Swoopo (www.swoopo.com) AKA Entertainment Shopping, Inc. sells and presents itself as a unique "Auction" site. There products are offerred to Swoopo members to bid upon for a severely discounted price. Each bid made to a product increases the price by $0.15USD as well as the auction's end time according to the point in time the bid was made.
For instance, say there are 10 seconds left for a brand-name notebook computer, once you make a bid, another 10 seconds is added to the finish time (moving the auction's end time to 20 seconds) and the price increases by $0.15USD.
To get in on the action, you will need to register for a free Swoopo account. However, before you can bid, you will have to purchase "bids" from Swoopo (each bid approximately costs $1.50USD, as of 11-3-2008, and sold in several "packages/increments" -- that is, you cannot just buy a single bid).
Ideally, whoever made the last bid when the countdown reaches zero wins the product at the last price listed. So, you can essentially get that brand-name notebook computer for $15 -- if you "win". Read on, however.
Swoopo is banking on you to bid more than once on a single product. That's the brunt of their business model; that is how they make money. Every "bid" you make, the have made money off that "bid". Although they have an official "end time" for the auction, the so-called countdown is more of a tool for you to continue bidding. If the product shows that there is 10 seconds left, be forewarned that that is not the actual end time of the "auction".
Contrary to their website's descriptions and design layout, this is not an auction site. It is a very convincing gimmick. Do not be misled. You are not really "bidding" on how much you want to pay for the product. What you are doing when you are "bidding" is actually *betting* that you will get the product at that prescribed price.
Swoopo is a gaming site and it preys on consumers seeking that too-good-to-be-true deal. There are no testimonials of satisfied consumers, no feedback reports of Swoopo fulfilling their part of the bargain because you have no clue if "real people" are winning the "auctions".
Run a search on your favorite online search engine with the keyword, "Swoopo" and you will almost include links to reporting sites like these or warnings of its scam.
I understand that you cannot win all auctions (whether offline or via more reputable auction sites like eBay) but again, Swoopo is NOT an auction site but more of a lottery/gambling site.
Though doubtful, I am still attempting to receive a refund on my remaining bid balance.
ACD
Torrance, California
U.S.A.