Better late than never: EU based Swoopo, one of the most, if not the most popular penny auction site on the web and GoBid.com (know less about this one) were in the San Jose Mercury News earlier this spring.
Not too much to note in this article; the most noteworthy point is probably that there was a news article about the penny auction sites. The writer interviews a few e-commerce experts and the Swoopo exec. and showcases a few arguments on the topic of penny auctions. 1. Are they gambling? and 2. Is it fair? I would love to talk to a lawyer about what explicit language governs gambling and what precedent has been set in similar cases, if any. However, given the number of penny auction companies I would say that at least some of them must have asked an expert. Also, venture capital firms do extensive research before making an investment so I must conclude that before August Capital plowed $10 million into Swoopo earlier this year they probably called a lawyer.
Game on! I think penny auctions must fall under the definition of entertainment shopping, which is not exactly rolling the dice or picking lucky numbers.
Friday, July 17, 2009
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