The Three Rules of Trust – Using SwipeAuctions/Bids as an Example
Introduction
There’s a well-known adage that says,
Don’t believe everything you read in the papers (Point 1)
Another, (which is derived from the mantra of the old UK stock market) goes like,
An Englishman’s word is his bond (Point 2)
Make what you want of them, but many people still go by this, replacing “An Englishman’s” with the word “MY”.
The Need for New Rules of Trust
The internet has made the job of snake oil salesmen, gangsters and other assorted conmen so much easier that the adages need to be re-thought and rules written. It’s a bit like Isaac Asimov’s Rules of Robotics. Here are mine, but please note the notes just below….
Note 1: All on-line businesses are required to reveal their correct identity through the WHOIS process. The only exclusions are for private non-trading individuals in certain countries. (Some people have a bit of a debate about this, but when you sign up for a domain, you’ll see!)
Note 2: The internet, (or world wide web), by its very nature is like the newspaper business – see Point 1 above!
Note 3: There is a consensus among decent people and a certain legality regarding tax etc., that most legitimate businesses would like to be known and contactable, or else they appear like spiv barrow boys on the make.
Note 4: There is no note 4… yet.
The New Rules of Trust
Rule 1:
Do not believe anything on-line without double or treble checking as a minimum.
Rule 2:
For any business that hides its WHOIS entry, do not believe anything that they say!!
Rule 2 and a half:
For any business that previously hid their WHOIS entry and later chooses to reveal it – same as Rule 2!
Example: Jesse Willms and his “businesses”
n.b. This is one example. This whole web area is currently ballooning and Willms is not alone!
- A business that is anonymous, is on the edge of trust. (Willms’ businesses have previously been cloaked in the main. Only recently have they had publicly exposed WHOIS records.)
- A business that uses false or misleading advertising, is on the edge of trust. (This very website is plagued by dodgy adverts, for which I apologise – it takes some time for the Google adwords filters to kick into play.)
The infamous Jesse Willms got his internet start by selling counterfeit software from Microsoft and Symantech (at least), and for which he had to pay oodles of dollars in damages.
Note: Willms translates this information on his website fluffs like so:
Before becoming a philanthropist, Willms was known for starting his first business – buying and selling computers and software when he was 16 – and launching several Internet companies by the time he was 22. see http://jessewillms.com/ & link & link (two links WHOIS hidden)
His current activities are in the business of skirting the lotteries and gambling laws with On-line “Bid” “Auctions”. These (and Willms is only one of many) are so far removed from the normal concept of an auction that they are more like Bingo.
In tandem with this he’s promoting himself as an internet good guy while still hypocritically continuing along the same vein of his previous activities. Like so…
His previous businesses included flogging green tea and acai fruits to either clean your bowels or make you thin with rippling muscles, and nicking the idea of and ruining the rotten business of a teeth whitening company, for which there have been sues and counter-sues which were resolved “with prejudice” as the wigs say (see link courtesy of @Justin Asking).
Like many fly-by-night websites, these were all promoted and run:
- via email spam from a plethora of hidden marketing businesses, some of which he may or may not have had direct control although he admits to having close contact….(see info from @Justin Asking again)
- via fake websites in the form of informational blogs or news websites designed to appear as such, although minutely disclaimered as otherwise – good link with screenshots here and another here. These first two are run under the concept of “affiliate marketing” which harbours a whole realm of fly-by-night operations with virtually no scruples or accountability. Someone once remarked that managing affiliates was like herding cats….
- via a plethora of drop-point contact addresses, widely dispersed around the globe having no relevance to site visitors’ locations.
- via a plethora of dubious phone number contacts of highly variable functionality.
- with an early predilection for multiple un-called for monetary withdrawals from customer credit accounts
- with a penchant for rapidly changing website names that came and went faster than the seasons although much of the modus operandi and contact points would remain unaltered – a good test for these is that the registration period is generally only a year.
Swipe Offerings
SwipeBids.com which kicked off at the end of 2009 soon morphed into SwipeAuctions.com (see final point above!) How long this lasts is anyone’s guess… (p.s. swipebids domain expires soon).
Currently, you’ll find that SwipeBids.com now redirects back to SwipeAuctions.com at a “prelogin” page. There, sit a heap of hysterically hypocritical statements right on this front page – see screenshot on the left and dissection below!
This website is Jesse Willms’ latest saucy effort at world domination! Tied in with this has been a massive internet hype of “Jesse Willms, the caring philantropist”.
The plethora of websites for which he’s been loathed continues in the myriad of hype sites and linkage referrals containing the vomit inducing self-promotional bilge, plus a continuing swathe of fake news websites.
Uncharacteristically, he sticks with only one “bid auction” website…? Hmm? (p.s. since this was written, the site has been pulled although rumours are rife about a new startup…!)
Meanwhile, like snake oil, the Swipe-Bid-Auction scam has proved very enticing to all the scum of the earth and has turned into a veritable plague… (p.s. since this was written, the plague of copycat sites is now a deluge)
Bid Auction Scum Fight it Out – it’s Getting Dirty
Dirty?
Yep! There’s a veritable bidding war going on to get to the top of the Google search results and the Facebook sidebar. As noted elsewhere, BidSauce.com has joined the affray and Willms’ lawyers have been issuing writs a-plenty.
Amongst others….. How so?
A. Well do a Google search for BidSauce.com, SwipeAuctions.com & SwipeBids.com (click links to see results – my results today are below), and you’ll see what I mean.
Bid Auction Scum New Kids on the Block
My results show the following paid for ads on Google and their WHOIS hidden status.
BidSauce.com
Bidhere.com – Hidden
Biddi.com – disclosed UK company, KSB Trading Ltd
SwipeAuctions.com
SwipeAuctions-Register.com – Hidden! It also redirects to SwipeAuctions.com which is registered in California. Check out this info from @Not Kevin for an earlier version of the listings.
MadBid.com – disclosed as Marcandi Ltd in the UK
Bidhere.com – Hidden (again!)
SwipeBids.com
No paid for ads at the top but some of the above appear in the right-side advert box of paid for ads. Interestingly, swipeauctions.com is top!
What Does it Mean and What Should I Do?
Mean? It means that many people have seen this “bid-auction” as a good bandwagon to join, while it lasts!
Do? What I do is click on the paid for ads as much as possible! These ads are costing well over a pound to place and it costs those businesses for every click!!! (n.b. if you think I’m being hypocritical in allowing similar ads onto this website, then read my privacy policy.)
If it’s Facebook where I see the ad, I also click on it so that it fires up in a new window so the geezers have to pay again, then I click the cross next to the advert and report the adverts as “Misleading” – because, from all my research as seen on this website and others, plus the example searches shown above, they are all misleading.
Penny/Bid Auctions Mislead?
They mislead as it’s gambling, not an auction.
They mislead as you pay to enter the auction at each step, it’s not a bid.
They take money in advance – no auction does this, even one for a Van Gogh or an old wardrobe, because anyone can bid!
Swipe Auctions Duff Photo Evidence
Yep! At the bottom of his new landing page of swipeauctions.com, under “picture testimonials” Jesse states, today:
Each and every testimonial on the site should have a picture of the customer who sent it in. You can only use someone’s picture with his or her permission, so if there is a photo you can be sure the testimonial is legitimate. If there is no photo, the site’s management could have written a false testimonial.
Compare and contrast with my screen-shots of his website here where I explicitly show the fake photos from a testimonial: https://strangelyperfect.tv/7955/facebook-msnbc-jesse-willms-swipe-auctions-and-doctored-photos/ – these photos are from an affiliate’s website about which there is some conflict of ownership evidence.
And compare Jesse’s fine words with the fantastic investigative ScamRaiders revelation that the picture of an “auctioned” Honda as used on his website was taken and then Photo-shopped even before the website was set up!!!
Don’t you just love it when the creeps are so blatantly bad? !!
Suggested Further Reading
https://www.webcops.net/just_think_media_spam_scams_8001.html – Best expose on early Willms’ scams. How he threatened legal action as his whereabouts were exposed.
https://strangelyperfect.tv/7955/facebook-msnbc-jesse-willms-swipe-auctions-and-doctored-photos/#comments-2834 – info on the incarnations and IP addresses of Willms’ Swipe**** sites (I am currently taking legal advice on this article so it’s withdrawn pending notice. Contact me for its contents which most right-minded folk would consider fair and accurate reporting.)
https://www.jimlillig.com/internet-marketing/abcs-news-2020-features-jesse-willms-among-others-in-alleged-deceptive-practices-story/ – smiling Jesse is exposed by “the CPA Guy” n.b. currently offline but transcribed here courtesy of this link.
https://www.bbbroundup.com/ – discredits much of the BBB rating system and how entries flip and change due to possible business collusion.
https://www.walletpop.com/blog/2010/09/14/better-business-bureau-risks-losing-credibility-over-ratings-co/ – more info on BBB ratings not being what they seem…
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=36648669&postcount=22 – comment detailing the above BBB conflict of interests and how Jesse Willms’ businesses generated 2612 complaints at the BBB before they revised his status with his newer websites! n.b. This is one of the top UK websites!
http://onlinescamwebsites.com/how-do-penny-auctions-work/ – clearly explains how these “auctions” work
Suggested Reverse IP Checks
Reverse IP checking is a very good indicator that many websites are related in some businesses, commercial or personal sense. Using this website, this website strangelyperfect.tv shows as follows:
Found 4 domains hosted on the same web server as strangelyperfect.tv (174.120.2.125).
ceinonline.org
This is hardly surprising and I make no secret of the fact…
Using this website again, enter these three domains into the box. What you find are a host of probably related dodgy websites, fake blogs and news sites, and other stuff. Look and see!
SWIPEAUCTIONS-REVIEW.COM :2 domains
live9news.com, swipeauctions-review.com
SWIPEAUCTIONS-REGISTER.COM: 101 domains including such gems as:
1r2chat.com 24-7keybank.com AcaiBerryBurnTrial.com ColonCleanse4FreeTrial.com Resveratrol-Resveratrol.com acaiforceformen.com buy-wii-in-stock.com buyipodnow.net buyps4console.com buyps4now.com consumerhealthreporter.com consumernewsreporter.com dazzlesmilefreetrial.com findluxurywatches.com goboff.com hairexpert.org myhairexpert.org natural-hair-transplant.com naturalhairtransplant.org swipeauctions-register.com thumoney.com top3-coloncleanse.com top3-whiteteeth.com www.buywiinow.net www.findluxurywatches.com www.natural-hair-transplant.com www.thumedia.net www.thumoney.com www.top3-resveratrol.com www.tradeblogger.net
I’ve omitted most of the “foreign” domains. Make of that what you will but it is noticable that many snake oil websites are to be found grouped under a single IP address.
SWIPEAUCTIONS.COM: has just the canonical and www domains.
Disclaimer
Many things are said above that rope all “bid” “auctions” into the same boat. While some may have differing operational procedures with perfectly legal transactional and customer services, and may differ in their Terms & Conditions to Jesse Willms’ offerings, I accept those facts.
However, I consider all web-operations in this field of “bid” “auction” to be nothing more than gambling, and they should all be governed by those gambling laws applicable to their country of viewing and business location.
Acai auction BBB Bid Auction BLOCK California CHANGE collusion Colon Company Complaint computer Conditions conflict Contact counterfeit Court credibility dirt dodgy Domain Earth Email English EVERYTHING expert EXPLICITLY Facebook fake news Fantastic filter Foetus FORM functionality gambling good GOOGLE google search Green Tea Health HOPE HTML HTTP Internet IP address ISSUING Jesse Willms JOIN Justin Asking LATEST Lawyer legal loath LOVE LTD Mad MAIN management Marketing Microsoft mind MINIMUM money msnbc Nature NET NEWS news sites NORMAL NOTE NOTHING OIL operandi personal philanthropist Phone Number privacy RE REDIRECTS referral REGISTERED registration RELATED RESEARCH REVIEW Robot scam screenshot scum sense SERVICES SOFTWARE Spam Step Stock Market SwipeAuction SwipeAuctions swipebids Symantech tandem Teeth TerraMarketing Test The Box threat trial UK UN Virtual war web server Whitening whois
30 Responses
This is a case on topic that further leads to my impatience with this action brought forth by the FTC Northwest Region Branch of Seattle, WA. This was the action taken by the FTC Midwest Branch, Chicago with News release of April 04,2011 followed by a stipulated preliminary injunction of April 13,2011.
For Release: 04/19/2011 FTC Seeks to Halt 10 Operators of Fake News Sites from Making Deceptive Claims About Acai Berry Weight Loss Products Internet Marketers Falsely Claim Endorsement from ABC, Fox News, CBS, CNN, USA Today, and Consumer Reports, FTC Alleges
April 19, 2011
In Support of Its Motion For A Temporary Restraining Order With Other Equitable Relief and Order To Show Cause Why A Preliminary Injunction Should Not Issue
Why is it that this action has proceeded to Preliminary Injunction in the same month of April, 2011, were as the Willms case has not made similar progress after what amounts to four months now? Is there something “hinky” at the Northwest Region Branch of Seattle, WA.?
@Justin
The frustration is mutual, I can tell you! Saying this, and from my experience, anything legal takes ages, unless someone needs to invade Libya or something, when mysteriously, legal matters are agreed on in minutes….
For the Pacific WebWorks (PWW) scam system, it took years. They had their thing going since 2007, I stumbled upon it in April 2009, (see Google Treasure Chest, It’s a Scam and a Half!), then Jonathon Eborn et al got sued by the Texas AG, then PWW got sued by Google for breach of trademark, then finally PWW got the FTC on their backs and had to cave in entirely. This all finished in January this year!!!!!!
So things take time. PWW is still trading but they’re being very careful about what they do now. There’ve been several board changes (rats deserting sinking ship?) and their whole operation is now watched by the feds.
For Willms et al…… He’s being sued for nigh on $500m, which implies that there’s good evidence that he’s made much more money than this in the FTC’s investigation log. However, two things come inmmediately to mind:
On top of this is the normal legal time drag which always seems to happen.
On top of this is the massive personal blagging & bragging from the golden boy himself with his “amazing” philanthropic hat on….. we see him “generously” donate a few thou to hurricane victims or [insert latest disaster or good cause here]. Since he’s pulled out over $400m from ordinary folks (according top the FTC charge), this really is the most sickening display of duplicity that I’ve seen for a many a long year.
His behaviour in this manner serves to manipulate the Google search rankings in his “goody two shoes” favour while lowering the revelations about his dodgy past (let’s not kid ourselves here, shall we? Google is search, the others are also rans).
His dodgy past includes but is not limited to:
Also noteworthy is that Willms has avoided all admissions of guilt in the above and other cases but has always endeavoured (and succeeded) in reaching out-of-court settlements so that no criminal charges can be brought. This seems to be very important to him, and in my opinion, the reason is obvious – because it means he can keep trading regardless and only has to ensure that he doesn’t stray on a particular complainant’s territory. It means he can use virtually the same modus operandi time after time after time – just don’t tread on Microsoft or Oprah’s toes, that’s all. Geddit?
My guess (and that’s all it is until shown otherwise) is that’s what’s going on now – a kind of plea-bargaining or something twix his and the FTC lawyers.
If this is what happens, you can be sure lots of folks will be watching his every move.
WEIRD LINKS
I’m currently trawling my website checking for duff links. I’ve come across something very, very weird…….
Aside from what I’d expect in the usual form of link-rot, I’ve spotted that virtually every backlink by myself or fellow commentators which points to articles on Willms, PWW etc …..
…IS BROKEN!
It’s as if a real concerted effort has gone in to removing all bad articles and comment about Willms, PWW etc from somebody….?
Sometimes, whole websites have changed their direction! Websites devoted to CPA and affiliate chit-chat now have gone serious and are devoid of Willms’ business mentions at all. I’m only quarter of the way through currently – maybe I’ll spot some other oddnesses? Some (and I’m not including the expected ones like the fake news and affiliate sites obviously) have disappeared forever and have even turned Chinese! Weird.
Remember the words of Auric Goldfinger.
Is it just my impatience, or is it that updates about these charges against Jesse Willms alleged activities, long overdue? Further word as to the disposition of this “Preliminary Injunction” was indicated to come out in June of 2011. It is now September 2011 without a peep about this landmark action initiated by the fine lawyers at the FTC???
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2011/05/ftc-charges-online-marketers-scamming-consumers-out-hundreds
For Release: 05/17/2011 FTC Charges Online Marketers with Scamming Consumers out of Hundreds of Millions of Dollars with ‘Free’ Trial Offers
Motion for Preliminary Injunction and Memorandum of Points and Authorities in Support
https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/cases-proceedings/102-3012/willms-jesse-et-al
BTW: There was a class action lawsuit filed against SwipeBids.com in California court system in August 2010. Interestingly, it was dismissed without going to trial in that same month of May 2011 of this FTC action, citing no jurisdiction over Mr. Willms as cause.
Justin
This post from Penny https://www.pennyauctionwatch.com/2011/06/the-stat… I think is not wholly unrelated to my post and the comments here, combined with an earlier post of hers from back in March, https://www.pennyauctionwatch.com/2011/03/lawsuit-…
Combine these events to my words and feelings above plus the FTC charge against smiling Willms et al (https://www.pennyauctionwatch.com/2011/05/ftc-charges-online-marketers-with-scamming-consumers-out-of-hundreds-of-millions-of-dollars-with-free-trial-offers/ and elsewhere) and we see that the tide is turning, the vast weight of public opinion is forcing the pace on these charlatans.
Let's hope the FTC have a glorious win and show the shits where to go.
I wonder what spin Ms Dana Wong has been ordered to throw over these events?
Class Action News!
We've seen how the various web templates and email spams flip and flop between which online gambling-auction site they choose to promote, yes?
We've also see the battle between the various bid-gambling-auction businesses progress with the paid-for adverts on Facebook (for a while) and their fight to get top spot on Google, yes?
Well for me, they're all wrong (as you should know by now) as I consider them all unregulated gambling. As such, customers have experiencced very bad things and lost a lot of money precisely because of this lack of regulation.
Willms' outfits were just a couple in a veritable deluge of similar websites and the following does not relate to his (now defunct) sites. And now news from my feed shows that QuiBids are the first in the genre (to my knowledge) to have a class action thrown at them. See:
The details are EXACTLY what you'd expect and can be read here:
https://www.courthousenews.com/2010/12/02/QuiBids….
And this is the full caboodle which includes eBay references exactly like those on SwipeAuctions etc and even the Honda Civic! It'll be interesting to see how it pans out and BTW, the plaintiffs are ANYONE IN THE USA who has paid more than market value for an item, or got nothing at all for their money:
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF OKLAHOMA
(1) LAWRENCE A. LOCKE,
individually and on behalf of all others
similarly situated,
Plaintiffs,
v.
(1) QUIBIDS, LLC,
Defendant.
)))))))))))))
CIVIL NO:____________________
JURY TRIAL DEMANDED
CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT
CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT PAGE 1
Case 5:10-cv-01277-W Document 1 Filed 11/30/10 Page 1 of 23
TO THE HONORABLE COURT:
Plaintiff Lawrence A. Locke, on behalf of himself and all other persons similarly
situated, by the undersigned attorneys, alleges the following against Defendant QuiBids,
LLC (“QuiBids”), based on his personal knowledge as to himself and his own acts and on
information and belief as to all other matters.
NATURE OF ACTION
1. Plaintiff brings a class action arising from QuiBids’ operation of
QuiBids.com, an interactive website on which consumers are enticed to buy ‘bids” for
use in on-line auctions of consumer products with the promise of obtaining those
consumer products at significant discounts from retail prices. QuiBids.com offers
consumers the chance to bid on a variety of consumer products, including high ticket
items such as high-definition televisions, laptop computers, other electronic equipment,
and even automobiles. At any given time, QuiBids.com is conducting auctions of dozens
of these high-ticket items. Each QuiBids.com auction lasts many hours, and each item
typically draws numerous bids, with high ticket items drawing hundreds or even
thousands of bids. Each bid purchased from QuiBids costs $0.60. In each QuiBids.com
auction, each $0.60 bid placed by a consumer raises the purchase price of the item by
either $.01 or $.02, depending on the format of the auction.
2. QuiBids promotes itself (on its website, through widespread internet
advertising and emails) as providing an opportunity for consumers to win luxury items at
CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT PAGE 2
Case 5:10-cv-01277-W Document 1 Filed 11/30/10 Page 2 of 23
significant discounts compared to retail stores and E-Bay, and it claims that winning
bidders on QuiBids.com typically save 80%-95% compared to retail prices. In one email
promotion, QuiBids cites a customer winning a $20,000 Honda Civic automobile for
$1,740.78 in a two-cent QuiBids auction. That price means QuiBids sold 87,039 bids
which were used in that auction. At $0.60 per bid, QuiBids grossed $52,233.40 from the
bids alone, an amount that dwarfs not only any savings realized by the winning bidder
individually, but the retail cost of the car. This illustrates the critical difference between
QuiBids and E-Bay – losing bidders on E-Bay do not pay anything.
3. Under the auction system set up by QuiBids, most consumers using the site
will not win the majority of auctions for low ticket items on which they bid and will
rarely, if ever, win auctions of high ticket items. Given this, and given that each losing
attempt to win an action costs the consumer money (because each bid costs $.60),
QuiBids.com functionally constitutes something more like a gambling website than an
auction website. Consumers spend money to place bets in the hopes of winning a prize –
a consumer product at a significant discount. As is true with traditional gambling, the
overwhelming majority of customers who use QuiBids.com will lose money doing so;
that is, the total amount they spend between purchasing bids, paying for items in auctions
they win and paying for any items they purchase using the “Buy It Now” feature
(explained below) will exceed the retail value as stated on QuiBids.com of the items they
receive, if any.
4. Unlike a gambling website or a casino, however, QuiBids.com does not
disclose its true nature. It does not disclose the very low probability of a customer
CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT PAGE 3
Case 5:10-cv-01277-W Document 1 Filed 11/30/10 Page 3 of 23
receiving a financially positive outcome from using the website. In contrast, the odds of
winning a lottery are calculable and publicized. Likewise, the payback percentages of
various casino games are calculable and widely available. Indeed, slot machines are
regulated as to the percentage of money put into them that they will pay back. Nowhere
on QuiBids’ site, however, does it provide information on what percentage of the money
spent by its customers is returned to the customers as merchandise, nor does QuiBids
provide any basis for calculating same.
5. QuiBids’ failure to disclose the fact that the overwhelming majority of
customers will lose money by using the site and the percentage of money returned
constitutes violations of the Oklahoma Consumer Protection Act and common law fraud
by omission under Oklahoma law. Plaintiff seeks to represent a class of all persons who
lost money using QuiBids.com; that is, a class of all customers for whom the total
amount spent between purchasing bids, paying for any auction items won and paying for
items purchased using the “Buy It Now” feature exceeded the retail values as stated on
QuiBids.com of the items they received, if any.
6. QuiBids additionally fails to disclose material facts about bidding on high
ticket items (items with a retail value of $100 or more). In the bidding on any high ticket
item, multiple bids will always be made during the last 20 seconds of the time originally
set for bidding by QuiBids. This is true for two reasons: (1) because it is a wise bidding
strategy adopted by many bidders, and (2) because QuiBids.com has a “Bid-O-Matic”
feature whereby customers can have the site automatically bid for them on virtually all
auctions of high ticket items, and the Bid-O-Matic feature only bids when there are 20
CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT PAGE 4
Case 5:10-cv-01277-W Document 1 Filed 11/30/10 Page 4 of 23
seconds or less left in the auction. As a consequence, on a high ticket item, any bid
placed before the last 20 seconds originally set for bidding by QuiBids will never succeed
in winning the auction and is a complete and utter waste of money. Notably,
QuiBids.com does not disclose that any bid placed on a high ticket item prior to the last
20 seconds originally set for bidding by QuiBids is inevitably a waste of money.
7. QuiBids’ failure to disclose on the website that placing bids on high ticket
items before the last 20 seconds it originally set for bidding is a complete waste of money
is a violation of the Oklahoma Consumer Protection Act and constitutes common law
fraud by omission under Oklahoma law. On behalf of the proposed class, Plaintiff asserts
this additional claim.
JURISDICTION AND VENUE
8. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332(d)(2), this Court has jurisdiction over this
action because it is filed as a class action, the amount in controversy exceeds the sum of
$5,000,000, exclusive of interest and costs, and members of the class are citizens of states
other than QuiBids’ state of citizenship.
9. QuiBids provides in the “Terms & Conditions” posted on QuiBids.com that
any legal action or proceeding related to the QuiBids.com website shall be brought
exclusively in a federal or state court sitting in Oklahoma and that a consumer’s use of
QuiBids.com shall be governed by the laws of the United States of America and the State
of Oklahoma without regard to Oklahoma’s conflicts of law principles. Venue also lies
in this District pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1391, because QuiBids resides in this Judicial
CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT PAGE 5
Case 5:10-cv-01277-W Document 1 Filed 11/30/10 Page 5 of 23
District and a substantial part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claim occurred
in this Judicial District.
PARTIES
10. Plaintiff Lawrence A. Locke (“Locke” or “Plaintiff”) is a resident of
Tigard, Oregon.
11. Defendant QuiBids, LLC (“QuiBids”) is an Oklahoma limited liability
company which has its principal place of business in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
QuiBids may be served with process through its registered agent for service of process,
Matt Beckham, at 1601 N.W. Expressway, Suite 1500, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73118
or at 2200 N. Classen, Apt. 2002, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73106.
FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS.
12. QuiBids purports to be an online auction company. At QuiBids’ website,
QuiBids.com (the “Site”), QuiBids offers an interactive service through which customers
purchase bids and attempt to win various consumer goods, including items such as iPods,
Macbooks, PS3s, and other high-ticket items. QuiBids has operated the Site since at least
July 2009.
13. Before a customer can place bids on the Site, he or she must first register an
account on the Site. Only one account per customer is permitted. Upon information and
belief, QuiBids keeps electronic records of all activity within each account, including all
purchases of bids, all auctions in which bids were placed, all auction items won and
purchased and all items purchased using the “Buy It Now” feature. Once the account has
been confirmed, the next step for the customer is to buy bids, which are sold in “packs”
CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT PAGE 6
Case 5:10-cv-01277-W Document 1 Filed 11/30/10 Page 6 of 23
of varying number. There are five different sizes of bid packs to buy from QuiBids, and
for all of them, the cost per bid is $.60.1 What the customer is purchasing is the right to
place bids on particular auction items. The purchase of bids is not a guarantee that the
customer will win any auction.
14. The Site’s home page provides an “Ending Auctions” section that lists the
auctions purportedly closest to ending. Each of these auctions has a time, a price, a
bidder name, a picture of the product, and a colored banner with a cent number displayed
in the upper right corner.
15. Whenever a customer bids during the last 20 seconds of an auction,
additional time is added to the auction by QuiBids. Initially, another 20 seconds is added.
At some point, QuiBids may decide to reduce the amount of time added by an additional
bid to 15 seconds. After that, QuiBids may decide to add only an additional 10 seconds
for each additional bid. Ten seconds will be added for every additional bid made until,
finally, no more bids are made in the last 10 seconds. The last bidder “wins” the auction
and the right to purchase the item.
16. Each auction has a specific amount by which the purchase price of the item
increases when a bid is placed. On a one-cent auction, the final sale price will increase
by $0.01 each time a bid is placed. On a two-cent auction, the final sale price will
increase by $0.02 each time a bid is placed. The price represents what the consumer who
wins the auction will have to pay to obtain the product if the auction were to end at that
1 Customers may also obtain bids by participating in auctions of bid packs called “Vouchers” and the price per
“Voucher” bid for customers winning such auctions may be less than $.60 per bid.
CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT PAGE 7
Case 5:10-cv-01277-W Document 1 Filed 11/30/10 Page 7 of 23
point. An auction winner ends up paying the cost of all the bids he or she placed on the
item, the purchase price of the item and shipping costs.
17. For a losing bidder, QuiBids offers a “Buy It Now” feature pursuant to
which the product can be purchased at the full retail price stated on the Site for up to two
hours after the end of the auction. The losing bidder gets a credit towards the purchase
price for the cost of the losing bids he or she expended.2 The “Buy It Now” purchase
price is typically higher than the best price for which the item could be purchased on the
internet or in retail stores.
18. Unlike traditional auctions, when a QuiBids consumer bids on an item, the
consumer pays $0.60 for each bid, regardless of whether or not the consumer actually
wins the item. For example, in a traditional auction, a consumer who bids $1.00 on an
item but loses the auction does not pay the $1.00 losing bid. Under QuiBids’ scheme,
however, a consumer may bid multiple times on an item and ultimately lose the auction
but will have lost the price of the losing bids. For example, QuiBids may be in the
process of conducting a one-cent auction for an item which stands at $10.00 with 60
seconds left on the timer. If a customer A places one $0.60 bid on the item, the price will
be raised to $10.01, and customer A will have paid $0.60. A dozen subsequent bids
could be made on the item by customers B-M, which will raise the price to $10.13 and
eliminate customers A-L as high bidders, but customers A-L will each have paid the
amount of their bids, and QuiBids will have collected an additional $7.80.
2 Credit is not given for “Voucher” bids won in auctions.
CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT PAGE 8
Case 5:10-cv-01277-W Document 1 Filed 11/30/10 Page 8 of 23
19. The most savvy QuiBids customers wait until the final 20 seconds
originally set for bidding by QuiBids to bid on high ticket items (items with a retail value
of $100 or more). Auctions of high-ticket items open with many hours to bid, and many
customers purchase and place bids in the hours before the final 20 seconds originally set
for bidding by QuiBids, completely unaware that these bids have no chance of winning
and that the money spent on those bids is an utter waste. The Site offers consumers the
option on virtually all high ticket items to have the Site bid automatically for them
pursuant to pre-set parameters by using the Bid-O-Matic feature. Recognizing that bids
made in the final 20 seconds it originally set for bidding of an auction of a high ticket
item are the only bids with any chance of winning, QuiBids has designed this feature so
that it will only place bids within that time frame. Thus, the Site itself, through the Bid-
O-Matic feature, is designed so as to make bidding on high ticket items before the final
20 seconds originally set for bidding by QuiBids a complete waste of time and money.
Yet, this fact is nowhere disclosed on the Site. The failure to disclose this fact is unfair,
deceptive and fraudulent.
20. Unfortunately, the unfairness, deception and fraudulent nature of the Site
goes far beyond wasted bids placed on auctions of high ticket items before the last 20
seconds originally set for bidding by QuiBids. The true nature of the Site is not
disclosed, much to the detriment of the overwhelming majority of its users. QuiBids
offers nothing more to its customers than a very low probability of purchasing
merchandise at a discount. Those customers will not win the majority of the auctions in
which they participate and will win very few, if any, auctions on high ticket items (items
CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT PAGE 9
Case 5:10-cv-01277-W Document 1 Filed 11/30/10 Page 9 of 23
with a retail value of $100 or greater). Consequently, for the overwhelming majority of
customers who play QuiBids’ game, the money they will spend to purchase bids and pay
for any items which they are lucky enough to win will greatly exceed the retail value of
any items they win and purchase.
21. The existence of the “Buy It Now” feature does not change this fact. Even
customers who regularly use the feature will end up paying more between the cost of the
bids, the purchase prices and shipping costs of any items won in auctions and the
purchase prices and shipping costs of any items purchased using the “Buy It Now”
feature than the retail values as stated on QuiBids.com of the merchandise they receive.
Crucially, unlike games of chance played in a casino, which may only be operated under
specific statutory authority, QuiBids provides no information to its customer of his odds
of winning or what percentage the “house” keeps. In truth, QuiBids is offering
something akin to a raffle or some other type of gambling, despite purporting to operate
an “auction.” Nowhere on the Site does QuiBids disclose the very low probability of
benefitting financially from using the Site. Its failure to do so is unfair, deceptive and
fraudulent.
FACTS SPECIFIC TO NAMED PLAINTIFF
22. Plaintiff is an Oregon resident who learned about QuiBids.com by reading
publicly-available news and magazine features in early-to-mid 2010. These sources
emphasized that consumers could save an average of 80%, and up to 95%, on consumer
products on QuiBids.com compared to the fair retail prices of those consumer products.
CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT PAGE
10
Case 5:10-cv-01277-W Document 1 Filed 11/30/10 Page 10 of 23
23. Plaintiff first visited QuiBids.com on July 18, 2010. What stood out to
Plaintiff while on the Site was its statements emphasizing that all items would be sold at
extremely low prices, with huge savings compared to retail prices.
24. On the same day, Plaintiff purchased the “Beginner Bid Pack” for $45.00.
In return, he received 75 bids. Plaintiff also bid on three bid packs called “25-bid
Vouchers.” Plaintiff won two of the three Vouchers he bid on, and he paid a total of
$6.11 for them. All told, Plaintiff spent $51.11 to purchase 125 bids or $.41 per bid.
25. Plaintiff bid for several consumer products advertised on the Site on July
18, 2010, and July 19, 2010, but he won none of them despite using all his bids.
Plaintiff’s $51.11 was spent on nothing more than a chance to win—he received nothing
of value in return. That is more like gambling than a traditional auction in which the
losing bidders pay nothing.
26. More specifically, on July 18, 2010, Plaintiff placed losing bids for
consumer products on the Site as follows:
9 bids on a Nikon camera (high ticket item), and
6 bids on an external hard drive.
27. On July 19, 2010, Plaintiff placed losing bids for consumer products on the
Site as follows:
1 bid on an HDMI cable;
10 bids on an HP Printer (high ticket item);
64 bids on an LG 55" HDTV (high ticket item); and
1 bid on a Nikon camera (high ticket item).
CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT PAGE
11
Case 5:10-cv-01277-W Document 1 Filed 11/30/10 Page 11 of 23
28. Plaintiff made a number of bids on the high ticket items before the final 20
seconds originally set for bidding by QuiBids.
29. In the one-cent LG 55" HDTV auction, the TV sold for $228.99, which
means ultimately 22,859 bids were placed, 64 by Plaintiff personally. For the winning
bidder, this price likely represented a significant discount from the retail price, which was
probably at least $1,500.00. However, the amount paid to QuiBids for the bids placed on
the Site is staggering in comparison — 22,859 bids at $0.60 each amounts to $13,715.40.
If QuiBids in fact paid the retail cost to acquire the television, QuiBids grossed over
$12,000.00 on that one auction. Even so, since one consumer purchased the television at
$228.59, QuiBids brags that the consumer saved 85% compared to the retail price, never
mentioning that the rest of its customers spent as much as $14,000 on that auction and
received nothing in return.
CLASS ACTION ALLEGATIONS
30. Plaintiff seeks to represent the following class:
All persons in the United States (the 50 states, Washington,
D.C., Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico) who
spent more money on QuiBids.com than the value of the
goods they received, if any – persons for whom the total
amount spent on purchasing bids, on paying for any auction
items they won (including shipping costs) and paying for
items using the “Buy It Now” feature (including shipping
costs) exceeded the retail values as listed on QuiBids.com of
the goods they received (the “Class”).
31. This action has been brought and may properly be maintained as a class
action pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(a) and (b)(3).
CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT PAGE
12
Case 5:10-cv-01277-W Document 1 Filed 11/30/10 Page 12 of 23
32. The members of the Class are so numerous that joinder of all members is
impracticable. The exact number of members in the Class is unknown to Plaintiff at this
time and can only be ascertained through appropriate discovery. However, QuiBids
claims on the Site that it has in excess of 1,600,000 “registered users.” Because
customers of the Site have to provide email addresses in order to register and have to
provide mailing addresses in order to purchase bids and merchandise using credit cards,
Plaintiff believes that QuiBids has the information necessary to allow notice to be sent
individually to each member of the Class.
33. Common questions of law and fact exist as to all members of the Class.
Among others, these common questions include, but are not limited to:
a. whether QuiBids’ conduct constituted violations of the Oklahoma
Consumer Protection Act;
b. whether QuiBids’ conduct constituted common law fraud by
omission under Oklahoma law;
c. whether QuiBids should, in equity and good conscience, refund to
the members of the Class their losses pursuant to Oklahoma’s cause
of action for money had and received;
d. whether QuiBids should refund the losses of the members of the
Class pursuant to the Oklahoma cause of action for unjust
enrichment; and
e. whether, as a result of violations of the Oklahoma Consumer
Protection Act herein, Plaintiff and the members of the Class are
CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT PAGE
13
Case 5:10-cv-01277-W Document 1 Filed 11/30/10 Page 13 of 23
entitled to injunctive relief or other remedies, in addition to
damages, and, if so, the nature of such relief.
34. These common questions predominate over any questions affecting only
individual members of the Class.
35. Plaintiff’s claims are typical of the claims of the members of the Class, as
he and all the members of the Class were similarly affected by QuiBids’ wrongful
uniform conduct and assert the same legal theories. Plaintiff has no interests antagonistic
to the interests of the other members of the Class. Plaintiff and all members of the Class
have sustained similar economic injuries arising out of QuiBids’ violations of common
and statutory law as alleged herein.
36. Plaintiff is an adequate representative of the Class because his interests and
those of his counsel do not conflict with the interests of the members of the Class he
seeks to represent; he has retained counsel competent and experienced in complex class
action litigation; and Plaintiff intends to prosecute this action vigorously. Plaintiff and
his counsel will fairly and adequately protect the interests of all of the members of the
Class.
37. A class action is superior to all other available methods for the fair and
efficient adjudication of these controversies since joinder of all members is impracticable.
Furthermore, as the damages suffered by individual Class members will be relatively
small, the expense and burden of individual litigation make it impossible for Class
members to individually redress the wrongs done to them. There will be no difficulty in
the management of this class action, whereas individualized litigation presents the
CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT PAGE
14
Case 5:10-cv-01277-W Document 1 Filed 11/30/10 Page 14 of 23
potential for inconsistent or contradictory judgments. A class action presents far fewer
management difficulties and provides the benefits of a single adjudication, economy of
scale, comprehensive supervision by a single court and the conservation of scarce judicial
resources.
COUNT I
VIOLATION OF OKLAHOMA CONSUMER PROTECTION
ACT BY DECEPTIVE TRADE PRACTICES
38. Plaintiff incorporates all of the allegations of Paragraphs 1 through 37 into
Count I as if they were fully set forth here verbatim.
39. QuiBids is a “person” within the meaning of the Oklahoma Consumer
Protection Act. 15 O.S. ANN. § 752(1). Plaintiff and all the members of the Class are
“consumers” as that term is used in 15 O.S. ANN. § 761.1(A). Plaintiff and the other
members of the Class and QuiBids were engaged in “consumer transactions” within the
meaning of the Act. Id. at § 752(2).
40. QuiBids failed to inform its customers: (a) that the overwhelming majority
of customers using the Site would lose money by doing so, (b) of the percentage of the
money spent by customers on the Site that is returned to customers in the form of
merchandise; and (c) that with respect to auctions of high-ticket items (items with a retail
value of $100 or more), bids placed on QuiBids.com for those items before the last 20
seconds originally set for bidding by QuiBids will inevitably be unsuccessful and, thus, a
waste of money. These failures to disclose constituted the commission of an act or
practice declared to be a violation of the Act pursuant to Section 753(20), in that they
CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT PAGE
15
Case 5:10-cv-01277-W Document 1 Filed 11/30/10 Page 15 of 23
constituted deceptive trade practices as defined in Section 752 of the Act. Id. at §§
753(20) & 752(13). Specifically, QuiBids’ omissions constituted omissions that deceived
Plaintiff and the members of the Class or that could reasonably be expected to deceive or
mislead a person to the detriment of that person.
41. As a result of QuiBids’ violations, Plaintiff and the other members of the
Class have sustained actual damages equal to the amounts they have lost using
QuiBids.com – the amount by which the total dollars they paid for bids, plus the total
dollars they paid to purchase items won during auctions (including shipping costs), plus
the total dollars they paid to purchase items using the “Buy It Now” feature (including
shipping costs) exceeded the total retail values as stated on QuiBids.com of the
merchandise they received. Alternatively, as a result of QuiBids’ violations, Plaintiff and
the other members of the Class have sustained actual damages equal to the amounts they
paid for the losing bids they made on high-ticket items on QuiBids.com before the last 20
seconds originally set for bidding by QuiBids.
42. QuiBids is liable to Plaintiff and the other members of the Class for those
actual damages caused by QuiBids’ violation of Act and for their reasonable costs and
attorneys’ fees. Id. at § 761.1(A). In addition, pursuant to Section 761.1(C) of the Act,
Plaintiff seeks an injunction requiring QuiBids to disclose the omitted information on the
Site.
CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT PAGE
16
Case 5:10-cv-01277-W Document 1 Filed 11/30/10 Page 16 of 23
COUNT II
VIOLATION OF OKLAHOMA CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT
BY UNFAIR TRADE PRACTICES
43. Plaintiff incorporates all of the allegations of Paragraphs 1 through 42 into
Count II as if they were fully set forth here verbatim.
44. QuiBids is a “person” within the meaning of the Oklahoma Consumer
Protection Act. 15 O.S. ANN. § 752(1). Plaintiff and all the members of the Class are
“consumers” as that term is used in 15 O.S. ANN. § 761.1(A). Plaintiff and the other
members of the Class and QuiBids were engaged in “consumer transactions” within the
meaning of the Act. Id. at § 752(2).
45. QuiBids failed to inform its customers: (a) that the overwhelming majority
of customers using the Site would lose money by doing so, (b) of the percentage of the
money spent by customers on the Site that is returned to customers in the form of
merchandise; and (c) that with respect to auctions of high-ticket items (items with a retail
value of $100 or more), bids placed on QuiBids.com for those items before the last 20
seconds originally set for bidding by QuiBids will inevitably be unsuccessful and, thus, a
waste of money. These failures to disclose constituted the commission of an act or
practice declared to be a violation of the Act pursuant to Section 753(20), in that they
constituted unfair trade practices as defined in Section 752 of the Act. Id. at §§ 753(20)
& 752(4). Specifically, QuiBids’ omissions constituted practices which offend public
policy and are immoral, unethical, oppressive, unscrupulous and substantially injurious to
CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT PAGE
17
Case 5:10-cv-01277-W Document 1 Filed 11/30/10 Page 17 of 23
consumers, because they caused Plaintiff and the members of the Class to waste their
money.
46. As a result of QuiBids’ violations, Plaintiff and the other members of the
Class have sustained actual damages equal to the amounts they have lost using
QuiBids.com – the amount by which the total dollars they paid for bids, plus the total
dollars they paid to purchase items won during auctions (including shipping costs), plus
the total dollars they paid to purchase items using the “Buy It Now” feature (including
shipping costs) exceeded the total retail values as stated on QuiBids.com of the
merchandise they received. Alternatively, as a result of QuiBids’ violations, Plaintiff and
the other members of the Class have sustained actual damages equal to the amounts they
paid for the losing bids they made on high-ticket items on QuiBids.com before the last 20
seconds originally set for bidding by QuiBids.
47. QuiBids is liable to Plaintiff and the other members of the Class for those
actual damages caused by QuiBids’ violation of Act and for their reasonable costs and
attorneys’ fees. Id. at § 761.1(A). In addition, pursuant to Section 761.1(C) of the Act,
Plaintiff seeks an injunction requiring QuiBids to disclose the omitted information on the
Site.
COUNT III
COMMON LAW FRAUD BY OMISSION
48. Plaintiff incorporates all of the allegations of Paragraphs 1 through 47 into
Count III as if they were fully set forth here verbatim.
CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT PAGE
18
Case 5:10-cv-01277-W Document 1 Filed 11/30/10 Page 18 of 23
49. QuiBids omitted to disclose material facts to its customers: (1) that the
overwhelming majority of customers using the Site would lose money doing so, (2) the
percentage of the money spent by customers that is returned to customers in the form of
merchandise, and (3) that with respect to auctions of high-ticket items (items with a retail
value of $100 or more), bids placed on QuiBids.com for those items before the last 20
seconds originally set for bidding by QuiBids will inevitably be unsuccessful and, thus, a
waste of money. Such facts are material in that a reasonable consumer would have
considered them important in deciding whether and when to spend the money to use the
QuiBids website. QuiBids omitted to disclose these facts with the intent that its
customers would use the website. Because QuiBids’ omissions to disclose are material, it
is presumed that Plaintiff and all the other members of the Class reasonably relied upon
the omissions.
50. QuiBids’ omissions proximately caused actual damages to Plaintiff and the
other members of the Class in the amount they lost using the Site – the amount by which
the money they paid for the bids, plus the money they paid to purchase the items won in
auctions (including shipping costs), plus the money they paid to purchase items using the
“Buy It Now” feature (including shipping costs) exceeded the total retail values as stated
on QuiBids.com of the merchandise received. Alternatively, QuiBids’ omissions
proximately caused actual damages to Plaintiff and the other members of the Class in the
amount they paid for the losing bids they made on high-ticket items on QuiBids.com
before the last 20 seconds originally set for bidding by QuiBids.
CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT PAGE
19
Case 5:10-cv-01277-W Document 1 Filed 11/30/10 Page 19 of 23
COUNT IV
MONEY HAD AND RECEIVED
51. Plaintiff incorporates all of the allegations of Paragraphs 1 through 50 into
Count IV as if they were fully set forth here verbatim.
52. The money lost by Plaintiff and the members of the Class using the Site –
the amount by which the money they paid for the bids, plus the money they paid to
purchase the items won in auctions (including shipping), plus the money they paid to
purchase items using the “Buy-It-Now” feature (including shipping costs) exceeded the
total retail values as stated on QuiBids.com of the merchandise they received –
constitutes money which, in equity and good conscience, should be returned by QuiBids
to Plaintiff and the members of the Class.
53. Alternatively, the money spent by Plaintiff and the members of the Class on
losing bids placed before the last 20 seconds originally set for bidding by QuiBids in
auctions of high-ticket items (items with a retail value of $100 or more) constitutes
money in QuiBids’ possession which, in equity and good conscience, should be returned
to Plaintiff and the members of the Class.
COUNT V
UNJUST ENRICHMENT
54. Plaintiff incorporates all of the allegations of Paragraphs 1 through 53 into
Count V as if they were fully set forth here verbatim.
55. The money lost by the Plaintiff and members of the Class using the Site –
the amount by which the money they paid for the bids, plus the money they paid to
CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT PAGE
20
Case 5:10-cv-01277-W Document 1 Filed 11/30/10 Page 20 of 23
purchase the items won in auctions (including shipping costs), plus the money they paid
to purchase items using the “Buy-It-Now” feature (including shipping costs) exceeded
the total retail values as stated on QuiBids.com of the merchandise received – constitutes
a benefit conferred upon QuiBids by Plaintiff and the Class. Under the circumstances,
and as a matter of equity, QuiBids was unjustly enriched by its receipt of that money and
it should return that money to Plaintiff and the members of the Class.
56. Alternatively, the money spent by Plaintiff and the members of the Class on
losing bids placed before the last 20 seconds originally set for bidding by QuiBids in
auctions of high-ticket items (items with a retail value of $100 or more) constitutes a
benefit conferred by members of the Class on QuiBids. Under the circumstances, and as
a matter of equity, QuiBids was unjustly enriched by its receipt of that money, and it
should return that money to Plaintiff and the members of the Class.
REQUEST FOR RELIEF
Individually, and on behalf of the Class, Plaintiff respectfully requests the Court to
award the following relief:
a. An order certifying the proposed Class under FED. R. CIV. P. 23(b)(3) and
appointing Plaintiff and Plaintiff’s counsel to represent the Class;
b. A judgment finding that QuiBids is liable under all legal claims asserted
herein;
c. A judgment awarding actual damages to Class members as set forth above;
d. A judgment awarding a permanent injunction as set forth above;
e. A judgment awarding attorneys’ fees and litigation costs;
CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT PAGE
21
Case 5:10-cv-01277-W Document 1 Filed 11/30/10 Page 21 of 23
f. A judgment awarding pre-judgment and post-judgment interest at the
maximum rates allowable at law or in equity; and
g. A judgment awarding all such other legal or equitable relief as justice
requires.
JURY DEMAND
Plaintiff hereby demands a trial by jury.
DATED: November 30, 2010
/s/ Edward L. White
Edward L. White, OBA #16549
EDWARD L.WHITE, P.C.
9301 Cedar Lake Ave., Suite 200
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73114
Telephone: (405) 810-8188
Facsimile: (405) 608-0971
Email: ed@edwhitelaw.com
-and-
Roger L. Mandel
rmandel@beckham-mandel.com
Blake L. Beckham
bbeckham@beckham-mandel.com
Jose M. Portela
c2coast@aol.com
Sarita A. Smithee
ssmithee@beckham-mandel.com
BECKHAM&MANDEL
3400 Carlisle Street, Suite 550
Dallas, Texas 75204
Telephone: (214) 965-9300
Facsimile: (214) 965-9301
CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT PAGE
22
Case 5:10-cv-01277-W Document 1 Filed 11/30/10 Page 22 of 23
CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT PAGE
23
Andrew Kierstead
kiersteadlaw@aol.com
LAW OFFICE OF ANDREW S. KIERSTEAD
1001 SW Fifth Ave., Suite 1100
Portland, OR 97204
Telephone: (508) 224-6246
Facsimile: (508) 224-4356
Attorneys for Plaintiff and the Class
Case 5:10-cv-01277-W Document 1 Filed 11/30/10 Page 23 of 23
Masking your WHOIS is Harmful!
In this post, https://www.circleid.com/posts/20081120_whois_mask… the writer suggests that WHOIS masking (which is one of my criteria for "trust" in the above post) could actually be detrimental to bona-fide businesses or persons.
Quote:
What this means is that legally, as far as the domain registry is concerned, Domain By Proxy etc actually "own" the domains that they are "protecting" and if they choose so, whether by accident or design, anyone who loses their domain name to them has very little legal redress to the situation!
Of course, for all the crooks who intend to ditch their domains anyway within a few months this doesn't matter. But many well known outfits choose to hide their WHOIS entry and had better be careful…. Hard drives and backups are not infallible and a business whose whole purpose is subterfuge I wouldn't trust with my family jewels, would I?
later in the article it is suggested that some "Domain Privacy" services will even flog your so-called "private" details on for 10 dollars!
I mean, WTF?
The never ending dirge of sloppy self-valedictory promotions continue – but this time it's from Bidsauce.com, or is that BidCactus.com?
Yep.
The double-dealing within email spam linkages continues. One this morning was headed "BIDSAUCE.COM", (yes capitals) but the redirection said it wasn't available from my location.
Well not to be put off, I viewed it from the US and lo and behold, bidsauce had morphed into a bidcactus! (These names are really crap, doncha think?)
And it was here where I was greeted by yet another bid auction website. complete with honourable phrases and intentions.
A green ribbon logo called "BidCactus Gives Back" takes you to this page, 'https://www.bidcactus.com/charity.php which strives to exonerate the gambling element of this business with charitable elements.
Furthermore, on this page, 'https://www.bidcactus.com/about.php they claim that BidCactus is:
I'm so sorry folks. It isn't. It's just gambling, that's all it is.
On top of that, to get to this webspage like I did, someone in the US or Canada would receive unsolicited email (spam) purporting to be from a competitor company, and then get sent to this company.
That's a mighty odd way to run a business.
The continuing and amazing thing about Willms and his businesses, is that any failure of them he considers to be "not his fault" and that "everyone else is to blame" – hence the constant pressure on small websites that tell the truth by his legal team.
This is only to twist the search engine relevancies.
The real truth, a Buddhist truth, is that his current position is derived from his past actions, and that his future is derived from his current actions.
It is called the law of cause and effect, and no-one, myself, Willms and yourself the reader, are immune from this.
What this means is that Willms' troubles are directly derived from his own actions – and nobody else's!
Latest results:
“>http://industrypace.com/frontpage/2010/11/01/jesse-willms-swipeauctions-shutting-down-stealing-deposits-and-refusing-to-issue-refunds-scumbag-willms-strikes-again.html
Yep.
SwipeBids are folding. Jesse Willms' business is refusing to honour refunds according to the latest news above and elsewhere, as quoted by their own consumer representative!
So despite the assurances of their Californian lawyers that a proper customer service department is in place and that everyone would have all their problems solved with no questions asked, all those "bids" are just what they started out as…………..
WORTHLESS.
I wonder what the BBB rating will be now for this one! If it doesn't hit F, we know that something's up!
At last – an 'honest' penny auction – albeit only honest after they have ceased trading:
"If you are going to play on a Penny Auction site you must treat is as gambling. You can't win every auction you bid on, for the Penny Auction business to work there must be 3X the number of losers as there are winners (3 out 4 people will walk away with losing money)."
https://www.pennyslam.com/
Still not uprfront about who they are though and how to contact them (contact us button on their site returns to default home page message):
http://whois.domaintools.com/pennyslam.com
Now if only all currently running pay to bid/penny auction sites were honest enough to make it clear to people that they will be gambling and the odds are against them. Never going to happen though.
It's not that it's gambling that's the problem – it's that most people do not understand how these auctions work and what the odds and this is never explained to them. So even without any shill bidders/bots, hidden monthly or one off sign-up/membership fees or any other shenanigans, all penny auctions are on shaky ground, morally and ethically.
They mention Penny Auction Software to expand on the ubiquity of this gambling scam. And they're right! See
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Penny+Auction+so… for a list.
It was nice to see them take the cat out of the bag, but unsurprising that they still wish to remain incognito, since, as we both agree, this Bid Auction lark is nothing more than a pair of sharks playing loaded dice with marks down a back alley, ready to run and scarper when the centurions arrive.
And that's the problem. There's nothing wrong with gambling if it's regulated to protect people from themselves and the underworld, but to say that this "Bid Auction" gambling is something else, is just deception.
Benitez, the former Liverpool manager, recently and cryptically calls this behaviour "a glass of milk" which got the UK press all confused. I say it simpler,
If it looks like a pig,
If it smells like a pig,
If it sounds like a pig,
Well y'know, it's almost certainly a pig.
Same with "BidAuctions".
It's gambling.
But worse than that, most:
On top of this, THEY control the software that manipulates and manages the "bidding" process. There is no way that any visitor can verify the veracity of any statement about the absence of shill bids or automated price ramping processes.
People should "play" the game as if the dice are loaded, whether they are or not.
Q. So why would anyone in their right mind play a game of dice with someone who brings along loaded dice?
A. That's why gambling is regulated.
I've upset someone at Sherwood Park, Alberta with these posts about Jesse Willms and his creepy businesses!
Q. How so?
Well, I thought I'd have a play with the GD Star Rating system created by my blog theme's creator (see footer on this page).
It makes a log.
Guess who's marked down all the Willms related posts and comments?
This is the WHOIS on the IP address: http://whois.domaintools.com/206.75.117.93
IP Information for 206.75.117.93
IP Location: Canada Sherwood Park Telus Communications Inc
I wonder how votes would go on Jesse's ever-morphing sites? Hmmm.
Anyway, the IP address is registered to "Consumer Applications" with 'Markmonitor.com as the name.
'Markmonitor.com have an interesting post on their blog here 'https://www.markmonitor.com/mmblog/affiliate-buying-of-keywords-in-paid-search/ where they have the interesting (in light of the actions and pronouncements from Jesse Willms) as it says;
Concluding with;
Between these points is a broad discussion of the various pros and cons. So while some businesses are suing others for nicking their clicks, others just get on with it, as it's all within the T&Cs of Google et al……
I cut and pasted the ip address: 206.75.117.93 into Google search and this popped up – On 5th August someone from that ip address searched Google.ca using the term "Offshore shell corporations" and visited a site called just-offshore.com which belongs to a company called OFFSHORE BUSINESS SOLUTIONS at 35 Bushey Court London SW20 0JF
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=ca…
Perhaps Jesse is expanding is ever growing number of Cypriot, UK etc shell companies or perhaps that is how Ironi Ltd came into being..?
That was on the 5th August this year – and well spotted @Not Kevin! This is a screen-dump of it for when it expires…
Now what happened at the beginning of August, I wonder?
Well, just before then, it looks like "jennifer" was taken on from your comment here:
https://strangelyperfect.tv/7108/jobs-at-just-thin…
It was just before this time that BastardSwipingBids morphed into BastardSwipingAuctions and old Jesse developed his philanthropic conscience.
So there may be a link, but more likely it just part of an on-going continuous process to stay one step ahead of the law and get the dosh neatly stashed away safe and sound.
It almost certain that this is how Gilmap and deep Ironi etc came about.
And speaking of "Jennifer" and her pat comment to this website with no reply….
Do a search on her phrase which I've seen elsewhere like ComplaintsBoard etc.
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Good+Afternoon%2….
Or do one on "her" email address like so:
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Jennifer%40swipe…
It seems that "she" is a multi-headed goddess for Jesse's businesses! Not only is she " Head of Customer Service" but also "Customer Service manager, Head of Public Relations".
A small point, I know, but given the job description that you spotted on July 4th, https://strangelyperfect.tv/7108/jobs-at-just-thin… she sort-of fits the bill, eh?
You're not going to like these cringe-worthy photos from Picasa….
http://picasaweb.google.com/jesse.willms
The Devil Wears Prada! (And for so long wanted to be unknown and unseen)
It's such a pity that the continuing dance of deception and the shifting sands of his cynical advertising didn't match the smiling rhetoric, eh? He'll be on Rolf Harris's Animal Hospital next…
Cringe-worthy indeed. Here he is looking not so pretty in pink! http://picasaweb.google.com/jesse.willms/JesseWil…
Oh! …and I've had a phenomenal amount of spam today – nearly all with Pfizer in the subject!
Yes indeed, swipe-what?
They're definitely on the way out though – I got a smashing spam today for ol' Jesse.
It went drearily like this below. It was from candyic.info and ended up at SwipeAuctions, 'https://www.swipeauctions.com/landing.php?catid=11
candic has a WHOIS created 6 days ago, in Las Vegas!! A good solid business, eh? It's the sole domain on the IP address currently, but I remember the actual address of Sahara Ave from some time back…. Hmm?
Domain ID:D35035160-LRMS
Domain Name:CANDYIC.INFO
Created On:14-Oct-2010 22:29:19 UTC
Last Updated On:20-Oct-2010 12:58:48 UTC
Expiration Date:14-Oct-2011 22:29:19 UTC
Sponsoring Registrar:GoDaddy.com Inc. (R171-LRMS)
Status:CLIENT DELETE PROHIBITED
Status:CLIENT RENEW PROHIBITED
Status:CLIENT TRANSFER PROHIBITED
Status:CLIENT UPDATE PROHIBITED
Status:TRANSFER PROHIBITED
Registrant ID:CR64945497
Registrant Name:Jenny Stevens
Registrant Organization:
Registrant Street1:7735 Sahara Ave.
Registrant Street2:
Registrant Street3:
Registrant City:Las Vegas
Registrant State/Province:NV
Registrant Postal Code:89117
Registrant Country:US
Registrant Phone:+1.7027924746
Registrant Phone Ext.:
Registrant FAX:
Registrant FAX Ext.:
Registrant Email:
This is the email
..Oh! And the lying bits from the bottom of the webpage have now disappeared! This is the current version:
<img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-8836" title="SwipeAuctions.com-SwipeAuctions-Neverpayretailagain!_1287591308681" src="https://strangelyperfect.tv/wp-content/uploads/SwipeAuctions.com-Swipe-Auctions-Never-pay-retail-again_1287591308681-68×480.jpg" alt="" width="68" height="480" />
It doesn't mean that it's all kosher now, of course – only that I haven't gone through it yet!
I think perhaps, that we have Jesse's full attention now, don't you think? That's the benefit of split testing.
Or should that be,
JUST THINK? !!
That's the benefit of split testing, LOL.
There seems to have been a sharp plunge in the traffic to Swipeauctions.com according to Alexa:
http://traffic.alexa.com/graph?&w=400&h=2…
Perhaps they are preparing Swipe V3? After swipebids.com and swipeauctions.com… swipe?
A reverse ip lookup on merchandisenews.net reveals amongst others on the same server:
ryangetsripped.net hustleadvertisinginc.com healthnews3.net ch7news.net choyung-tea.org choyungscam.net 7newsdaily.com choyung-tea.org ellashotsecret.com thezimbabwedailynews.com and station7news.com
The Hustle Advertising one expired yesterday and is no longer active but some googling suggests a Serhiy Rudak in Canada as the possible owner:
https://www.enom.com/whois/acaiencyclopedia-com.ht…
If you look at the source code of merchandisenews.net you will also find that some of the images are hosted on a few other sites including timesinside.com and dietsindex.com for which the name Craig Alinder crops up as a possible owner…
Anyway, here is that Swipebids screenshot – it's not mine but someone else posted it somewhere (cannot remember where though) and I saved a copy:
Well done on that. I haven't got round to reverse IP-ing yet but it's good sleuthing. There seem to be a few doors being left open now in Mr Willms'
Terror-marketing With Actually Typed Swiping (it's an acronym)
…empire now. As the web of deceit gets bigger, then we see it's harder to make sure it all stays knitted together. And obviously, Willms is now getting sloppy. I think he's spent too much time waffling about his two mates, Phil and Throppy.
As the saying goes,
ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS
Jesse is trying to get his words louder than his crummy lying actions, but there they are, for all to see.
Pop up your screenshot when you find it, @Not Kevin.
Swipebids actually used that phone photo in the testimonials on Swipebids.com when they first launched so it's not just dodgy affiliates and their fake photos that are using stolen photos. I have a screenshot somewhere…
Q. Remember what I said about Jesse's lies?
Remember his statement on the Swipe Auctions front page? It went:
Well here's today's Swipe Auctions web search.
I clicked on the paid for advert for 'merchandisenews.net, an "expose" on Swipe Auctions, ha ha; ownership hidden, of course.
And of course it's an news-lookalike "advertorial", but to the uninitiated in scammers, it looks real enough and all the links go to 'SwipeAuctions.com!
Check out the pictures in this part screenshot of the website. On the left is the phoney Honda buyer from Florida again, and opposite on the right is a guy holding up a little black something.
Well using TinEye, we find that the little black something is a phone from 2004!
And the guy is Jason Kottkye, not Chris from Virginia!!
Here's the TinEye comparison,
, and here's Jason Kottkye on his website being pleased with his 6-year old phone!
This is the page, so scroll down half-way to find it: https://www.kottke.org/04/03/
<hr/>Now the ad sites are probably not Jesse's, but the judgement between Willms and Oprah Winfrey makes plain that SHE considers Jesse Willms to be responsible for the behaviour of HIS advertising affiliates and networks – the pdf judgement in my comment above makes this very plain!
Jesse's weasel words about testimonials are very precise in their exclusions, but the first of his lines reads,
And since at least one photo is plainly a forgery in the advert, and since Jesse should be responsible for his advertisers, then his advertising is plainly very suspect in the same way, and most products that are advertised and sold on his main selling website belong in the realms of fiction – Do NOT TRUST ONE WORD OF ANYTHING THAT JESSE SAYS.
This is because it goes down right through the line:
Fake photos -> fake news sites -> fake whatever.
Following Willms' illegal use of Oprah Winfrey's trademark, it appeared that he'd got Scott free…
However, I've just read the final court documents, here in this PDF,
[file ]https://strangelyperfect.tv/wp-content/uploads/jdw_media_so_ordered[1].pdf[/file],
and it turns out that there are quite onerous undertakings on Willms to keep within the agreement.
Essentially, EACH breakage of the terms will cost him $25k and he has to employ someone for 14 hours a week trawling the internet looking for dodgy affiliate links. Ha Ha. This is something we've been doing for months now!
The terms last for years and any material change to his business has to be notified to Oprah, as well as a complete list of all websites currently running under the sad philanthropist's banner…
It makes good reading, and I've only pulled out a few items, but isn't the outright prosecution from the state that'd put the mail in his coffin.
Personal whinge alert!……
Why is it always always private prosecutions that get stuff done…. 🙁 I mean, we employ people to make and enforce laws for us to protect us from the scum in all walks of life, from international terrorists to uninsured car drivers, don't we? Moses kicked it off with one law being the "do not steal" one, eh?
So where IS the state in all of this? If we can get men to walk on the moon surely we can rid the world of smiling creeps like Willms?
Wonderful ..thanks a lot for posting a good informitive blog
A nice report on Jesse Willms. The one thing you forgot to mention is he has a full video on him. This video is a great watch and really outlines what you have said here.
Have a look and enjoy! I want to put it on Youtube, but it is copyrighted.
https://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/WFive/20100319/w5_dietm…
By the way, this video is the one thing Jesse Willms does not want you to see!
The picture of Jesse Willms below is courtesy of W5.
Thanks Bill.
We've linked to the video (and others!) several times. Unfortunately, as you've discovered, they won't let it out on YouTube so that blogs etc can show the whole shebang instead of just a link. This is a huge boost to Willms advantage, so I've written to CTV explaining the position, but still had no reply. Perhaps if you'd do the same (and others!), then CTV would put the video in the public domain for all to use, especially given the kudos that they'd get from the exercise .