The other day, I was checking the latest posts on TechCrunch and came across a promotion promising a free pack of MySpace branded playing cards. I love free things and I clicked, hoping that my next game of poker would have a MySpace theme.
Instead I was greeted by a charity auction on a service called Listia. To bid, I needed 'credits'. The parallels to the scam offers controversy I wrote about on Monday started to became apparent.
Listia's credits system works like this:
- 50 credits are offered free.
- To get 100 more, you need to sign up and list an item that you are willing to give away.
- If that's not enough, you can earn 50 credits each time you convince a friend to sign up.
- If that's still not enough, you can buy credits for 10 cents a pop, sold in $1 increments.
- Credits cannot be redeemed for cash, and unused credits that were purchased are only refundable within 7 days of purchase.
I wasn't impressed, especially because Listia's homepage reads "Everything is FREE on Listia" and proclaims "No Fees. No Money. Just Free Stuff!" But this is all for a good cause (the American Red Cross) so I figured it probably wasn't worth making a fuss over. Then I read the fine print:
When a seller lists a charity auction, we donate all of the profits generated from that auction to charity. The profit is calculated from the number of paid credits the winner uses to complete the auction. In addition, since there may not be any paid credits involved in every charity auction, unpaid and promotional credits are also transferred directly to the charity's Listia account. The credits can then be used to bid on items the charity needs. This is done either by Listia or someone who represents the charity directly.
In other words, the charity only gets actual cash if paid credits were used in the bidding. The rest of the credits that it receives? They have to be used to bid on something that somebody else is 'giving away'. Incredibly, the fine print indicates that Listia has the discretion to bid on items on behalf of the charity! Not exactly the best deal for the charity, no?
Clearly, this isn't what I expected when I clicked on the ad to claim my "free" pack of MySpace branded playing cards. There's nothing free about it really. With bidding currently at 150 credits, the only chance I'd have to win is to join Listia and list an item that ostensibly has some monetary value, spam my friends for referral credits and/or shell out real money for credits that I can't convert back into cash if I don't win. And if I win, I have no idea how much benefit the Red Cross would actually derive from the auction. Listia's fine print leaves me with the impression that if the Red Cross isn't on Listia (which seems likely), somebody at Listia will bid on an item he thinks the Red Cross needs and then have it donated it to them.
Fortunately, I'm not going crazy as I'm not the only one who has looked at Listia and been left with a sour taste. The company has been covered on TechCrunch twice. Some of the comments:
How are you getting it for free if you have to buy points?
Then there is the 11 day auction on a nice TV (a promotional item)... you have to buy points to bid on it and those points are ONLY refundable within 7 days. So, if you bid early on you are stuck with your points. One member spent $70 on points, and got outbid... and now she can’t do anything to get her money back. Great for the owners, terrible for the customer.
Ok. so i wanted to check out the Listia solution this morning... I signed up and was going to bid for the free Techcrunch T-Shirt. I was given 500 credits as a new user on Listia but can only use 100 credits of these on each item i bid for. Since the current bit on the T Shirt was 251 credits i had to buy at least 160 credits in order to have a chance to bid...
IDK, the site is very misleading. Any worthwhile item will require the user to pay for more credits, so essentially, you are just participating in a paid auction. In addition, their methods of interacting with charities aren’t clearly outlined, and I’m not sure how things work.
That’s a really stupid concept… Use a middle person to manage giving stuff away, and allow the middle person to charge what the market will bear for that stuff? By the time the stuff gets to the end user, it isn’t free anymore… far from it… if it is free, then it’s something that certainly has very little value, assuming this marketplace is efficient.
While I applaud them for coming up with (or at least expanding on a previously existing) good idea, I agree with many others who have commented on the fact that monetizing points for free stuff seems to defeat the purpose of the site, at least from the user’s perspective.
I’m glad someone else sees the huge, gaping hole to this business plan. Looks like a charity leach, if anything. The only real winner in the process is Listia.
Another comment raises some questions about potential tax implications of the Listia service, which are interesting.
The bottom line: if you called Listia 'scummy', you probably wouldn't be alone. And for good reason: in most cases, Listia's auctions for "free stuff" aren't going to be free when all is said and done. After all, users will likely need to put something of value up for auction, or purchase credits that can't be exchanged for cash or refunded after seven days. The charity stuff? Clearly just a marketing ploy because there is no guarantee that a charity receiving credits that weren't originally purchased is going to be able to use them to bid on items that it truly needs. Throw in the fine print revealing that Listia itself may bid on items for the charity and the charity angle seems quite dubious.
Which brings us back to TechCrunch. Combine everything you now know about Listia with TechCrunch's ad promising a free pack of MySpace branded playing cards and you might just have an offer that Michael Arrington would call a 'scam' if it was displayed in, say, Farmville.
Okay, maybe that's a little bit of a stretch, but I think the point stands: there are lots of services that can leave a bad taste in your mouth, and it's very easy to create ads that aren't 100% true or accurate. While I'm certainly not suggesting that this example here is the moral equivalent of scammy/scummy mobile offer that you might find on a CPA network, it would be hard to argue that TechCrunch's ad isn't deceptive. It'd also be hard to deny that some parts of Listia's system seem like they were well-designed to take advantage of less-savvy consumers.
That said, instead of calling on TechCrunch to pull its ad or for Listia to be expelled from the internet, my next game of poker simply won't be with MySpace branded cards. And as it stands right now, it looks like I'm not the only one who has decided to keep the deck of cards I already have. TechCrunch's auction, which as I write this is stuck at 150 credits, now has a special welcome message: "Welcome TechCrunchers - Everything is Free on Listia! All TechCrunch readers Receive a Free 50 Credit Extra Bonus When You Join Today!" The amount of credits being offered when you sign up and list an item has also been boosted to 150.
Now I could go on about how foolish it is for any service that has a credits-based economy to treat credits like pork barrels, especially when credits can be purchased for cash, and I could point out that if Listia keeps giving away more points to 'move' an auction that isn't going anywhere, the people who bid first would be unfairly put at a significant disadvantage and pressured into purchasing credits if they want any shot at winning. But I think this auction's status speaks for itself: it looks like consumers just might be smarter than some of us give them credit for after all.
[Update: the ad has been removed from TechCrunch. Additionally, the promotional language on the Listia auction page has been removed along with the 50 "bonus" credits.]
Patricio Robles is a tech reporter at Econsultancy. Follow him on Twitter.
4:50PM on 11th November 2009
Hi Patricio, your article caught my attention as my team and I currently spend much of our time talking to and trying to persuade charities to use our service, Raffle.it. As the new fundraising kid on the block, the 'sell' can sometimes be harder than you expect and you move from feeling that every charity and good cause is 'going to love this!' to worrying that you're somehow trying to trick them into using it. When money and charity are both involved giving anything less than 100% feels just a little bit bad. Obviously that isn't sustainable so we have a profit share with our partner charities.
We looked at using credits but dismissed it immediately as we believe these serve only to confuse and break the link to real currency. Listia put a value on credits so why not reverse the way auctions are priced. Use real currency for the bidding with users being able to convert their credits, acquired through the various tasks, to bid. Seems much more open and transparent - they should most definitely drop the free slogan!
It would seem Techcrunch were trying to do the right thing, using a new site and helping to support a charity, I guess they just became a victim of the finer details.
Let's hope Listia learn from this exposure and take the feedback they're no doubt receiving and evolve.
Tech Reporter at Econsultancy
5:05PM on 11th November 2009
Hi Pascal,
You are right: dealing with charities is tough and charities have good reason to be very suspicious of for-profit companies that want to 'help' them because, unfortunately, charities are a real target for abuse.
A couple of points;
1. It's not clear that the Red Cross is 'officially' involved in this charity. From what I can gather, a charity doesn't even need to be on Listia for an auction to 'benefit' it. When you read the fine print about how Listia deals with the credits that weren't bought with cash, the charity angle is, in my opinion, quite scummy because Listia itself reserves the right to bid "on items the charity needs" even though there's no guarantee there will be any. What those credits Listia is using 'on behalf of' the charity might do: move another auction, inducing competing bidders to purchase credits, which of course benefits Listia, not the charity.
At the end of the day it's possible that a charity auction will do little for the actual charity. But when it comes to the unassuming consumer, the fact that the auction has something to do with 'charity' is a great marketing tool for Listia, and the charity's credits could be used by Listia in such a way that it does produce revenue for Listia.
2. TechCrunch has covered Listia twice and there were more than a few comments pointing out the problems so I'm not sure I'd say "It would seem Techcrunch were trying to do the right thing". That's not to say there was any maliciousness here, but at the end of the day I think it's easy to see through what Listia had in mind when it designed its credits system.
1:07PM on 12th November 2009
Interesting, I actually checked out Listia for the first time after reading this article and I read somewhere on the site that you earn 50 credits for each person you get to sign up to Listia... Well, with thousands of Twitter followers and Facebook friends, I thought "Ideal", this will be easy.
Only once I had signed up, and went to the invite friends section does it then say that to earn the 50 credits they have to sign up and list something.
The whole site is very unclear and confusing as if they are trying to trick their visitors.
Tech Reporter at Econsultancy
5:06PM on 12th November 2009
Geoff, Interesting. I was unaware that your friends had to list items to receive the 50 points. This is very MLM-like and the intention is clear: the more "free stuff" Listia can get to "give away", the more likely it is that some of it will be good. Good items (read: those with some value) are more likely to spark bidding that requires auction participants to shell out money for credits. Perhaps I gave Listia too much "credit" in my post. Not sure if this is any better than a scummy survey that results in a $10/month mobile subscription.
5:46PM on 12th November 2009
Trickier never pays; I suspect Listia will not last given all the negative press they are receiving. Thanks for bringing this to light again.
12:00AM on 13th November 2009
I posted these comments yesterday, but they never made it to the site.. trying again in smaller chunks :-)
Hi Patricio,
Just came across this post while searching through Twitter. I'm
involved (co-founder) with Listia and just wanted to add some
comments. Your blog post has given us some great feedback and we will
be looking into all of the things you mentioned to eliminate the
"scammy" aspects of the site. It definitely was not our intention.
1. We understand that its disappointing to enter the site thinking you
are going to get something for free but then realize you need credits.
This is something we are trying to improve on, though right now the
credits serve as a way to determine who "wants it most" so to speak.
Afterall there is only one pack of cards to give away. New users
definitely have a disadvantage here, but our current users love the
system. They are able to get rid of stuff they don't need (old video
games, baseball cards, books, gadgets, etc.) and build up enough
credits to get other things in return. We really designed it so that
credits make you want to GIVE and RECEIVE... However, we need a way
to make new users feel the same love that our existing users feel. I
definitely see why your first impression was not a good one.
12:01AM on 13th November 2009
2. As for the charity aspect.. the section you pointed out was not
meant to be fine print, but its actually how we openly run the charity
system. As a small company, we cannot give out cash unless we receive
some, which is why we only donate cash for items where credits were
purchased (100% of it). But we know that for now many auctions will
not have purchased credits, so we still want charities to benefit when
no cash is involved. Ideally we would LOVE for a representative of
the charity to make use of the credits instead of us... that is the
ultimate goal but we need to start recruiting people at these
organizations.
Here's an example where we donated real cash ($90) for one of
TechCrunch's charity auctions:
http://www.listia.com/auction/242
The money was donated directly to the American Red Cross... the new
pack of cards will probably not get up that high unfortunately, but
hopefully the credits they get will still yield some good in the
future.
12:02AM on 13th November 2009
a couple of incorrect facts to clear up :-)
3. The welcome message was put up to welcome TC readers, but the
credit value was not increased to help "move" the auction. It was
always 150 because of the referral gift, but the site did not reflect
that extra 50 credits correctly in the beginning. If you signed up
using that link before the welcome message was there, you'd still get
150 credits total after listing an item.
4. The link itself was never an ad.. I think they just simply wanted
to give away that pack of cards and were seeing if Listia would be a
good way to do so. We never expected the link, we didn't write the
text for the link, and it came as a surprise to us when we saw the
link.
5. The promotional welcome message is not gone... if you use the
original link, the message is still there (only shows up for that link
for obvious reasons) and the referral gift is still valid. All users
using that link would still be given 50 credits as a gift. We try not
to vary the user experience from day to day.
12:03AM on 13th November 2009
Lastly, it does come as a big surprise to us to read that a user
thinks our site is scammy. We have tons of email from users saying
how much they love the site and how it has helped them get this and
that which they otherwise could not afford... also email from people
who just give away tons of stuff because they feel fortunate to be
able to help others. I wish I could post some of them here... its
really very touching to receive those.
We do now realize that the promotional language on our site which was
designed for conversion is a bit much in some places. The last thing
we want to do is to be associated with the scammy virtual goods sites
out there and it definitely was never our intention.
Again thanks for the thoughtful post... there is lots for us to learn
from this and we will do our best. In the meantime, if you have any
suggestions beyond what's in this article, please feel free to email
them to me or post them here. Thanks!
Tech Reporter at Econsultancy
5:07PM on 13th November 2009
Gee,
Thanks for your thorough response. A couple of thoughts:
1. Your positioning is that Listia is "auctions for free stuff". Your homepage states very clearly "Everything is FREE on Listia" and proclaims "No Fees. No Money. Just Free Stuff!" That's pretty clear, right? Free. No money involved. When you say "We understand that its disappointing to enter the site thinking you are going to get something for free but then realize you need credits" the obvious solution is to demphasize the "free" part, which you have basically admitted is misleading. Even if somebody doesn't purchase credits, they will almost certainly have to offer up something of value to obtain credits. Again, nothing "free" about that.
2. The charity aspect is problematic for a few reasons:
First, the charity may not be directly involved yet this is not clear to the user. In many cases, I think users will be under the impression that the charity listed is somehow involved. Frankly, I see this as little more than a way to mislead users into believing that there's some sort of "endorsement".
Second, following on this, there's really no guarantee that the charity will benefit. If paid credits are used in the auction and you donate actual cash to the charity, great. The charity obviously deserves 100% of the cash without any fees. But when you call it a "charity auction", that gives the impression that the charity will benefit fully. That really isn't the case. If the charity isn't using Listia, what happens to the unpaid credits it receives? Your fine print indicates that you can use those credits to bid on items the charity needs, but how do you know what the charity needs? And how do you address the potential conflict created by using credits that belong to the charity to bid on items when your bidding may induce other auction participants to purchase credits? Example: somebody puts a flat-screen TV up for auction and somehow you determine that the Red Cross has a use for this. Since the Red Cross isn't on Listia, you bid on it using the Red Cross' credits. Since this is a desirable item, there's a lot of competition and your bid pushes the auction higher, which in turns pushes other participants to purchase credits in an effort to win. Do you see the problem here? Your use of the Red Cross' credits generates revenue for Listia even though the Red Cross may or may not win, and may not have use for the item if it does win.
Personally, I think you should ditch the "free" claims and stay away from charity auctions involving charities not on Listia. Anything less than that maintains the deceptive aspects of how you promote your service and auctions, but that's just my opinion.
12:27AM on 26th December 2009
I love Listia. Every time I sell something, I get the credits for what I get rid of. This lets me build up my credits so I can puchase whatever I want. So far I have sold a broken watch, 2 books, a cheap model airplane and a cheap chess set...in total it cost me 12 bucks to ship it all. With the credits I earned from those sails, I was able to bid on and win a slightly used 17" flatscreen monitor. Good trade for me. Listia may have a few kinks, but its gonna last.
2:35PM on 31st January 2010
My son and I have been using Listia for some time now and have never paid for any credits, we list items and get credits for what we give away then use those credits to bid on something we want. Yes, if you are impatient and can't wait and earn your own credits you have to buy them. We never have done that nor would we. Seriously, some people don't have enough sense to use something so simple. All I can say is, you lose. I love free stuff, if you don't then you have a problem.
6:35AM on 3rd February 2010
I'm a member of Listia. As long as i don't buy the points i'm fine with it. I don't spam people either. The only way i got extra points was by making listia a friend in twitter and facebook, and they (secretly give out 5 extra points) every hour or so, so it's no big loss for me, i'm happy with the number of points I have.
5:32PM on 14th February 2010
Listia has made leaps and bounds since this original blog was posted. The charity auctions have been removed temperarily and charities have been paid up according to the site. As for now it seems to be put on hold so they can regroup, get the proper representation and work out the details I suppose.
Someone keeps saying that you can't get free stuff from Listia. This just isn't true. There are different promotions but as a new member signing up for listia you will typically get at least 50 credits. As of making this post right now if you were to use this link http://www.listia.com/signup/10610 (my personal referral link) you get 100 credits. If you link your twitter account and facebook account, you get another 50 credits for each one of those. So basically you start out with 200 credits and have done NOTHING that would cost money. If you list something, you'll get the extra bonus that's being offered of like 50 more credits or something.
To see a short list of things I've won for less than 200 credits for COMPLETELY free go to http://www.freeorsale.com/listia
The idea is that you'll give back to the community after the first 200 credits though if you want to continue to exchange stuff. Have old collectibles that you don't see a value in anymore that others may enjoy? Listing stuff like that get's fun and it's addicting.
Lastly, there is a lot of junk on Listia which can be bothersome to filter through but there are a lot of gems. I listed my OLD psp 2001 last night which went for 5751 credits! I never played it anymore and I'll be happy to exchange those credits for something much more useful.
Anyway, good luck. Go sign up and spend your 200 free credits and check it out. You'll get something for absolutely free. If you decide to continue with Listia, you'll be happy.
4:50PM on 16th February 2010
Yall are stupid. Look listia is just like recycling old stuff to get new stuff and i'm sorry if yall rich ass living off your mama and daddys trust fund people dont like the way us poorer folks do stuff. Geez yall aint happy unless the world is given to you free with no strings attached.
9:36PM on 8th March 2010
I love listia!! It is a wonderful way for me to get rid of stuff that has been sitting around my house and is of no use to me. I have "purchased" several things from listia and have never spent any real money (and this includes having the items shipped to me for free). As far as the charity point, I'm not sure how much a charity would actually receive. For normal people wanted to get rid of some stuff and maybe get a few new things it is a great site and not at all a scam.
2:19AM on 18th March 2010
I was using Listia and was enjoying swapping things when out of the blue my account was blocked. There is NO place to ask why. I responded to the email several times and they NEVER answered once. Until then I had no problem and have no idea why as they would never respond. I remembered seeing on here that some who was part of Listia had responded to something here. Maybe they would be nice enough to responded on here. I believe they said they could be contacted here or on Listia Well there's no place to contact Gee.I know I lost all the things I was in the middle of, but, I really want to know why. IMO it's bad business when you can't get a reply from a company.
10:08PM on 18th May 2010
Hi,I cannot believe all of what you just published! I have been a member of listia for about 6mths,and almost all of what you wrote is wrong.First of all,you get 50 credits for signing up,then if you simply connect your facebook page to it(just so you can sign in easier) you get another 50 credits,the same with your twitter account-50credits.So,now you have 150 credits in about 3 minutes,which is plenty to bid on.I have never seen any "charity auctions" on there.We are just regular people who have items that are new,or pretty new that we want to get rid of.Second of all,every time you "check in" to the site,and it can be 1 time or 100 times a day,you get extra credits for your account.The first time you list an item,you get 50 credits.So,now we have 200 credits in 5 minutes.They give you credits for publishing your bid,or win,or if youre selling something(for credits) as well.I have gotten rid of alot of items that were brand new,and won many items as well.They offer an opportunity to buy credits as a last resort if you really want to bid on something and win it,but dont have enough credits.It is NOT a scam whatsoever!! When you list an item,every time-you get credits as well,and whoever bid the highest credits,they get the item,and YOU get the credits.That is how it works.Ver recently I put an item up for bid on Listia.com and the winning bid was 3,049 credits,which go to My account.The more items you put up for bidding,the more credits you win.You are making this site out to be a serious scam,and its not.Anyone can do it,thats how easy it is.You have a choice to do free shipping or have the winner pay for it also.Listia is a one of a kind website for those of us who cant always afford to buy items for hundreds of dollars on ebay.Did you actually go through the sign up process or did you just judge "it by its cover"????Your information is completely incorrect.You would have to be a member to truly experience this awesome free site.Perhaps you should get your facts straight,and instead of putting up all the technical stuff about the site-which by the way,most of it does not apply,sign up for the site,and look around.If you can read,you can easily get 200 credits so quickly,which is more than enough to get 2 or 3 brand new items.Please STOP giving this site a bad name,when in fact,you are proving yourself to be a liar.You can not just read about a website,then give your opinion.I think EBay is SO HIGHLY OVERRATED,and so is your site you have here!! It just shows how much "research"you really did about this site!!! Try educating yourself first,then you can judge.
9:58PM on 31st May 2010
I agree with all of the Listia members! I too am a Listia member and it is NOT a scam! Obviously this author has not used the site or is very impatient! I use to sell a lot of things on Ebay and I can tell you that I am fed up with all the fees that they have and I would rather list my items on Listia any day! I just recently got a PSP that worked and all I paid was $6 to ship it to me. Now come on, even if you have to pay shipping charges for some of these items where else can I get a deal like that? Certainly not on Ebay!
11:21PM on 3rd June 2010
Listia needs to get their facts right and tell people what this site is all about before they loose all of its members.
The site is misleading big time.
I joined the site knowingly I would need tokens to get anything from that site. I looked around but I couldn't see at a time anything I really would want but as a new mom I know the stress of shopping around while pregnant. My baby outgrow pretty much everything in infant sizes from clothes to toys. I decided to list those things up for free and I was willing to pay for shipping as long someone could use them. Actually I started my auctions with just a token. I had over 50 items and the lowest bid on my items was 275 tokens and the highest received over 1500 tokens…I was surprised how much people were willing to bid on those items and at that time I knew there were so many moms out there need help…I rushed to the Post Office and mailed all the items…but I shipped just using first class or parcel post service for the heavier stuffs. I paid more that $120.00 just to ship all the items but I was still happy that I was able to help someone….
They said what you don’t know you don’t know. …Four days after my auctions ended I received an email said someone opened a dispute “Item haven’t received” I was kind of shocked but at the same time I knew I was new on that site no any feedback yet so just polite I told her that I wasn’t in a position to ship her item using a priority mail service. It was already mailed and should be there soon. Then she emailed me back and said “you are supposed to email people and thanks them for bidding on your stuffs and let them know that their packages are on the way”…this email annoyed me so much…I was like what???? This is a free site. I am giving my items for free and willing to pay my money to ship to you and then I should thank you for doing that? I was thinking those who received the items are the ones who have to say thanks to the person who is willing to give the item and take their time to ship out to them too... I was thinking the tokens are just the gratitude and appreciation from the person who needed the most. I didn't know on Listia is hustling and bustling again just like selling on eBay...What am I going to do with those tokens if I don't see anything I like on the site? NOTHING!!! They don’t convert those tokens into cash value at all so I was thinking it’s just to make a person who is willing to give out things for free to feel good and happy about it. Also the tokens are there to give the idea of how much other people value that items. Just like playing a video game or something you get points and feel good about it but you don’t use those points to gain anything else but the satisfactions you get there is unexplainable. That is how I felt and the points should encourage more people to keep recycling.
It is so confusing. So far all who received my stuffs left positive feedbacks but now I am starting to wonder about their ratings theory too. If I am giving my items for free why should one who receiving it even allowed giving or rating “negative” feedbacks? I was thinking the ratings up there are just to help people to know the person who posted this stuff is really and already gave out certain numbers of items out for free so if that person is asking you to pay for the shipping it should be okay. Why in the hell you give a negative feedback to a person who is giving you free things? Is there any hidden agenda people don’t know about it?
They better stand up and put up their site ideas right and tell people who need the appreciation. The one who is giving up things for free or the one who is receiving things for free? That is how I was thinking the concept of the site is FREE FREE
2:26PM on 30th June 2010
point onethere are hundreds of regular people who have things on listia , including me. i have gotten twenty one items with out problems for free. sometime they charge for shipping, but that is for you to decide.
point two: i have never bought credits! NEVER! you don't have to. it is an option offered.
2:26PM on 30th June 2010
point onethere are hundreds of regular people who have things on listia , including me. i have gotten twenty one items with out problems for free. sometime they charge for shipping, but that is for you to decide.
point two: i have never bought credits! NEVER! you don't have to. it is an option offered.
5:17AM on 20th July 2010
Wow, most of these comments don't even seem real. No really, many of these comments sound like ads. Completely made-up ads. One person sits around with a bunch of email addresses and types certain words in CAPS too much. Who you? NEVER! I won an auction...but my free drpepper code didn't work and I am blocked from the Listia site completely. Cant even leave my seller feedback...hmm...I don't buy it. SCAM!
12:10AM on 26th July 2010
Kelly:
I don't see anyone using an excessive amount of of words in CAPS.
Patricio:
You rag on Listia for being deceptive yet you are also deceptive yourself by making it sound like members are required to buy credits even though you are not required to buy anything. Apparently some people are stupid enough to buy credits but most people choose not to. Like any money hungry corporation, Listia is simply encouraging (stupid)members to purchase credits so the company can make a quick buck. Is that a scam? No. It's called marketing; which is what every company on the planet does to sell their products/services. They're no different from Ebay or Walmart or Target or Whole Foods or any other company that's out there trying to make money.
Some of the sellers offer free shipping while others don't but that's no big deal. I don't mind paying $4.00 shipping for a pair of jeans that would've cost $30 at the mall (and that doesn't even include the cost of gas for driving to the mall).
You do raise some good points about the charity auctions and I honestly didn't know about them. Maybe that was happening before I become a member. I have to agree that it sounds sketchy. Nevertheless, I didn't go to Listia to do charity, I went there to get free junk. I do volunteer work and donate directly to charities. That's much more likely to help people in need.
I use Listia to get rid of Christmas/birthday gifts I don't like and other unused stuff laying around my apartment and I've gotten some cool stuff in return. Where else can you auction off a half empty box of tampons and use the points to get some sweet(and free) lip gloss in return? I wouldn't trust Listia to do charity work but I love getting me some free stuff.
Mommytobri:
How hard could it be to send an email saying "Thank you"? It takes about three seconds. And you should have charged for shipping. I almost ALWAYS charge shipping, unless it's something small like a sample pack of shampoo or old post-it notes.
11:18AM on 2nd August 2010
Listia is great I dont know what the "scam" part is besides the new users with no feedback will sometimes pull some BS.Really I have gotten alot of stuff I would not call it all "FREE" because I did "TRADE" some of my stuff to get other stuff.I did get like 250 credits free at the begining and because I am a good user of the site they always kick down extra free credits so YES i did get some stuff FREE so people trying to badmouth this site really need to check thier facts because I am living proof that it works!!!!!!!!!!!!
12:01AM on 6th August 2010
Omg you guys are freaking idiots.I just joined the site and I already get it.
1.You join get 100 creds
2.complete the getting started tasks-get 50 creds possible a hundred!
3. If you want list a auction they you KNOW will sell.
4. Use the creds you have to bid on FREE stuff that it is free shipping.
Thats it!
Geesh and actually Im close to having 800 creds! and I havnt list a thing, I had 'magically found 500 creds' lol and add up that to the creds I already have and boom! its a great site...and there are alot of good stuff on there. So dont judge unless youve had the full experiance :)
The only thing bad is the people on their some of them just urk me like I was soo close to winning a Eyeliner by CG and 40 secs in some trick comes in and out bids me! and I try and out bid her but I run out of time...lets just say I was straight pissed. so watch what you bid on!
6:48AM on 27th August 2010
My experience is that I signed up connected with Facebook & got 200 credits. I saved them listed auctions for my old used clothes I have made it to the 5,000 make before. People Do need to be thanked when they send stuff out for free!, but Listia can controll other people attitudes. I feel the feedback should only be for the seller because they are giving there stuff away & that people should be more greatful. I had a lady harassing me about a tiny stain. Can't please everybody I have a great time on Listia as I have been on the site for 2 1/2 months & have got all kinds of stuff I just CanNot afford. I suppost & am greatful to Listia 100 %! Also I have listed auctions were my items went to Charity before ;-)
3:38PM on 8th September 2010
Listia is not a scam and, anyone who says it is, does not fully understand the way it works, or has not used it enough to make a fair judgment. I have never been tricked in any way, and it's clearly stated on the site exactly how it works. I have won lots of legitimate auctions, with points that I have gotten by selling things that I don't want, and I have never had to purchase any points. I only bid on things that have free shipping, so I don't pay shipping fees, either. The person who said in an earlier post that they don't provide any customer support is wrong. I have used their support team twice, and both times, they have responded to me in a timely manner, and have helped me resolve any problems that I've had. It's a really fun place, and I have made some nice social contacts, and gotten some great stuff there, and it's a nice twist on swapping and recycling.
6:43AM on 9th September 2010
Listia is a great website. Does it matter who the credits or money goes to. NO! Yeah, if it all went to charity that would be wonderful, but hello... you people shop for consumer goods where almost none of the profit goes to charity... it all goes back into the consumer business. I can take something old that I will never use and place it on listia for FREE!!! I can set my bid between 1 and 100. After that, whoever wants to can bid on it for however many credits they wish. I have had an item reach 3,000 credits. I then used those credts to get a bunch of free items. So what if the credits to actual money ratio isn't equal. IT'S FKN FREE!!. Just don't purchase credits. Sell something to get credits. You can also get credits by posting a picture on your listing after you have gotten your "seller wings", or for offering free shipping. However, someone can choose to charge shipping. Much like ebay, you just have to watch on if it's worth paying the shipping. If you can tell that someone purchased something for $1.00 and are trying give it away but charge $3.00 shipping... just avoid it. However, if it is an ipod touch used but still in good condition and the person is charging $5.00 I am deffinatly willing to pay only $5.00 for a $200.00 item. If you don't have the credits to bid, list more items to give away. I have put up an xbox 360 blank faceplate and sold it for 3,000 credits and was able to get a used phone. It works great!! Tell me thats not an awesome deal.
3:32AM on 20th October 2010
Sorry, it's not a scam. It's a very easy website to follow. PLUS it's for charity!!!!!! I'm selling something now. All the sellers have a Facebook or Twitter, so you can contact and ask them.
10:11AM on 3rd November 2010
No listia is not a scam. Many pepol dealing with listia from all over the world. You dont need to spend even single penny to deal with listia.
Listia.com comes with really a new idea. Where you can buy something without money. Its a trading site work on mutual understanding. Where you can sell your unwanted stuff to others and earn credit/points. You can again spend those credits to buy something which is not needed and listed by other users. Impressive!!!
6:10PM on 18th November 2010
Something has to pay fo the web site with all those slick graphics. You figure out what it is.
There's an old saying about poker games: if you go to a game and look around and you don't see a patsy, you're the patsy. Same with any profit-making organization. If you don't see where the money is coming from, check your pocket.
7:13PM on 16th December 2010
I agree with Dhru. I recently started on listia, received 450 credits for simply signing up, signing in through facebook and twitter, watching their intro video, and a few other small things. I have read just about everything on their site regarding their guidelines, rules, history, etc. They started out because they figured a lot of people had things lying around that were too valuable to just throw away but not worth selling on ebay (and paying all of the ebay/paypal fees that go along with it). The charity aspect of this site is only a small part and, to be honest, was not the reason I ever signed on to it. They now have a list that explains that, due to the economy, they haven't made the money they'd like for each charity and it lists how much they have made and for which charity. I'm am enough of a cynic to not believe what I read on the internet (as a matter of fact, my philosophy has become 'guilty until proven innocent') BUT, I am getting rid of my junk that is not worth selling on ebay. I've gotten a few credits out of the deal and if I bid on small items, I usually win them.
Also, your friends are not required to "sell" something on listia for you to get credit, they are only required to bid on/win something (the rules say after they sign up and "complete their first auction" - whether that's buying or selling). Some auctions end at 1 credit and you are getting 450 for signing up so your friend can certainly bid on that 1 credit item without shelling out any real cash.
I realize that this thread started out back in 2009 and listia may have changed a lot since then. Also, I have not and REFUSE to buy credits through them.
7:21PM on 16th December 2010
I just went back up and was happy to see more positive comments about listia. I mostly just read the ones from 2009, then felt I needed to comment on the other side. I agree with almost all of the positive comments.
Only in some cases do I agree with caren. I like to know what sort of buyer I'm dealing with when I "sell" something to them (will they respond to my emails? will they pay the shipping fees I'm requiring? etc.) However, in most cases, the buyer has only to bid and send their address to the seller after they win - how hard can that be? Then they receive something free in the mail, their credits are transferred without them doing anything.
7:16PM on 13th February 2011
Ok, So, I was going really good on Listia. I was charging shipping and making really good credits. Then it hit me as well. I had about 75,000 credits and I sent a box of stuffed animals out and the buyer was not happy. Now I had posted for 10 animals and they paid $7 to ship priority. I ended up giving her 30 animal and I paid the difference. Then she said " I want my credits back, you have animals and these are not worth giving to my daughter, Excuse me, then she goes on the say on the site (comments on my other auctions) what a bad mother I am for giving my kids nasty items. She was new but, that is no reason for her to slam me. So, I block her. She keeps on saying nasty things about me and my items. I sent a email to "Kevin" and he said he would have her send him pics of the item and then guess what. I am kicked off Listia. So, I say screw that stupid site. I can go to ebay and webstore and make real money. Not some dumb credits to spend on stupid stuff like post it notes and a used out dated VHS tape. Who even uses crap like that. So, I am with you all. They took my huge amount of credits. The items that were listed, and gave me a bad name in front of my friends. Thank you LISTIA.
5:34PM on 5th March 2011
i agree with most of the listia members i love it they have great stuff and its free and even if you dont want to list an auction than you can just invite friends and if thay sighn up you get points you can send them a gift of 100 points and earn 200 points and thay can do the same for you send you a 100 points and on there first auction sence you refferd them you get 200 points its so easy yall are just stupid and aint got no room to judge cause some people dont hve the money to go buy crap for $500 dollers
Love listia's #1 fan
10:39PM on 30th March 2011
Man, you negative ninnies need to find something else to do with your dumb selves. It is a great site and you don't have to buy anything. It is VERY VERY specific that a monkey could understand it. Don't you think you are being a bit stupid? Go find yourself something else more productive to do and leave Listia alone. We all know what we are doing. I am getting rid of things and making others happy about it. I'd rather barter exchange, every heard of it? Maybe you are from ebay and jealous... who knows? Just don't make stupid comment's unless you really know what you are talking about. Idiots. AND to all you positive people, Kudos to you! I love Listia as so do many, many others. It is what it is and no one forces you to buy anything. Look at the stupid games online, EVERYONE can buy extra whatever they wants via paypal or what have you for extra tools needed to make the game playing more productive and fun. I am sure the American people can figure out what to do and we all can take a pro active role ourselves.
9:11PM on 14th April 2011
Lisitia is not a scam it is a good place to get things I am a member and enjoy getting the stuff i have won threw Lisitia! if you do not know what you are talking about do not say anything which it is obviously you have no idea what you are talking about!
9:49PM on 19th April 2011
I am an actual listia user and I can tell you its not a scam. I use it to sell my pokemon cards and they are selling great. Where else can you sell them now a days ? Its really a website for small items that sit around the house forever. They tell you to watch a tutorial in the begining explain just that. It just my 2cents.
also the link I provided gets you extra credits when you sign up under it, its like their referal program !
10:55PM on 2nd June 2011
Listia is very odd. If you list items that people actually want, then guess what happens? They suspend your account. Even with 100% feedback, trusted seller badge, and verified seller! How do I know? It just happened to me! The really bad part is that they offer no explanation, they take all of your credits, and they don't even have the decency to tell people that were currently bidding on your listings! So now my inbox is flooded with "why did they do that", in short, because they are a joke! Don't waste your time! If you do, don't say that you were not warned. Since I have been there I have seen no charity auctions. Maybe blogs like this have opened people's eyes to the obvious: Listia is not all that it claims to be.
11:19PM on 3rd June 2011
I use Listia and I have received lots of free things. You do not have to spend money and I haven't. I received 300 credits when I joined and then I received 100 credits for linking to my Facebook and Twitter. I also got one of my friends to sign up to sell her handmade items after she saw how much free stuff I was getting and I have sold some unwanted items myself. You get credits for selling things, and for bidding, commenting etc. It is a great way to get rid of things you don't want and buy things you do want. I haven't bid on any of their charity auctions but they seem like an awesome idea. It is not a scam.
7:37AM on 8th July 2011
Sounds like some bull to me. If you advertise something as "free", it should be just that. All these positive responses sound fishy anyway. The evidence speaks for itself. It isn't completely free when you have a hidden "option" to buy points (credits, tokens, or whatever the hell you call their pseudo-currency) to get what you want. Shame on you Listia.
11:57PM on 15th July 2011
I just signed up yesterday, have only listed one item, and already have 715 credits. You don't ever HAVE to spend any money unless you choose to. To say that Listia is not free would be like saying that games on Facebook (Farmville, etc) are not free. Can you spend money on those Facebook games? Yes, you can, but you do not HAVE to. It is the same with Listia. I signed up because a friend of mine was doing it and getting lots of stuff for free as well as giving away lots of stuff she does not need any more. And, yes, you will often get outbid, just like on Ebay, that's life. That doesn't mean you have to buy credits just to win, just like you don't need to up your bid on Ebay just to win.
9:01PM on 10th September 2011
I LOVE Listia! I've been a member for just 3 weeks now and I've gotten several free things, all of them awesome and I earned a ton of credits by giving away my own stuff that I didn't want anymore. Through the site, I also linked up with another user who is collecting much needed Labels for Education for the school that she works at. I not only got over 1000 credits for letting her bid on 10 labels that I had laying around, but since we became online friends I am now able to send her more without her having to bid on them. Listia is just an auction site that allows you to pay in credits instead of money so everything is free and they also happen to have charity auctions. It may not be the most efficient method of donating to charity, but it is the best website for getting awesome free stuff (from video games and movies to shampoo samples and coupons for freebies and everything in between) and it is definitely not a scam. Also, when I signed up it stated very clearly that if I chose to refer friends I would get a sign up bonus AFTER they COMPLETED their first auction. I've gotten several thousand credits through referals but you don't have to refer anyone. You get credits just for bidding or leaving a simple comment like "Hey, awesome auction."
9:49AM on 14th September 2011
I signed up for Listia last month and so far, I haven't had any issues. I also haven't BOUGHT a single credit. It really is legit.
Side note: This article unbelievably biased. I think the author is just butt hurt because he didn't get his stupid myspace cards. Someone call the WAAAAAAAmbulance! There is a cry baby in our midst.
9:37PM on 18th September 2011
i have been a member of listia for over a year. never had a problem it is legit. i have posted tons of stuff and i have won tons of stuff. i won a nice old zippo lighter a couple weeks ago. i love listia and would recomend it to anyone
3:46PM on 22nd September 2011
I love listia its a auction you do get stuff free instead of paying you start off with a descent amount of points and you get more every few days you gotta auction something of course if you want a bunch more points but it points not money would you rather pay money for something this fun its better then ebay
6:29AM on 9th October 2011
same thing happened to me as it did to Mommytobri
I shipped an item which I paid for shipping and since I paid I shipped it parcel post.I then went into the system and marked it "shipped" and gave a tracking #
A few days later the person opened a dispute and wants her credits back. She claims that I did not respond to her. Marking it "shipped" in the day is actually shipped was not good enough.
And where is the help desk? there isn't anybody you can ask a question.
I am not happy with Listia. From now on I will give my free stuff to goodwill, they also will service the underprivileged and they will pick up, I don't have to pay for shipping
7:02PM on 28th October 2011
this place is a SCAM SCAM SCAM
I lost over 7000 credits due to fake products, unusable products and illegal copyright stuff. I did not get any refunds!!!
1:28AM on 9th November 2011
Listia is a scam. i ordered a few things from there, and I didn't receive two of them, and the other sent me a cheap fake name brand perfume! Lisita refused to give me back my credits, which was well over 7000.
don't use these guys people!!
10:23PM on 3rd January 2012
Oh and ps, I still have 24,000 credits to spend.. So I am profiting from this far and beyond!!
9:17PM on 26th February 2012
Does Lista send you junk mail???
Because I don't want junk mail,
and not the e'mail kind, I mean the
one where it comes in the mailbox.
Thanks, Betsy
4:13AM on 14th March 2012
After over a year on Listia, I recently asked them to close my account. I won an auction for a keyboard, paid $5.50 to have it shipped. It arrived in broken, and unrepairable condition. I initiated and won a dispute, but was required by a moderator (Kevin) to pay for the return shipping as well,with delivery confirmation. This would have cost an additional $8.00. In short, It would have cost me $13.50 to return an unusable item in order to have my credits refunded.
The moderators administering the site do so in an unprofessional manner, with no regard for logic or fairness. Support requests are often ignored, or at best, are not answered in a timely fashion.
My request to close my account has also been ignored.