Well that is his fault. he should not have made the $850 initial bid if he was not committed to keep bidding higher. Gambling is when the outcome is uncertain. When you bid an extra $10 on a bidding dir, you know the outcome. Your listing will be credited with an extra $10, and you may move up a place.
I also don't agree that a bidding directory is gambling, I think the only way it resembles gambling is that there is a risk involved because you could lose your home page or top spot. But every business has risks. I was also reluctant to enter into the bidding directory industry but I thought of a way to offer something unique on my bidding directory and I also have unique articles to offer a more in the way of content. Back to Guru's question (which was answered at length in another recent thread), some might be doing this but the majority aren't. I am still trying to figure out if it is wrong to offer 2 x deals (ect...) or not. I heard mikey1090 offering the argument that it will cost folks more that bid in the future but is it not the same as having a feature link sale now and then raising the price in the future, so if you buy a link now at 2 for 1 featured for $10 ($5 per link) and then you come along a month from now and the price is $15 per featured link you are paying a huge premuim for missing out on the sale. How is this any different? Or the same thing with home page text links, when I first launch a site I offer them cheap, for $25 a year but then in a couple of months when there is PR and traffic I raise the price to $50 a year. Of course it is wrong to manipulate the home page bids by artificially increasing them to try and trick other bidders into bidding higher but again I am not sure if having a sale or deal is unfair. I would like to hear more opinions please.
So in bidding there is certainty is that what you mean ? Whta's the outcome ? Gambling (or betting) is any behavior involving risking money or valuables (making a wager or placing a stake) on the outcome of a game, contest, or other event in which the outcome of that activity depends partially or totally upon chance or upon one's ability to do something. jg dude I dont mean any disrespect but isn't gambling is a risk ? And please this is just a pros and cons discussion no need to get testosterones on high level.
Of course it is a risk but meeting only that criterion does not make it gambling in the sense of playing a game of chance. Look at it this way; it is a gamble every time you get in your car or if you get married. There is no certainty for anything in life, so there is risk and a gamble but that does not necessarily make it 'gambling'.
ive just seen 2 posts from LinkGuru .. and imo both are aimed to attack directories (business itself and now directory owners honesty) .. call me paranoid but i dont see contructive criticism in starting these threads .. and if im wrong then im sorry .. so, what will be next? poll to know if we think directory owners have the serial killer gen?
Again without disrespect sir would you say that your life is a gamble or pattern it to links. And would that mean that Black Jack or Casinos are not gambling its just a card game or a place to play ?
poptalk they have similar characteristics with 'risk' being one of them but I think gambling has different goals then bidding in a directory or riding your car to work or getting married. It is the differences that set them apart. Online gambling is illegal in the US but taking a gamble at meeting someone from a dating site is not. - See the difference?
With respect sir, would you care to define this further ? Gambling and Bidding ? Note: Its just an honest point to get the message across to others. This is a heavy topic everywhere already and bid directories are being the target.
if bidding $10 on a directory is a risk, my whole life must be a risk. When i cross the road its a risk, how do i know i want fall over and get crushed by a bus? You just dont know. When bidding $100 on a directory, i know what the outcome will be, otherwise i wouldnt bother putting up the $100 bid. With a game of poker, you dont know the outcome, so when you throw money around it is a risk incase you loose it. The only risk with bidding directories is that the owner may remove the site, so your investment is gone.
So you mean your life is uncertain and no direction ? Basing it just for an amount of $10, $100 or even a $1000 ? So whats the outcome ? Does that guaranty certainty ? Or not ? So there is "risk" and we go back to the equation of definition.
Point of fact is that something is only a 'Gamble' if and only IF the person puts money or other tangible goods on the outcome of something with the risk of permanently losing those goods/money. Bidding and paying on a directory position and not guaranteeing your going to keep that position is by fact a gamble, you can't get away from. So for bidding directories, if you bid $10 for position one but another person can bid $11 to take that position then you are taking a gamble that this doesn't happen. It doesn't fall under gambling legislation because it's such a new phenomenon but it is still 100% a gamble because of one simple fact. The hard fact in the case of directories is the only time something is NOT a gamble is when you a GUARANTEED a static position, for example #1, #2 #3 and so on. Because the nature of bidding makes this impossible it is a gamble as to what place your going to keep. Think we can wrap this thread up now.
Once when i was selling bids i said if you buy a link i will raise your bid by 1 USD. I think thats okay to do. - Prilep
www.you-cubez.com www.fame15.net these bid for position advert sites have been around a while....they must be worse that a bidding directory...
The Pheonix you are wrong and you even said it yourself in your post: You still get a backlink in the directory and it has value, so you did not lose your money or even risk permanently losing it. What you guys (especially popotalk) are disagreeing on is simply the interpretation of 'gambling'. If you don't base it on the legal meaning then of course everyone will have a different idea of what it means to them.
We have obviously been a part of this conversation since we did do some specials on people that bid at BountyWorld. Although we don't think offering promotions on people that bid or trading bids is unethical, we have stopped those promotions for BountyWorld since there was such an outrage from the community. Our one question about bid trading is: If you trade a $20 bid with another directory, how does that effect the bidding? That is no different than each directory buying a $20 bid in each others. There was a fair value given in return. The only thing that was done was all of the PayPal fees were eliminated. We have been around a long time (I personally have been in the Internet business since 1994), so we know that it is a community on the Web that must be respected. When we do something that the community doesn't like we listen.
i dont think you should trade bids, unless both directories are identical. a $20 bid in my site would be more valuable than a $20 link in yours.
No I'm not wrong at all, what I said was and I quote myself. More importantly: Now if you get your money back if your bid gets beaten then its still a gamble as to whether you maintain the spot your bidding for but without the risk of losing your money. You STILL LOSE YOUR PLACE. That's the gamble. Let's make this CLEAR. Your not paying for a backlink in a bidding directory, your paying for a position (THE HIGHEST) nothing more nothing less. No matter how you try to deviate from the FACTS, the fact being you are bidding for position that can never be GUARANTEED because others can ALWAYS outbid you. (It's therefore a GAMBLE as to whether your bid will hold your position). Bidding directories I repeat are NOT about backlinks, they are about POSITION. sorry about the CASE, I'm not shouting I'm just emphasising points you need to understand.
On a separate point, I am not sure it is in any way gambling. Every auction in the world would be gambling by the definitions laid out here. Every time you buy a keyword in Google or MSN is a gamble, by the definition here. You have no idea where your ads will actually show up. They are running so many algorithms now in their ad networks that even if you bid the highest, you may not show up.