GovDeals rigged ? Odd experiences?

[Rusty]

Just went through an auction- few dozen street lights- and happened to be watching the bid history list and saw some irregularities.

Auction was in $5 increments- just me and 1 other bidder. I proxied $288. I got taken-out, but his next bid registered $311, should have been no higher than $293. Other bidder was getting screwed. I bailed on that rigged auction.

Anyone else see anything along these lines? I just blindly trusted their software, not sure why as their website structure is crap.

It is tough to see when several bidders, but on the thinner auctions, is easier to see what is happening.

I contacted GovDeals, chatted with Stephanie Whited and explained my concerns. She was not surprised, offered no explanation and abruptly ended chat.

I then emailed the company with concerns- same Stephanie Whited responded with canned message: Thanks for feedback

I spend a lot of cash there- won 2 auctions this week alone. Been there for 8 years. Not happy.

No more proxy bids for me.

[brokedown]

Ultimately with proxy bids you have to trust the auction site to do the right thing. I've been out of the auction game for a while but I was a fan of sniping rather than proxy bidding.

[Rusty]

Originally Posted by brokedown

Ultimately with proxy bids you have to trust the auction site to do the right thing. I've been out of the auction game for a while but I was a fan of sniping rather than proxy bidding.

Well, that' trust is my issue. Most people don't notice/report irregularities regarding other party bid as they are focused on own.

Please pay close attention to GovDeals auctions. Their sales are consistently higher than other auction houses, and I think I now know why. Hint: Isn't marketing.

The fact that they make no attempt to explain oddities speaks volumes.

[Twigg]

Originally Posted by Rusty

Just went through an auction- few dozen street lights- and happened to be watching the bid history list and saw some irregularities.

Auction was in $5 increments- just me and 1 other bidder. I proxied $288. I got taken-out, but his next bid registered $311, should have been no higher than $293. Other bidder was getting screwed. I bailed on that rigged auction.

Anyone else see anything along these lines? I just blindly trusted their software, not sure why as their website structure is crap.

It is tough to see when several bidders, but on the thinner auctions, is easier to see what is happening.

I contacted GovDeals, chatted with Stephanie Whited and explained my concerns. She was not surprised, offered no explanation and abruptly ended chat.

I then emailed the company with concerns- same Stephanie Whited responded with canned message: Thanks for feedback

I spend a lot of cash there- won 2 auctions this week alone. Been there for 8 years. Not happy.

No more proxy bids for me.

It's worth pursuing.

If school districts were aware of any irregularities in the bidding, they would leave that site in droves.

If GovDeals can't explain, a letter to your state attorney general, and another to the seller might provoke a fuller explanation.

FWIW, when I won my bus I carefully examined the bid history. Purplewave teated my bid exactly the way they should have, raising me $100 above the only other high proxy bid and leaving me with $150 to spare.

[Rusty]

Originally Posted by Twigg

It's worth pursuing.

If school districts were aware of any irregularities in the bidding, they would leave that site in droves.

If GovDeals can't explain, a letter to your state attorney general, and another to the seller might provoke a fuller explanation.

Why would the Municipal/School Sellers leave if they are benefiting from inflated prices?

GovDeals only takes a percentage (supposedly).

Twigg: I'm in Illinois. The most powerful corrupt person in the State is Mike Madigan (speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives.)- 100x more powerful than the dozens of Governors he's outlasted and the few Governors he sent for prison stints.

His daughter is Attorney General. Nice system.

[Twigg]

Originally Posted by Rusty

Why would the Municipal/School Sellers leave if they are benefiting from inflated prices?

GovDeals only takes a percentage (supposedly).

Twigg: I'm in Illinois. The most powerful corrupt person in the State is Mike Madigan (speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives.)- 100x more powerful than the dozens of Governors he's outlasted and the few Governors he sent for prison stints.

His daughter is Attorney General. Nice system.

Sellers rely on a stable, honest platform. They are dealing with public funds in a tough environment, and if they thought an auction site was unreliable, either way, they would be easily persuaded to leave it.

A mass mailing to School Boards would hurt GovDeals badly, and maybe you could threaten that if they fail to come up with answers.

Nothing wrong with playing hardball if they are either cheating or obfuscating.

[Rusty]

Originally Posted by Twigg

Sellers rely on a stable, honest platform. They are dealing with public funds in a tough environment, and if they thought an auction site was unreliable, either way, they would be easily persuaded to leave it.

A mass mailing to School Boards would hurt GovDeals badly, and maybe you could threaten that if they fail to come up with answers.

Nothing wrong with playing hardball if they are either cheating or obfuscating.

We...are... from...different....Worlds.

Illinois is a failed Socialist State. They will do ANYTHING for money.

My school district just built 2 new High Schools @ $250M/ea. or 1/2 $Billion in bonds for our small community. This is in addition to the other 2 High Schools we already had, one of which is 15 years old. We have enrollment at all 4 less than 7000 students-combined. Each school has an Olympic pool. Full sized, not 1/2.

The Superintendent Wyllie just retired w/ state's biggest teachers pension: $312,081/yr. We closed one of the new HS that we owe $250 Million in Bonds on due to growth projections being "off".

We have a Kindergarten teacher making $99,000 year.

I live out in the sticks- unincorporated. No sidewalks, streetlights or even Cable here. My property taxes just surpassed $10K/yr.

Illinois is toast.

Wyllie

[Tango]

Our Government in action, doing what they do best...finding ways to spend our money...and make a personal profit doing it.