Bogus ads?

Elsi · 01-14-2009, 09:04 PM

I was particularly curious when I saw this ad on one of the forum topics today:

I wondered... why is the Kindle being sold from a site in Ireland? ... does "ebid" mean it's an auction site? ... who would sell a new Kindle for $200?

So I fired up my browser, carefully typed in the address shown in the ad:

and got an interesting result:

So -- was the ad bogus? Did someone take down the site but not the ad? I didn't even consider clicking on the ad itself to see if it led to a different web address, but if anyone else sees this ad, how about trying it and giving me feedback.

Elsi · 01-14-2009, 09:19 PM

OK -- so I finally saw the ad again and clicked on it. I was taken to a simlar, but different URL from that shown in the ad:

Hmmm.... this one looks good -- $205.50 and they take PayPal. I'd be willing to pay that to get an additional Kindle.

But suddenly I find myself at eBay:

And the Kindle *isn't* for sale for $205.50; I'm only offered a chance to BID on the Kindle with a minimum bid of $208.00.

Guys -- this is not the kind of advertising that I would expect at MobileRead. I don't know if there's any mechanism for Alex to provide feedback to Google ads, but I would contend that up until the final web page, there was false advertising in play. (I'd claim a fraudulent ad, but I guess one is never actually defrauded because you haven't spent any money before you find out that the "seller" isn't actually selling the device at the price advertised.)

lilac_jive · 01-14-2009, 09:20 PM

I've been seeing that too, and it actually shows up in this thread. It's a bidding website.

desertgrandma · 01-14-2009, 09:45 PM

I"m getting the same ad...........interesting. Isn't it amazing how clever these people can be?

Patricia · 01-14-2009, 10:12 PM

That's a good bit of detective work, Elsi. Thanks for pointing it out.
I've left a message for Alex about it, though I'm not optimistic about our chances of getting it down. But we shall see...

pilotbob · 01-15-2009, 01:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elsi

Guys -- this is not the kind of advertising that I would expect at MobileRead.

You realize I am sure that Alex probably has very little if any control over the ad's or add content. Also, I think these ads are context sensitive. So, if we talked alot about diapers on this thread you would probably see diaper ads.

BOb

Alexander Turcic · 01-15-2009, 06:18 AM

It looks a bit dodgy to me, too. I am going to try to block ebid.ie. It'll take a couple of hours, but then it should disappear forever.

01-14-2009, 09:04 PM	#1
Elsi Wizard Posts: 2,366 Karma: 12000 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Texas, USA Device: Kindle; Sony PRS 505; Blackberry 8700C	Bogus ads? I was particularly curious when I saw this ad on one of the forum topics today: I wondered... why is the Kindle being sold from a site in Ireland? ... does "ebid" mean it's an auction site? ... who would sell a new Kindle for $200? So I fired up my browser, carefully typed in the address shown in the ad: and got an interesting result: So -- was the ad bogus? Did someone take down the site but not the ad? I didn't even consider clicking on the ad itself to see if it led to a different web address, but if anyone else sees this ad, how about trying it and giving me feedback.

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01-14-2009, 09:19 PM	#2
Elsi Wizard Posts: 2,366 Karma: 12000 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Texas, USA Device: Kindle; Sony PRS 505; Blackberry 8700C	OK -- so I finally saw the ad again and clicked on it. I was taken to a simlar, but different URL from that shown in the ad: Hmmm.... this one looks good -- $205.50 and they take PayPal. I'd be willing to pay that to get an additional Kindle. But suddenly I find myself at eBay: And the Kindle isn't for sale for $205.50; I'm only offered a chance to BID on the Kindle with a minimum bid of $208.00. Guys -- this is not the kind of advertising that I would expect at MobileRead. I don't know if there's any mechanism for Alex to provide feedback to Google ads, but I would contend that up until the final web page, there was false advertising in play. (I'd claim a fraudulent ad, but I guess one is never actually defrauded because you haven't spent any money before you find out that the "seller" isn't actually selling the device at the price advertised.)

01-14-2009, 09:20 PM	#3
lilac_jive Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,870 Karma: 27376 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Pennsylvania Device: PRS-505	I've been seeing that too, and it actually shows up in this thread. It's a bidding website.

01-14-2009, 09:45 PM	#4
desertgrandma Enjoying the show.... Posts: 14,270 Karma: 10462843 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Arizona Device: A K1, Kindle Paperwhite, an Ipod, IPad2, Iphone, an Ipad Mini & macAir	I"m getting the same ad...........interesting. Isn't it amazing how clever these people can be?

01-14-2009, 10:12 PM	#5
Patricia Reader Posts: 11,504 Karma: 8720163 Join Date: May 2007 Location: South Wales, UK Device: Sony PRS-500, PRS-505, Asus EEEpc 4G	That's a good bit of detective work, Elsi. Thanks for pointing it out. I've left a message for Alex about it, though I'm not optimistic about our chances of getting it down. But we shall see...

01-15-2009, 06:18 AM	#7
Alexander Turcic Fully Converged Posts: 18,171 Karma: 14021202 Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Switzerland Device: Too many to count here.	It looks a bit dodgy to me, too. I am going to try to block ebid.ie. It'll take a couple of hours, but then it should disappear forever.

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