustrating!

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nancy lynd
Portsmouth, US
Jan 28, 2014 8:33 pm EST
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kip has lied to ne all the time says he will contact shipping dept but i never receive anything

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nancy lynd
Portsmouth, US
Jan 28, 2014 8:23 pm EST
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BID CACTUS OWES ME A LOT OF CARDS, SOME OF WHICH I WON A YEAR AGO AND HAVE STILL NOT RECEIVED. THEY KEEP TELLING ME THE SHIPPING DEPT IS BEHIND…KIP TOLD ME HE WOULD CONTACT THE SHIPPING DEPT WEEKS AGO…NOTHING RECEIVED YET!

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BillyKJS
Long Prairie, US
Jan 28, 2014 3:54 pm EST

BidCactus penny auction has failed to send the items that I have paid for and won on their website. The site clearly states that items won will be shipped within 15 business days from checkout. I have paid for the items with my credit card and have only received 3 of 155 items. I spent over $13, 750 on 155 items on BidCactus auctions this last year from May to Sept. of 2013(all were charged to my credit cards) I have only received Three (3)items. Over $1, 000 was for shipping and handling and I have only received Three (3) items. I have called and emailed and filed a Better Business Bureau complaint. I sent emails and letters to the home of their president Michael Staw.

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nancy lynd
Portsmouth, US
Jan 04, 2014 12:04 am EST
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I HAVE WIN A LOT OF GIFT CARDS & ITEMS, IT HAS BEEN OVER A YEAR ANOT NOT RECEIVED YET…KIP WILL NOT EVEN RETURN MY EMAILS AND I WON'T WASTE MY BREATH CALLING HIM AGAIN, WILL CALL MY ATTORNEY FIRST!

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kimbmarees
Palo Alto, US
Oct 12, 2013 4:10 pm EDT
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It's rubbish...I actually thought I was putting my payment details in so I could get ready for paying for something I won not so I could pay upfront...my mistake I know for not reading everything properly but I am new to the country and have a lot going on in getting set up for school and getting by day to day...I then tried to have a go at it and a couple of small items so that I might have a better chance and it seems IMPOSSIBLE TO WIN so an absolute WASTE OF MONEY and an even bigger WASTE OF TIME.

BEWARE I was lured to the site by someone from a regular buy in Craigslist...I missed out on the item and the seller generously offered information about where they got the item from and said it was easy and they had gotten 3 Apple Mini iPads and always won and shared their strategy...this seller changed their e-mail and name 3 times so in hindsight I now believe they are working with BIDCACTUS...

STAY AWAY unless of course your idea of fun is simply spending lots of time and money on cheap items like headsets and restaurant cards of around $20 and NOT WINNING the item!

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MadysMommy
Longview, US
Aug 31, 2013 2:52 pm EDT

I STARTED AN ACCOUNT AND I AUTOMATICALLY GOT CHARGED 30.00 FOR 30 BIDS AND I DID NOT PURCHASE I ONLY WANTED TO CREATE AN ACCOUNT TO SEE IF I WANTED TO SPEND THE MONEY... WHAT DO I DO I WANT TO HAVE NO PART OF BIDCACTUS IS THERE ANY WAY TO GET MY MONEY BACK? IS IT ALWAYS A 30$ TO START AND I JUST MISSED THAT SOME WHERE?

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bigsuckeronthehook
, US
Aug 26, 2013 6:10 pm EDT

I think you will see bidcactus disappear pretty soon. they aren't sending any items out at all. they are getting there bank roll padded so they can disappear. they are giving excuses and dragging people along as long as they can. I say go back to the credit card companies and ask for a refund you can get your money back for things you purchase and don't receive. if enough of you do this before they disappear they will be stopped. they will feal the hurt when credit card companies and paypal stop processing and sieze there bank accounts. so get out there and do it as fast as you can before the disappear for good. why should the sucker who trusted these crooks loose out all the time!

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ScammedByBidCactus
Las Vegas, US
Aug 18, 2013 11:02 am EDT

I was looking for a TV on Craigslist and saw and ad selling a brand new big screen TV of 69-inch was on sale for $200 describing nothing wrong with it. No phone number in the ad, only an email. I wrote to that email asking to see it. I didn't expect to see a response immediately because it was about 5 am in the morning. The response said that the TV was sold about 30 min ago and she, Sandy, told me that she got it at bidcactus. She said she got a lot of those TV and selling them cheap for extra cash. She told me to watch the auction and wait until the end to place the bid and I will win a lot. By clicking on the link she gave me, I was sucked in to paying $79 dollars immediately. I was very upset and went back to the email writing to the lady name Sandy again. I told her that what she did was deceitful and cheating. First, there was TV auction in the site after watching it for so long. Second, she lied by saying that the TV was sold but she never got a TV and no one would go to her house to buy a TV at 5am in the morning because the craigslist ad only listed minutes prior to my response to the ad. I am very sure that she didn't win any TV because there was no big screen TV auctioned at the site.

Because I got tricked with $79 already, I bid any way and the site let the first time bidder wins something such as extra bid points. Soon enough after two weeks on the site, I won a lot of things but I also spent about $3000 in bid points. I won about 20 trips, lots of ecoupons, eShopping cards, restaurants.com vouchers, eHotel cards, iPhone, IPad, Nintendo, etc. So I thought at least I still make money. Days after I won, I received so many eVoucher to redeem these cards, coupons, etc. It turned out that these eVouchers are completely USELESS. If I use them, I end up paying more for stuff even coupons. The eHotel, eShopping cards, I can only use maximum $25 even if I won $1000 worth of cards. So if I book a hotel, I can only use $25 for 1 time and pay the rooms with my own cash. Same thing with the shopping cards, I can only use $25 for each website that they listed and they only have 4 of them. The shipping & handling charges on these website are outrageous and if you order any item beyond $25, you have to use your cash and can't apply other eShopping cards that you have won.

Regarding the trips I won, I couldn't use any of them due to the restrictions and limitations. And again, you can only use or redeem it once. I won about 20 trips but I couldn't even use any of them. I gave these evouchers away and people couldn't even redeem them. It seems like your 20 trips I have won worth about $5000- $6000 but they are absolutely USELESS.

I also won an iPad, iPhone, Nintendo games and a few other physical things. As of today, it has been more than 2 months and I NEVER received any of them. I called and emailed them many times and Customer Support said that they apologize for the delay but they don't know when the shipment will be out. 2 months later, they will don't know. How can they not know? They can easily go to Apple Store and buy these and ship out.

Since I called about 4, 5 times to Customer Support, they didn't like me and they were rude to me. I realized something is not right and I started to google about BidCactus.com online. I read hundreds of complaints from people that they never received their $25 gift card. Oh my God! this site is a biggest scam ever. How can they not shipping out a gift card of $10, $25 from WalMart, Target, etc. They can easily go to these vendor websites, order the gift cards and send out to customers. They choose NOT to ship out. I stopped bidding for more 2 months now because I want to receive my items first but it's frustrating to see them still allowing people to bid on electrical items, physical items, jewelries, gift cards when they don't have these in stock and do NOT plan to ship them out.

They only email out the eVouchers days after winning and that's it. Again, all these vouchers are completely USELESS and you can get them for FREE or very cheap online without bidding. You can get thousands worth of coupons for FREE every day online without spending a penny on bidding.

This company is a SCAM. They use fake Craigslist ad to trick people to get to their site. They use so many fake ads and scam thousands of people already. Then people spend thousands on the site bidding and they never received the physically winning items.

Customer Support threatened to close your account if you call them too much asking where their items are.

There are people who won gift cards since January of 2013 and still haven't received them. All my items that I won in early and mid-June 2013 and I never received them either.

I think people should stop bidding and report to authorities and media to stop this company scamming people.

STAY AWAY FROM THIS SITE.

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Pissy Cat
Tulsa, US
Jun 15, 2013 11:04 pm EDT

I wish I had read all of the comments before I got suckered into this site. I was actually searching a local site for a used washer & dryer set. I came across a really well rated set for a great price. There was no phone number, just and email address to reply to. So, I sent an email asking if the items were still available for purchase. I got a response from a Sharon saying that she just sold the washer & dryer but that she purchased them from biddycacts. I clicked on her link and it took me to bidcactus.com. So, I sign up and wham I am charged $79 for bids. I am not jumping up and down for joy about that, but oh well, I'm going to look for a washer & dryer for a great deal. I click on available auctions, and no appliances category. I use the limited search function and nothing. The only things I found were mostly electronics. So I try and reply to this Sharon and ask some questions about how she found washers & dryers on this auction site and low and behold my reply email was returned as "undeliverable". So, I now feel like an idiot for getting myself scammed. But, this cat's still got 8 lives in this battle, so my first step is to report this scam artist to the site she's advertising her fake products for sale. Second step is printing off all these comments I found on what a scam this action site is and getting my attorney involved. At the very least I want from freakin $79.00 back.

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Carl in Roanoke
Roanoke, US
Mar 20, 2013 12:28 pm EDT

Well I know how it works, Ive looked at a lot of these sites Like bid Cactus, here and in europe. IT is rare to win without investing several hunndre bids. I won 3 bid packages where the prizes are 10-100 more bids. They paid right away. I ALSO WON SEVERAL CREDIT CARDS for low denominations $10 & 25. 90 days and they havent paid them out yet.
I stronglysuggest that you do not throw your money away; This place acts like a slot machine that never pays off.

Carl in Roanoke Va

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rcanales2881
Paterson, US
Feb 19, 2013 11:21 am EST
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Please don't spend your hard earned money on this site. I ended up wasting $79 of my monty and won't ever do it again. Your chances of winning (if there are any) are slim to none. Please save up your money to buy the item you want. I learned the hard way this time.

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ali_756
Norwalk, US
Jan 15, 2013 11:59 pm EST
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this side s fake.totally make people fool.plz dont use any body

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Lorraine Bath
, US
Jan 11, 2013 8:10 pm EST
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I one a stupid buger king card for $25. I won it with a 4 cent bid. Not only did I not receive the buger king card. They closed my account and all my bids I didn't use. I think someone should staet a class action against them!

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Arthur Fishnchips
Beverly Hills, US
Jan 11, 2013 2:28 am EST

I borrowed $10, 000 from my ill grandma to bid for a new car. I lost the bid by three cents!
I am now out $10, 000, my grandma needs her medication, and I have no car. I sold my old one because I was so sure I would win on one of these websites.
Of course, this story is phony, but it sounds as dumb as all the true posts above. PEOPLE, as long as you are willing to throw your money away, there is someone who will take it. If you are over 30 and still getting sucked in by this stuff, you deserve to be poor.

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isuckdickforfun(:
, US
Dec 05, 2012 11:44 am EST

i signed up for bid cactus and i did not know they had charged till i was done signing up and it said your transaction for 80 dollars has been approved. well i called customer service and they voided the transaction and i did not have a charge on my card.

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Krisj9
Amery, US
Nov 27, 2012 5:01 pm EST

I sure wish I would have seen this site prior to wasting my 84 $$ today! Shame on me for not doing my normal research of reviews. 8 hours wasted & nothing to show but empty pockets! DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT waste your money like I did! Learn from my mistake!

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nobid
, US
Nov 24, 2012 12:29 am EST
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I bid and purchased a gift card on Bidcactus but it has been over a month or so and I haven't received it. The customer service is horrible. I don't think I will get it. I have tried everything.

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lori blackmon
Lancaster, US
Nov 13, 2012 12:26 pm EST

THIS IS SCAM N RIP OFF! i WOULD NOT ADVISE ANYONE TO GIVE THEM MONEY TO KEEP FOR THEM SELF! AND WHEN YOU TRY AND EXPLAIN THEY WILL NOT LISTEN AND SAY YOU CAN'T GET YOUR MONEY BACK! i WASNT EVEN ON THEIR WEBSITE I WAS ON AMAZON AND CLICKED ON IT TO BID THINKING IT WAS FREE UNLESS YOU BOUGHT SOMETHING! IM ALSO GOING TO LET AMAZON KNOW SO I WILL KNOW IF I WILL CONTINUE TO SHOP ON THEIR ALSO! n KNOW i HAVE TO GET MY BANK INVOLVED TO TRY AND GET MY MONEY FROM THESE STUPID PEOPLE

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Charles Watson
San Jose, US
Aug 31, 2012 1:01 pm EDT
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They are not scammers. They operate since more than a year now.

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Charles Watson
San Jose, US
Aug 31, 2012 12:53 pm EDT
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There is no fee on Zbiddy. To place bid, you have to purchase a bid package. This process is common among all the penny auction site.

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Karenbason66
San Jose, US
Jul 03, 2012 1:58 pm EDT
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Zbiddy is a nice site.

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officialzbiddy
Montvale, US
Jul 02, 2012 5:51 pm EDT
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Kindly contact our friendly customer support team at [protected] Monday thru Saturday from 8am to 12am EST. They'll assist you with any concerns that you have.

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MARY COVER
Pittsburgh, US
Jul 02, 2012 3:32 pm EDT

HOW DO YOU CANCEL MEMBERSHIP FROM BIDCATCUS

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Biddersbeware
Fayetteville, US
Jun 27, 2012 2:54 pm EDT
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How "penny auctions, " such as BidCactus/Pennyhunters.com and ZBiddy/TryBZid.com, use Craigslist to sucker people into signing up for their scam operation:

If you, like I did, find an ad on Craigslist for an item which is being sold for an unusually low price, don't be surprised if you contact the seller and receive a response which can be summed up thusly: "I have already sold it, but I can tell you how I got it. I went to XXXXXX.com and bought a couple of them to sell on Craigslist for extra money."

Don't believe it. It's a SCAM. So-called penny auction sites, such as BidCactus and ZBiddy, do not operate the way eBay does. Instead, they sell packages of bids, i.e. you buy X number of opportunities to bid for X number of dollars. Every time you place a bid, it will cost you $0.75, and you will not get that money back, whether you win or lose. Furthermore, the "auctions" are rigged so that, chances are, you will NEVER WIN.

They use a script which employs bots (fake users) to drive the price up, virtually guaranteeing that you cannot win. Sometimes, according to accounts I've read, you will appear to win, but then the page reloads and more minutes are added to the clock, allowing others to bid. Because you spend a certain amount of money for each bid you place, in the unlikely event that you do eventually win, you will probably have lost much more money *trying* to win something than you would have spent on the item you won, had you purchased it for the retail price.

When someone plugs a product or a business that seems too good to be true, it probably is. If you have any doubts, all you have to do is google the name of the auction and read the reviews online (but be aware that they create fake blogs and video testimonials to advertise their services. If it seems like an ad, they probably made it!).

Dummy ads on CL usually don't have phone numbers or photos in them and contain very little information about the item for sale. Here are samples of the emails that you may receive once you inquire about the item you're interested in:

"Hey,

"Somebody else just purchased it from me, however i can also show you where I bought it from. I grabbed a couple of brand new ones on tryzbid.com .We've been reselling them here as well as on ebay to make additional money.
Lately, not many people have been bidding so it's really easy to win. The trick is usually to bid when the counter hits Three secs and you win nearly every time. If I can do it right anyone can.

All the best

Sharon"

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"Hello

Someone just bought this from me, but I can tell you where I got it from.
I just picked up 3 of these from pennyhunters.com and I resold them on craigslist for some extra money.

The trick is to watch for bidding to slow down and then jump in. That's what I do and I win all the time.

Regards
Sent from my iPhone"

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iflyrjs
chattanooga, US
May 28, 2012 3:12 am EDT

definately a scam and riged bids
I was able to get a full refund after emailing them that i changed my mind
I should have read the reviews first...

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smarternextime
Winston- Salem, US
May 24, 2012 11:50 am EDT

I blame myself for not taking the time to study bidcatus. Ijumped right in the pool with my shoes & socks on my feet. I never looked for this complaint site, never watched bidders bid, like i said i was very careless with my money and ended up losing 75$ in less than a hour. I know i sound stupid but keep in mind i was in a hurry getting ready for work plus i won a bid pack of 25 bids so i though i was doing good untill i got the bill (ie) debit card statment. although bidcactus sounds very much like a scam, i can't blame anybody but myself for being so careless. I hope this comment will help someone before they make a mistake as well

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CanuckSis
Victoria, CA
May 17, 2012 3:26 am EDT

I must agree with all of these complaints. I am a Canadian bidder, who came across this penny auction. I ended up spending over $1000 dollars. I had won a bid for an outdoor fireplace, but was told it did not ship to Canada. I was told I should have read the print at the end of the item. Please!
They did however say they would send me Wallmart gift cards for this item, and also another Visa gift card. This also was not honored in Canada. They keep telling me that they are good in Canada. I have tried everything within my power to resolve this problem.
I don't know what else I can do to get my money back, or a gift card which is good in Canada. I am done with Bidcactus, and I want to let other Canadian bidder`s to think twice before bidding in this auction site. The Canadian shipping price is a flat rate of $95.00. I`m going to give my head a shake.

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rainwalker644
Barrington, US
May 04, 2012 10:03 am EDT

This is the same as going to a Casino, and putting three quarters in the machine, hit the button, or pull the lever, and in 3 seconds it's gone, if your lucky, you get 777, if not, you put in 3 more quarters. You either win or they take your money. Same thing! instead of winning money! (sometimes? ) you win a prize ( sometimes?) Try doing this in a ( Brick and Mortar Building) in your town or city, bet they shut you down! IT'S GAMBLING!. It's not an auction. Now if they put in shills or fake bidders, I don't know.
What is funny, is on this website QUIBIDS advertises, and on [redacted] they advertise BIDCATUS.

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Robert Callert
Los Angeles, US
Apr 23, 2012 1:44 am EDT

I think the proof is in the numbers. I just watched one auction that included a $50 Target Gift card +a pack of 50 bids. Total package value $87.50. The auction ended with one bidder winning the package for $14.87. Now let’s calculate the profit margin. 1487 Bids@ .75= $1, 115.25 + $14.87 cost of the item is a whopping total of $1, 130, 12 Now subtract the $87.50 cost of the item and you have a Bid Cactus profit of $1, 042.62. Now for the super insult of them all. Even with the obscene amount of profit that was off of this item (and all other items) They STILL insist on charging a shipping and handling fee to the winner. Corporate greed at its finest. I would think that with the OBSCENE amount of profit that this company makes, the VERY LEAST they could offer is free shipping and handling. (Not to mention that the wait time for any item is often between 30-45 days) Can a corporation driven by this much greed actually be trusted?
And this is for Mr. Penny Auction Watch owner (whoever you are) I won't accuse you of being a crook or a felon but let me say this, After reading the content on your site for about 3 minutes, I clicked off of your site because I was convinced that you WERE Bid Cactus. (That is how I ended up here) So, if you are in fact NOT affiliated with Bid Cactus I would strongly suggest that you tone down your praise for the site and attempt to give a more constructive middle of the road viewpoint. The way you rant on and on about the wonders of the site is cause for any reasonable person to assume that you are either employed or otherwise closely affiliated with the site. (You even came here to defend them)

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pope7
Kaneohe, US
Mar 27, 2012 11:17 am EDT
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bryanpope79@gmail.com- $119.00 taken from my bank account.
No confirmation, no purchase order mailed to me. Just money removed from my account.
I have yet to find an address or phone # for BIDCACTUS to file a proper complaint!

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Gen5star26
Honolulu, US
Jan 27, 2012 8:34 am EST

I have to agree there I'd definitely something not right with BIDCACTUS site. I have won some items at low cost and then I had spent over a thousand for HDTV auction, I placed another bid on a different auction during the same time the HDTV auction was still live and won the other auction with no one bidding for it, after this BidCactus locked me out of the auction I had already invested over $1, 000 (I was an idiot, for I allowed my temper to get the best of me, when this other bidder (a regular user winning daily high end merchandise), kept giving me a hard time, no matter where I placed my bids. He won the auctione it is now of course as a result of BidCactus locking me out, when received drop down message, saying you reached your limit. At that time, They did not post your wins, etc., like it is posted now. $1, 000plus for absolutely nothing!

I also, received an email from a "regular " user to my surprise, wondering how she was able to get my personal info from BidCactus. Her email went like this, "if you leave us alone, we will leave you alone!". I was so angry, I immediately called BidCactus and told them what had happened, the users name, etc. they told me they would investigate, would check if their system had been breached. I didn't see this user bidding for awhile, but I see she has returned. There are users, who are in collusion on BidCactus and winning almost every high end auction there is, and you will not see them bidding against one another, this is how you can spot them. And, they do change user names frequently, to throw honest bidders off from recognizing them. It isn't hard, their name may change but not their bidding style. Just take time to OBSERVE, users and you will find them bidding on Laptops / HDTV's / Cameras/ etc., any auction high in value, including free BID PACKAGES auctioned, and Am. Exp., Visa, Walmart, Home depot, Gift Cards, especially the $100 / $200 value & with free 100 / 200 free bid pack. You cannot possibly win against those in collusion, simply because it appears they have an unlimited bid supply, never leave auction to buy more bids, very rare if do.
They, don't always ship all gift cards you might have won, and need to stay onto of those you receive and haven't received, and make your own win list to keep track of won auctions. Your concerns and suspicions are validated. Look for times to bid in auctions when the users dominating the auctions are not bidding and have reached their 3 wins allowed per day. Most, if not al Penny Auction sites cheat, use Bots / Schills to raise auction prices to pay for the auctioned item and then some! WATCH CLOSELY, OBSERVE BEFORE YOU INVEST YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY...

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Annibee163
Springfield, US
Jan 21, 2012 10:16 pm EST

I actually love BidCactus! I've won a lot of merchandise and gotten some really great deals! And I received ALL of the merchandise I've won within a week or two. I don't care how much money BidCactus makes, and we all know they're making huge profits, but no matter as long as I'M making a deal! Any penny auction site is a game of luck and gambling so to speak. And after reviewing several others, there are ALOT of fraudulent and scamming sites out there! Take a look at Zbiddy! Obvious scam with that one! But from everything I've experienced with BidCactus, they're site is legit, professional and fair. You can keep track of everything from how many bids you've placed to how many bids it took to win an item to the list of who won what and how many bids they placed. When I first started I didn't win anything big and got discouraged quickly, but then I just watched how others were bidding and who was bidding and what items went at higher bid amounts. Yes, I AM one of those bidders you probably see on there all the time! I bid just about everyday, but I'm conservative with my bids and know how and when to bid and what to bid on. There is a strategy so to speak. Yes, I am one of those bidders you probably see on there all the time! I use it almost everyday. But after I figured it out I started winning all the time and a lot! I reached my 30 day total and unfortunately I got locked out. But they do this to be fair to everyone and give evveryone a chance to win. Keyword: chance. If you're expecting to win something after only placing 2 or 3 bids, it's not gonna happen a lot. Although I have won a few things with 1-3 bids before! It is possible if you just watch and see who and how many people are bidding on it. I won a $65 pair of earrings for 3 cents. I won a really nice cheese gift basket for 1 penny! To be honest I've won over $1, 200 in items and it only cost me around $180 for everything, that was the price of the bid win and the ship/handling. If you add up my bids that I've bought the total would be around $480. But, I still came out good and ahead and got a good deal! Maybe I'm just lucky, but it can be done! Here are some tips and suggestions for successful bidding. Not a guarantee that you will win, but it may help.
1. Watch for 5-10 min on WHO is bidding on an item. There are alot of the same bidders and this can tell you who will bid forever and who will bid a few times and then drop out. Key as to who you don't want to bid against, unless you have a lot of bids to waste.
2. DO NOT just bid to win. If you're doing it just for the sake of winning, then you're bound to lose and waste your money and bids!
3. If you're trying to win a more expensive item, such as an IPAD or IPOD or TV, etc. those usually go on forever, so if you want to bid on those you should wait until it's gotten up there in price and basically wait for the bidder's bids to run out and then when the timer is hitting GOING, then start bidding. Usually tho, there are multiple bidders for these items, so your chances are slimmer unless you have a lot of bids to use.
4. Look for the items that only 1 or 2 bidders are bidding on and then be consistent, be aggressive. If you let that person think that you're not going to give up, chances are they will drop out and let you have it. But watch your bids! You don;t want to bid on more than the item is worth!
5. Timing is everything. Wait for the timer to get down to at least 2 or 3 seconds then bid, that way you are letting other bidders bid first and you're not wasting your bids. Also, weekday mornings and afternoons and really late hours are best. Weekends are not so great and you won't get as good of a deal on things. For instance...I got a $25 Visa gift card for .25 on a Thurs afternoon, but on the weekend they're bidding up to $2.00 for them.
6. Most of the items I won were $1.50 or less. The highest thing I won was a Kindle Fire for $16.48, but I've gotten $100 Shell gift cards for 68 cents!
Anyway, these tips may or may not help some of you and then maybe you will change your mind and opinions about Bidcactus. I personally think it's a great place to bid and think it's one of the best penny auctions out there!

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eyecare
Kaneohe, US
Jan 20, 2012 11:57 am EST

"My advice is be first bidder because every auction is spoken for by a seasoned bidder and if you are first the respectable bidders will not bid on you, jump a seasoned bidder and you will have your hands full. Hope this helps and good luck."

Are you kidding me? What's the point of bidding if every auction is spoken for? s this auction site only for seasoned bidders? If there were no other bidders and seasoned bidders were never "jumped" then how would this site make any money?

This is more gambling than auctioning because in a real auction you don't lose your money if you don't win; in this site you'll lose 75 cents per bid. Winning appears to be based on 3 factors: 1) How many bidders happen to be competing, 2) the size of their bid investment pool, and 3) when they actually start using their bids. I've seen bidders invest over 1000 bids and lose to someone who put in only a third of that but just happen to start their bidding later,

Since each bid cost the same to everyone it makes sense to bid as late as possible and as slowly as possible to minimize your cost. (You can always "invest" 1 bid in any auction you happen to be interested in. You'll lose but when the auction is over you can see who bid how much by going to your History link. Apparently every Friday there are special Bid Back Auctions.(?) In these, anyone who places a bid gets 3 free bids. So even if you don't want the item, just place 1 bid and get 3 free BidCactus bids! This means for every such auction, you can easily make 2 free bids net (1 bid is used up). This would be a good time to use/earn bids and figure out what happened through your History link.)

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Brandon Collier
, DE
Nov 17, 2011 1:15 am EST
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I have bid on Bidcactus since it has opened and you can do well here, I could care less if more people join it just makes more competition for me! I do not like what is being said here, I have a forum for you to check out it keeps track of all bidders( http://www.allpennyauctions.com/hall_of_fame/biggest_winners/BidCactus.com/ ) I am one of these bidders. Look at how they bid yeah sure they spend three times more then it is worth sometimes but may win 10 more for nothing. Check it out, I was skeptical when I started but I have done really well and I have a return investment of 99 percent and have won 33, 000 in retail and spent 7, 000 in bids to get it sure with shipping and handling I have spent more that is why it is 99 percent on my return! My advice is be first bidder because every auction is spoken for by a seasoned bidder and if you are first the respectable bidders will not bid on you, jump a seasoned bidder and you will have your hands full. Hope this helps and good luck.

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Tiredofscamsandstupidity
Springfield, US
Nov 12, 2011 5:59 pm EST
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I wanted to add after reading back on some other comments, That, if you have to "learn and study how to place your bids, , , it's nothing more then playing Blackjack, or any Gambling card game, I'm sure you could walk into a casino, and ask people what did you win today ? or how do you feel about this Casino ... and i can almost Guarantee you you will get the SAME answers that you're getting on here with many people saying I got 200$ in chips and won two game and got 100$ back, and quite a few people saying, I won my money back, added 200 to it and won the car they have when you win a certain auction ... with EBay ... I've NEVER seen that, if people dint win, they shrug there shoulders, try to find what there looking for again, Bid low, keep watching it and see what happens, The Thrill with penny site is ... OMG I COULD WIN SOMETHING FOR HARDLY ANYTHING ... KEY WORD BEING COULD ... I much rather pay 70$ for say a Ipad .. that I KNOW IM GOING TO GET ... then 100$ for a 10$ gift card because allot of my credits went to things that other people won, If the penny auction site want to keep people happy, after bidding's done, whom ever lost should be able to get say all but 2 $ back, Call it a Bidding Fee or something, Taking someones money is stealing, taking someones money and never giving it back is called a scam, and hyping it up... that you'll win a xbox360 for 30$ ...but you have to sit at the computer and bid at just the right time, is BS ! pure and simple ... so there cheats, stealer's and lyers ... SIMPLE AS THAT ... now I'm off to EBay, where I LOVE to bid small about on things and if i dint win, oh wll .. i only pay when i win ! (( Side note I love beads and i can get beads in every style shape and material for 10 Cents for 100 beads ... i got my 5yo a HUGE box of clothing 8 jeans 3 sweatshirts, a coat, snow-pants, 9 long sleeve shirts and 4 legging outfits ... for 40$ ! ))) I'm sorry Bid Cactus . I refuse to be taken for a fool, , , keep your phony auctions, or if people lose give them there money back, if you do, i think people will bid allot more and sites like this wont exist

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Tiredofscamsandstupidity
Springfield, US
Nov 12, 2011 5:31 pm EST
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I saw something about this "auction" site and thought, What the hell, I'll try, So i start with the sign up processes, and they ask for name, addresses, phone ... Normal stuff, then credit card ... HUMMM .. No ... not before I'm even on the site or LOOKING at something, so I hit pay-pal, figuring it will just like this auction site's payment system thu pay-pal ... but what do i find .. BAM it's asking for my approval to purctice the HIGEST price "PACAGE " of points, ... no Choice, nothing so I just said no i would not accept the terms of that transaction, any place where you have to PAY before you LOOK at Items, or PAY after you have joined and before you even bid is very very fishy, Yes I'm SURE ppl win, but they win what 900 bids for a Ipad ... basically paying 200$ more then it's worth ... I rather stick to EBay where if you loose nothings lost but the Item, and you never loose one cent to bid ... and another Site I've found is Listia .. You get points for signing up, you get points for referring friends, and you use them to bid, NO MONEY NESSEARY unless the "seller" needs you to pay for shipping, you CAN buy points, but it's not required, also you get points for placing your own items up for bid ... it's a great site for people who have allot of stuff lying around there house that might not be worth getting 5$ for on eBay after the posting fee the picture fee and the pay-pal fee ... But cactus is NOT something i will every PAY to look at pretty things that hardly anyone can afford ... I will stick to EBay thank you very much !

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theplanetman
, US
Aug 24, 2011 6:29 pm EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Yes, indeed, you do win things. BUT, that is the catch. They lure you in by allowing you to win a few items for less than retail, BUT, when you add up what you actually spent in bids, plus the auction cost, etc., you are spending up to 6x more than suggested retail price. If something sold for $10.00, that is equivalent to $750.00, as each bid is not a penny but rather $0.75! There are also non-humans that you are up against and there is even evidence showing how the computer bids against itself with items going over the actual cost of an item. Some of these so-called "penny" auction websites have been shut down, and more will follow not only from pending litigation including class-actions, but from federal prosecution ultimately leading to legislation to ban such sites as they are nothing more than gambling, which is illegal in the USA, and as such, an internet fraud, which is a criminal offense!

Be smart, save your money, and just shop a regular store when it goes on sale! !

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Buckbhonest
Atlanta, US
Feb 24, 2011 8:10 pm EST

Wish I checked this out before I played on this scam site. I will notify the BBB and others. I should have known better.

It seems internet trolls are on every site now days..
"Continued ad hominem comments" What was that last nights reading assignment?
spare me please college boy... Dude commented 700 times... what a troll.
Most likely this troll is linked to many of the dishonest sites getting reported on here. Troll is simply defending his scams, thats all.

Hey Thelovefist troll, this is for you... see below

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junkyarddog
, US
Feb 18, 2011 8:30 pm EST

Do you have a life? 656 comments... wow, looks like the "[censor]s" have exposed you. Nice work troll.

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