Clem B.

Sent this complaint to the BBB in Oklahoma City and to the OK Attorney General.

I'd like a specific answer from QuiBids as to why I'm only allowed to bid on "limited auctions."
I've contacted QuiBids on three separate occasions
--June 22, June 25, and July 27--to ask why I'm only allowed to bid on "limited" fairly low-value auctions.

Instead of giving me an answer specific to me and my situation, Erik Gause, a customer service manager, quoted me the garbled legalese from the site's Terms of Service on June 22.

On June 25, I wrote a letter to Mr. Gause, with copies to five individuals in upper management (Matt Beckam, Mike Beckham, Josh Duty, Jeff Geurts, Josh Walker). When I had no answer a month later, I emailed Mr. Gause to give the site two more weeks to answer. He said he'd forward the email to "upper management" (who, of course, had already had the letter for a month).

I have received no answer.

I have spent thousands of dollars on the site. "Limiting auctions" strikes me as both false advertising and a bait-and-switch technique.

Again, I'd like an answer specific to my individual situation, and not what I've gotten to date:

"QuiBids attempts to limit some auctions to users of comparable skill, as determined by QuiBids, to enhance user experience and maintain a viable business model. In so doing, QuiBids may limit which auctions are available to particular users based on any factors deemed appropriate by QuiBids in its sole discretion, including experience of the user, historical success of the user, demographic factors, prior bidding and spending activity, and other factors. In particular, QuiBids may limit certain auctions to less experienced or successful users in any manner QuiBids deems appropriate to optimize the overall user experience of all QuiBids users. You acknowledge that You may be, and You consent to being, excluded from auctions at QuiBids discretion."

In other words, QuiBids can do whatever it wants and need not explain its actions. I suspect I'm not spending enough, or not active enough in enough auctions, or winning or BINing too often. Seems fairly easy to give me an answer specific to me and my bidding behavior.

On August 13, QuiBids did respond to the BBB complaint. In no way did they address the actual question:

"We are sorry to hear of your recent experience while using our website. We do our best to ensure fairness to all of our customers and take all complaints very seriously. Based on feedback from our customers, we have found that customers typically don't want to see an increase in their competition as QuiBids' popularity continues to grow. QuiBids has so many auctions ending at the same time that we can't simply show each customer all auctions. This means that, although you may not see every auction, others may not see your auctions either, giving you the best possible chance of winning a great deal. Our number one goal is to maintain a great user experience for all customers, along with balancing heavy strain on our servers. We would like to apologize for any inconvenience and please feel free to contact us with any other questions you may have regarding this issue at *******038. Thank you and have a wonderful day."

New bidders to the site should be aware of false advertising and "bait-and-switch" techniques. The customer service is rude and condescending and in this case, downright lazy. I'm appalled by the answer from QuiBids.