Ballbids still running?!

I hate to be "that guy" but I'm really out of the loop here o_O. I see a lot of posts and threads chastising ballbids, yet I have no idea what it is.... In a nutshell, can someone explain it to me, and why everyone has accepted it's a bad idea???

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Originally Posted by h00blah

I hate to be "that guy" but I'm really out of the loop here o_O. I see a lot of posts and threads chastising ballbids, yet I have no idea what it is.... In a nutshell, can someone explain it to me, and why everyone has accepted it's a bad idea???

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On my phone or id look for the thread, but its a penny auction site (easy scam engine) run by two guys who eveytime they open their mouth, they get caught up in a lie.

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Originally Posted by h00blah

I hate to be "that guy" but I'm really out of the loop here o_O. I see a lot of posts and threads chastising ballbids, yet I have no idea what it is.... In a nutshell, can someone explain it to me, and why everyone has accepted it's a bad idea???

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I think people had more issues w/ the site owners more than the actual concept of ballbids(which is bad as well).

Here's the BIG thread about it, which was posted in a previous post: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...1-Ballbids.com

It is a long read, but it explains everything. Even the Ballbid owners come on at some point, which exposes their scam and lies even more.

But in short, Ballbids is a penny auction site where the prizes are Ball Pythons.
Everyone has to buy bids in order to participate in auctions. The snakes are offered up for "cheap", but in reality, you're paying for the bids. That money add up.
In the end, everyone loses money except for the site owners and possibly the auction winner. For example, the snake can be going for a few dollars, but the site owners would have already made a few hundred dollars just on the bids alone. (1 cent is 1 bid, I believe. 1 bid cost $50 cents or something) You still have to pay even if you lose.

But reading about their husbandry practices and how Ballbids quarantines(They don't), I wouldn't put it past them to send sick animals.
It was also noted that a few friends of the site owners won the first few auctions.

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Originally Posted by h00blah

I hate to be "that guy" but I'm really out of the loop here o_O. I see a lot of posts and threads chastising ballbids, yet I have no idea what it is.... In a nutshell, can someone explain it to me, and why everyone has accepted it's a bad idea???

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Essentially it's a penny auction where bids go up by one penny but each bid costs ~ a dollar to place. Such auctions are easy to manipulate using programs as a buyer to place a winning bid at the last second but also as the seller to make more money (as was recently discovered with a different penny auction though not one connected with herps).

There were several issues with this particular group that a couple long threads both here and in the BOI cover extensively and are very informative.
Edit: Which Nikki has beat me too with the link. I would just add there was also an issue with a lack of proper permits for an online gambling/auction site and questionable terms in their TOS such as the right to not ship the snake to the winner without also giving a refund to winner and all the bidders.

Others are upset with the idea that you have to pay to bid with such an auction format. IMHO, this is essentially gambling and should be viewed as such and not as a real auction. There is also a concern about people buying their animals this way but I don't really see the moral/ethical difference between regular auctions and penny auctions when using live pet animals. I'm not really a fan of either one for quality breeding animals but regular auctions are probably fine for pets (with possible rare exceptions for breeders). I think the community's reception may have been different if a well established and respected breeder had initiated this but then again maybe not.

Nikki, you forgot to mention that Zach has been banned from just about every reptile forum on the Internet. Not for Ballbids, but because he refused to follow rules and/or acted like a butt.

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Originally Posted by satomi325

I think people had more issues w/ the site owners more than the actual concept of ballbids(which is bad as well).

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That's pretty much it. Even if you love penny auctions (I'm neutral, a sucker is born every minute), these guys have no business trying to run a business. They've been banned from several reptile forums, and come back under different usernames speaking in the third person. They lie, threaten lawsuits, and have some serious illusions of grandeur issues. At one point, they claimed that we lost the python ban fight because they didn't use their massive reach to help us. Stop laughing. They seriously said that.

Do a google search if you've got some free time. These guys have made themselves quite popular.

My favorite part was when the first auction started and everyone said "I bet they will have bots to win the auction and they or their friends would win the snakes" and guess what? That's exactly what happened! Their friends won the auctions then "gave the snake back" to be auctioned off again.

The boys that run it don't know how to resolve conflict or criticism and got caught up in so many lies it was hard to keep track of them all.

Honestly I won't knock penny auction sites but after I hear about the owners of said site I will stay away. My experience with a certain penny auction site was very good. Now granted I worked third shift at the time and could sit on the computer at 2-3am at work or 11AM when I was home from work. Best wins where Starcraft II when it first came out for about $10 and a surround sound JVC home theater for $40-50. :banana: Those include my cost of purchased bids. Again though from what I have seen this one is not trustworthy.

If you plan to register at Ballbids, you should also read their privacy policy (according to them periodically):

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Your Consent

By using our websites, you consent to our use of information that is collected or submitted as described in this online privacy policy. We may change or add to this privacy policy so we encourage you to review it periodically. We will include the date the privacy policy was last updated.

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In effect, it is saying they can use any information you give them for any reason and you consent to it. They just word it very poorly.

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Originally Posted by SlitherinSisters

My favorite part was when the first auction started and everyone said "I bet they will have bots to win the auction and they or their friends would win the snakes" and guess what? That's exactly what happened! Their friends won the auctions then "gave the snake back" to be auctioned off again.

The boys that run it don't know how to resolve conflict or criticism and got caught up in so many lies it was hard to keep track of them all.

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Yup I thought they would atleast be less transparent about it and auction off a fake snake, have a fake winner, make a fake testimonial about how great ballbids is and they got the snake. Take everyones money and no way to get caught. Except I'm pretty sure all the bids from before were the free bids you got for signing up or just fake also lol. I wonder if anyone actually paid them for bids. So more than likely not much money to take.