BiddingPond.com discussion

[semyazza]

We recommend using Clearcoin for any non-trivial amount.  BiddingPond takes a non intervention approach to payments.  This, coupled with the non-reversible nature of Bitcoins makes it "Buyer Beware".

We recommend the following for safe trading on BiddingPond.

1) Always use Clearcoin or other Escrow service for non-trivial amounts.
2) If you choose not to use an escrow service:
    a) Check the sellers detail page and look at feedback and sign up date.  Do this for the people who have       also left positive feedback for the seller.
    b) Only deal with trusted Bitcoin community members
    c)  If the offer is too good to be true.  It probably is.

We are currently working on a project that will provide escrow services and will be tightly integrated with the site so that sellers and buyers can be more protected.

We have also blocked Tor originating traffic to the website.  This coupled with new heuristic searches will ban accounts and other resolutions will make BiddingPond a safer place.

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[hiVe]

Bidding-pond is a great site. Unfortunately its soooooooo popular among scam-lovers that it limits its use to practically 0.
Wish this would change.

I've lost a lot already [especially based on current btc/euro prices] but I learned from my mistakes and don't go into deals w/o escrow.

But what to do if a potentially legitimate user doesn't wish to use escrow service? After all its not that straightforward...like now some deals popping up on HTC devices, looks tempting, the guy replies frequently but doesn't even wanna hear about Clearcoin... does that guarantee that he wants to scam me?

Im a European buyer.

[semyazza]

To Buyers:
BiddingPond always states to use escrow with untrusted buyers.  We also believe to use escrow with bidders that have less than 50 positive feedback and for non-trivial amounts.  If a seller refuses to use escrow after a customer requests it, they are in fact, refusing your business.

BiddingPond is constantly battling DDOS's, Attacks, Scammers, "Other Bad Traffic" on a daily basis and are trying hard to maintain a safer atmosphere on the site.  If our recommendations are followed you will have a safe and secure "Bitcoin Bidding Experience".

To Sellers:
You are in fact losing business and profit by not accepting an escrow solution on your auctions.  Not accepting escrow makes you look like a scammer, especially with low feedback/limited feedback history.

Those of you who would not mind accepting escrow please list it in your auction descriptions!  Watch the value of your auction increase and profit!

[semyazza]

BiddingPond.com is currently down.  We have experienced an influx of DDoS attacks on the website and are transitioning to a new server. All affected auctions will be extended by the time period that they were down. We apologize for the inconvenience.

We are now back up. We apologize for the inconvenience.

[semyazza]

BiddingPond.com has updated its fee schedule.  You may find it below. And remember it's always free to list and every account gets free BTC listing credits to try our premium features!

Standard Auction: ALWAYS FREE
Auction Setup:FREE
Buyer Fee: FREE
Reserve Price: FREE
Images Upload: FREE
Auto Relist: FREE
Buy Now: FREE
Final Price Fee: FREE! Keep Your Money!
Subtitle:FREE
Multiple Categories:FREE
Home Page Featured Fee: 0.25 BTC
Bold Item Fee: 0.05 BTC
Highlighted Item Fee: 0.10 BTC

[hiVe]

Folks, is it just me or lately or are the Biddingponders playing with rating and stuff.

I see a ton of new stuff, a ton of new people every day offering cool gadgets, and when you check their rating, they are ALL positive!

Gack wtf? a user registered for less than a DAY already has a positive rating...from who? well isn't that weird, from SOMEONE that is registered also for less than a DAY! :O

Now I could call that a coincidence, or it could be classified as a attempt to fool EVERYONE.

Ok granted, Im not following every new auction, but its kinda hard to miss something that would normally be up for sale at least 10 hours and is a pretty lucrative item...

I see a scenario where user "A" making an auction for a very short time, user B [user "A's" second account?] bidding and winning the auction...then then rating each other just to get positive rating/feedback and possibly fool people in the future interested in his/their cool new offerings.

Seriously we need message-boards at bidding pond.

[semyazza]

Seriously we need message-boards at bidding pond.

This will be implemented by the days end.

[freecoin]

Two things would really help make BiddingPond a professional auction site.

1) Stop putting BiddingPond's bitcoin address as Newbies payto address.  I've seen this multiple times; new user puts up first auction, buyer sends BTC to address in auction listing.  "Hey buyer do you want this or not?"  "Dude, I frackin paid you" "no you didn't"  "Yes I did" "where's my $, what bitcoin address?"  "Sonofanutcracker BiddingPond's got the money" etc.

2)  Put up a frackin BID NOW button.  How is anybody I email a listing to gonna bid, huh?  A new BP user will search in vain for the BID button and move on.

[semyazza]

Two things would really help make BiddingPond a professional auction site.

1) Stop putting BiddingPond's bitcoin address as Newbies payto address.  I've seen this multiple times; new user puts up first auction, buyer sends BTC to address in auction listing.  "Hey buyer do you want this or not?"  "Dude, I frackin paid you" "no you didn't"  "Yes I did" "where's my $, what bitcoin address?"  "Sonofanutcracker BiddingPond's got the money" etc.

2)  Put up a frackin BID NOW button.  How is anybody I email a listing to gonna bid, huh?  A new BP user will search in vain for the BID button and move on.

Suggestions noted. We are actually working on a complete rewrite and redesign of the site with integrated escrow and other fun features.  This version will also have a better FAQ and tutorials.

[static]

i have high hopes for this BiddingPond. i really like it. it fills a need for the community. make sure you make money at it. low fees are nice. but i would hate to see this fail due to lack of resources.

[RodeoX]

I just want add a +1 to anyone considering biddingpond. There is no way to crush all the problem users and crooks at any website, but Biddingpond has always been willing to answer questions and do whatever they can to help.

[freecoin]

"Firefox can't find the server at www.biddingpond.com"

[TTBit]

random thought: Instead of bidding, why not send the coins to a personal bid address for each auction. This way, there are no fake bids. losing bids get their coins back obviously. You might not want to do that if buying a laptop or car, but if I'm bidding on a 0.85btc beach ball, it speeds up the whole process.

[semyazza]

random thought: Instead of bidding, why not send the coins to a personal bid address for each auction. This way, there are no fake bids. losing bids get their coins back obviously. You might not want to do that if buying a laptop or car, but if I'm bidding on a 0.85btc beach ball, it speeds up the whole process.

Great idea!  We are actually working on a similar feature.  I know a lot of you are tired of hearing the "It's coming soon" but, we are working as hard as possible to make sure the next version is rock solid, concrete, and bug free.  The new version will also be a complete rewrite as we have hit a wall with PHP as far as productivity is concerned and have settled on Python.  The site is usable as/is but, there are usability issues which we need to address.  Most of our current time has been spent making sure the transition of BitcoinCashout.com went smoothly to Bitcoin Solutions LLC.  We have picked up development again.

What we are working on right now is:
Sellers will decide if they require a deposit before bidding (adjustable between 10-50%).  If the user backs out of the auction the deposit is split 50/50 between the seller and BiddingPond.  BiddingPond's 50% will be further split between site operations and a buyer protection fund.

An additional option will be a "secured bid" where the full bid amount is required before it is placed.

These options will be seller select-able.

As always we thank our faithful users who have stayed loyal to us and continue to use us.  We promise there is a better BiddingPond on the horizon.  

Additionally, the lead developer will be at the Bitcoin Conference in NYC and looks forward to meeting everyone . He is one of the shared management at Bitcoin Solutions LLC and will be at their booth.

[semyazza]

BiddingPond.com has had some updates today.

Changes:
Moved to a new server (again)
Minor Style Changes on Site
Removed Auto-Forwarding of payments (new users were getting confused)
Pushed the beginnings of the escrow system (live soon)
Speed improvements through out the site
Turned off ALL fees until October 31,2011 (LIST YOUR ITEMS NOW!)
 - When they are turned back on new listings will be assessed a fee that must be paid at time of listing (Always free to list, extras a nominal cost!)
Cleaned up Privacy Policy (Visual Changes Only)
Cleaned up Terms and Conditions (Visual Changes Only)
Added temporary about us section
Password change bug should be fixed (contact us if you are still having trouble changing your password)
Intermittent Login bug has been fixed
Control Panel has been switched to old design(working on a new design)
Search has been re-enabled
BiddingPond "stores" coming soon.
Adjusted Payment Options for sellers(sellers can always choose another method not listed via "other" option):
- Bitcoin
- Bidding Pond Escrow
- Cash
- Check
- Liberty Reserve
- c-gold
- HD-Money
- Paypal
- Western Union
- MoneyGram
- Visa
- Mastercard
- American Express
- Bidding Pond Escrow
- Pecunix
- Other (see listing)
Started Payment framework(all payment options will have full automation where available)
See listing price in your selected currency! (currently debugging, will be turned on soon)

If anyone has any problems please contact us at contact@biddingpond.com