One of our readers sent us a very discouraging message about the penny auction site HQBids.com, he wrote:
“I tried to find how to purchase an I Pad & found I was onto the HQ Bids site. A “FREE” site. which cost $49 US to join. Alright, I signed up, but found the whole thing stalled when I was asked for MasterCard Secure Code. It said “We will get back to you”. When? And how? Is this a scam? There doesn’t seem to be any provision to log in to bid.”
On HqBids.com ending right now there are 4 new iPads, 2 iPhones, a Google Nexus 7, PS3, Galaxy Tab 2, gold bar, Nintendo Wii Bundle, Toshiba laptop, LG 50 inch TV, xBox 360 with Kinect and dozens of new items ending soon.
Take a look at each auction and watch the bidding patterns closely… The majority, if not all, usernames are one syllable names, not common usernames.
For instance: lupo, tarpley, mclean, deaton, christie, searle, edward, thomas, conner, to name just a few who are currently bidding.
Who owns HqBids.com? Well, the domain name registrant info is protected by “Contact Privacy, Inc.”
Registrant:
Contact Privacy Inc. Customer 0126868198
96 Mowat Ave
Toronto, ON M6K 3M1
CA
Domain name: HQBIDS.COM
Administrative Contact:
Contact Privacy Inc. Customer 0126868198,
HQBids “About Us” page is minimal at best:
“is a free to join, members only e-commerce site. We specialize in providing our members with instant access to top brands at up to 98% off retail. All products offered for sale come with the manufacturer warranty and are the same brand new, brand name, and factory sealed products you find in stores”
Their contact info which can be found on their privacy policy page is just an address for UPS Store post office box:
Or by regular mail:
HQbids Customer Support
4798 S. Florida Ave, Suite 117
Lakeland, FL 33813-2181
One tactic used by a lot of what we found to be questionable penny auctions has been to use news clips/interviews with winners of other penny auction sites and label them or make them seem as if the video was about their site, for instance:
Page one of the registration process states “Free sign up, No Free, NO Surprises.” Why then was our reader confused/surprised? See page two of the registration page:
Of course the page states, “We Guarantee you will win today, a bid pack purchase amount, but above address information states “Where will we ship your wins” This format has been known to confuse bidders on other now-shut-down penny auctions where Federal Trade Commission action against site owners has happened. 
Two complaints were filed with the Better Business Bureau in Florida:
Another bidder posted the following review to ScamBook.com:
http://www.scambook.com/report/view/226609/HQBids-Complaint-226609-for-$49.00
“I got the starter package and as I was going to win a bid their site froze…it had nothing to do with my computer. I lost everything. What a SCAM!!! I contacted them and they try to blame my computer, bandwidth and more. They sent a nasty email back. SCAM!!!!!!!!”
Check out the bottom of the registration/bid purchase page it states “See what people are saying” below various logos of major media networks that have featured penny auctions, a majority of which actually interviewed me/Penny Auction Watch, this seems very misleading.
Knowing that there isn’t much information about this company, seeing the questionable bidding names and high volume of big dollar items would you bid here? Did you? Did you win? Were you confused by the sign up page like our reader was? Discuss this and all penny auctions in our forum!












































