Flipz.. are you flipping out?

I encountered a new way of online shopping. At least, that's what I thought it would be like. The company compares itself to eBay, but better. I don't know whether you have heard about flipz before? Maybe you should check it out and find out for yourself.. Make up your mind!

This is the concept: using Paypal, you buy "flipz". That's the virtual money you will need to bid on the auctions presented by the website. Unlike the items on eBay, flipz.be promises new products for ridiculous prices. So you buy flipz. Depending on the amount of flipz you buy, one flipz is worth between 0.42 and 0.56 euro a piece. You cannot start to bid on the products, before you have purchased a number of flipz's. Once you're settled with your flipz-money in your account (assume you have bought € 100 worth of flipz's - that equals 200 flipz), you can check out the auctions and decide what products you would like to bid on. The product says how much the minimum price is and how long you have for the auction to begin. This is the tricky part! Assume one auction shows: 3 minutes left, it doesn't mean the auction will end in 3 minutes! Beware! It means the bidders will play it hard from then on. You bid and so many others bid as well. Once you start the bidding, you're not very willing to give up (if you do stop, you loose all the money you have used bidding so far!). It won't be a surprise to you that you spend € 100 in very little time. So you go back to Paypal to purchase some more flipz-money. And you go on bidding.. and so do the other bidders. After all, the homepage gives you the impression that the eventual prices for the products offered, are ridiculously low. And indeed: 34 euros for a brandnew iPhone4 is an offer you can't refuse. So you keep bidding.. Until you run out of flipz-money (again) and you need to refuel (again). And then, all of a sudden, the game's over. One person wins the auction, the others are left with a big hole in their wallet and major disappointment. No iPhone4, no more flipz's. Only a loss of over 400 euros. Because that's what happens when you are not the winner. The homepage does not say: iPhone4 auction € 34 + € 400.

It says: 2011-03-09 21:08:20

Apple iPhone 4

€ 34.12 (i.p.v. € 659.00)
door brennan7

or

2011-03-06 17:22:06

Apple iPhone 4

€ 10.20 (i.p.v. € 659.00)
door Diablo

People who are not familiar with this kind of online shopping, will be tricked for sure. They will assume they are able to buy an iPhone4 (worth € 659) for no more than € 34 or even € 10! But what the site doesn't say, is the amount of flipz's the bidders have bought in advance in order to be able to bid on these auctions. This is no more than a gambling site, trying to trick people into buying a bucket full of virtual money to play an auction they are very unlikely to win. In the end, you will have lost a lot of money and you still won't have the product you were bidding on. Don't make flipz.be your favorite website. In fact, you should ban it from your computer!

If you have not been able to resist the temptation and you feel like you have been taken advantage of, don't hesitate to serve your complaint with eCops. They are familiar with these circumstances and they can give you advise.