Did Justine Ezarik Really Change Her Name & Win An iPad On BidMacs.com?

Update 12/1/10: BidMacs wrote to tell us that this was done by an affiliate marketer,  and they’ve since corrected this page.

Update: After I asked them about this last night after posting, the image was removed.

We’d like to ask Justine Ezarik,  Internet celebrity and vblogger, of iJustine.com, a question. Did you change your name to Jenny McAdams and win an iPad on BidMacs.com? See our previous article on BidMacs.com.

Back in August, Justine had her image stolen by an alleged affiliate marketer of QuiBids.

Well, today  after clicking on an ad for the new penny auction site BidMacs.com, found on Weather.com, we were brought to the fake news advertorial at Channel9NewsToday.com, which then, after clicking on the “Start Here: BidMac Auctions Official Site,” we were brought to a “landing page” for BidMacs (http://savefunwin.com/?affiliateid=2618&cid=1107&sub_affiliateid=dUXREbDZAQ4SYzXsqlGqiAWlMOIoeoV). This page is also using Justine’s image for a testimonial for BidMacs.com.

Next to Justine’s lovely photo, BidMacs.com or an affiliate, displays the name of “Jenny McAdams” stating, “I received my brand new iPad about 5 days after winning. I never knew this could be so much fun. Thanks BidMacs!!”

This landing page also seems to be using the same graphics/ bid buttons that Wavee.com uses.

According to the FTC:

“Endorsements by celebrities must reflect the celebrity’s honest experience or opinion. If the endorsement represents that the celebrity uses the product, that celebrity actually must use the product. Once a celebrity (or expert) has endorsed a product, the advertiser has an obligation to make sure the endorsement continues to reflect the endorser’s opinion.”

Though they didn’t use Justine’s name, they used her image. This, in my opinion, is deceptive!

Under the Federal Trade Commission Act:

  • Advertising must be truthful and non-deceptive;
  • Advertisers must have evidence to back up their claims; and
  • Advertisements cannot be unfair.

Perhaps, these penny auction sites and/or affiliate marketers need to take a look at the Federal Trade Commission Act and the FTC’s Deception Policy Statement.

From OhioBar.org:

“Q.:  Does the FTC also make sure advertisers don’t use other people’s copyrighted material or trademarks?
A.: The FTC does not regulate the use of “intellectual property” (copyrighted works or trademarks such as pictures, images, characters, songs, logos or brands) in advertisements. However, an advertiser must get permission or a license from the owner of a copyright or trademark before including the work or trademark in an advertisement. Advertisers who do not consult copyright or trademark owners open themselves to lawsuits.”

Have you tried BidMacs.com? Post your review here and feel free to join our penny auction forum.

That’s why online pharmacies is becoming more popular over the last years. Well-known are remedies which are used to reduce inflammation caused by inflammation of the skeletal muscle etc. There were only few examples. Did somebody tell you about canadian generic Viagra? Maybe you yet know about the problem. Sexual dysfunction can be a result of a physical condition. Even when it has a physical cause, psychological problems can make the disorder worse. Sex drive problems are so commonly a product of how you feel that there is something to that “headache” saying after all.

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12 comments… add one
  • EIS November 25, 2010, 6:04 pm

    I have to question the integrity of this site, not only for the reasons you have outlined here, but for this: my visit to the site show no links or mentions anything for contact information, privacy, terms of service, etc. and so on. I did not take the time to register, but if these items are only available to registered guests, my question to anyone is why would you risk your time and dollars on a site like this?

    They are also playing games with their images through CDN provider Edgecast – the very same provider an infamous penny auction site (not to mention a current penny auction site rapidly gaining infamous status) used/uses. Overall, the early returns on this penny auction site are not encouraging.

    Reply
    • EIS November 25, 2010, 8:09 pm

      I should clarify this: the fake news site in question, Channel 9 News Today, does make claims for and uses the name BidMacs. However, as pointed out, the links on the fake site redirect to savefunwin.com, another penny auction site. It is this site, and not BidMacs site, that does not offer any contact, privacy or TOS links.

      This is my opinion – this is yet another example of an affiliate keyword stuffing a fake news site with the name of a better known and higher traffic site in order to cannibalize traffic to its own site. As reported on, BidMacs registration is open – savefunwin’s is closed. My guess is they are not connected, but when it comes to the tangled web that is internet marketing, one really never knows what or who lurks behind the closed doors.

      Reply
      • Amanda November 25, 2010, 8:30 pm

        I don’t get it, savefunwin.com isn’t a separate site just an ad for bidmacs..?

        Reply
        • EIS November 26, 2010, 3:06 pm

          Yes, its a separate site. The fake news site has links that say BidMacs, but the actual penny auction site you wind up at is Savefunwin. If I click a link that says BidMacs, then reasonably I should be taken to the BidMacs site, not to a competing penny auction site.

          The Savewinfun site is the site I am taking issue with, not the BidMacs site. I suspect that the fake news site has nothing at all to do with BidMacs, other than swiping their name to keyword stuff.

          Reply
          • Amanda November 26, 2010, 3:26 pm

            I don’t understand, can you post the full URL for savewinfun/savefunwin?

  • Jim November 26, 2010, 1:54 am

    Yes it appears the news sites to be an advertisement for bidmacs, but the links i have found are perfectly clear on the 149.99 and in fact terms and conditions of the initial purchase is stated on the shopping cart.

    Since reading this and browsing google I see that there are affiliate’s marketing this site and ads running on other complaint sites when i was researching the name there were no complaints but the keyword flagged a banner

    However I don’t think bidmacs is doing anything wrong. I have seen others on this site like bidcactus or others like Wavee or Swoopo, Quibids advertising just the same one time or another with affiliates, in fact Bidcactus aand others had its run with issues when they grew too fast.

    I checked the links you provided and went through the purchase process and I clearly saw the 149.99. Even on the News sites and the link to the special promotion

    My recommendations to anyone looking for penny auctions is to review them all and what you get for the price you pay. However I think people or customers posting on this site might not be truthful in what they did or just want out, unless someone else used there card to order. just call them and ask for a refund and if it doesnt happen then go to the BBB.

    Personally I have seen these sites go from nothing to something overnight and if they don’t have the customer service to handle all the calls it can get ugly but the growing pains of something that got to big too fast. Nerveless should not be penalized for growing to fast as long as they are real and shipping product. If a site like this does 500 new customers a day buying bids not including rebuys happening within a day, do the math with a average counter of 20 seconds on most sites! Its a lot of time and bids.

    Second I see this Michelle on the site posting to call her and email her to take care of any customers, most companies are not going to do this or reach out to customers for refunds. Its a good thing not bad.

    Jim.

    Reply
    • Amanda November 26, 2010, 11:07 am

      So Jim, which payment processor are you with?

      Reply
  • Robert November 26, 2010, 10:02 am

    Are you really calling that annoying Justine girl a celebrity….!?

    Reply
    • Amanda November 26, 2010, 3:30 pm

      Well you try and get thousands of views online, I’d say she’s an Internet personality/celebrity.

      Reply
      • Amanda November 26, 2010, 3:35 pm

        Oh, on the button of savefunwin.com says 250 Bids + 50 free bids for just 149.99, I missed it the first few times just saw it now, after that it’s bidmacs. SaveFunWin looks like a front page for BidMacs.

        Reply
  • James December 6, 2010, 5:55 pm

    LET’S MAKE A COLLECTIVE DEMAND!

    BIDMACS LOOKS LEGAL BUT THEY CHARGED MY CREDIT CARD $149.95
    WHEN THEY OFFER FREE REGISTRATION!

    REPORT THIS SCAM TO:

    FBI Salt Lake City
    257 East 200 South, Suite 1200
    Salt Lake City, UT 84111-2048
    Phone: (801) 579-1400
    Fax: (801) 579-4500
    E-mail: SaltLakeCity@ic.fbi.gov

    Bidmacs changed their web page in the last days and everything looks legal but I saved the original web page where they offer a free registration and when you give your information they charge you the $149.95.

    FBI officer told me that according with bidmacs terms and conditions they must return to User the balance of any purchased Bids.

    I called this people and sent emails canceling my account but I have not received any answer yet.

    877-364-9217
    michelle@bidmacs.com
    support@bidmacs.com

    Let’s see what happen….

    Reply

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