Automated Scripts Overrun eBay Holiday Contest

turnkeylinux writes "TechCrunch is reporting that eBay is under fire from users because of a holiday giveaway contest gone awry. On Tuesday Nov. 25, eBay announced its $1 Holiday Doorbusters deals promotion, giving away 100 gifts on a daily basis, all for a $1 fixed price. The gifts ranged from jewelry, clothing, digital cameras, and GPS devices to a brand-new Chevrolet Corvette. The only catch is that there's no announcement on when these items are released or in which category they will be. But cheaters came up with a clever way of winning deals on an automated basis by continuously running scripts to bid on items for $1."

Comments

Re:Time to offload some crap

[Lord Kano]

I quit buying from eBay when I got the one negative feedback on my account. Some asshole was playing a feedback blackmail game. I chose not to play and he left me a negative feedback. My 100% positive rating was fucked. I didn't buy anything else on eBay until they made this new system.

Sellers are necessary, but buyers are where the money comes from.

LK