Bidz CEO Denies Allegations Company Engages In Shill Bidding

[mandy]

Bidz.com Inc. Chief Executive David Zinberg late Tuesday denied several allegations in a Monday report by Citron Research, including that the company engages in shill bidding, holds excessive inventory and pays him 30,000 shares each month.

Citron Research _ formerly known as Stock Lemon _ publishes reports online about companies it believes are misleading investors.

In a conference call, the online jewelry auction site operator's CEO called the report "untruthful and negative."

Zinberg also denied that shill bidding occurs on Bidz.com, saying the Culver City, Calif., company has strong policies against it.

He noted that up to 25 percent of the jewelry sold through the site is sold below cost, saying, "If we had shill bidding, we would not have jewelry sold at a loss."...

full aticle: http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/arti...ab62bc.htm

[BellisimaJ.]

When I first went online in early 2006, I was a prolific buyer of gemstones on Bidz. I finally realized that a bid war should not develop on all of the listed products, nor should I win the majority of my bids when there was a rampant bid war on. I am of the opinion that Bidz sellers of gemstones, at least, shill bid consistently.

[mandy]

A related article:

The questions involve, among other things, what critics say are irregularities in bidding patterns on the site, as well as persistent customer complaints that have led the Better Business Bureau to give the company a grade of “F.”

Critics also have raised questions about Bidz.com's relationship with Saied Aframian, a primary jewelry supplier who served time in prison for receiving stolen property.

[Bidz Chairman] Zinberg, an immigrant from the former Soviet state of Moldova, attributes much of the criticism to short sellers -- investors betting on a drop in a company's stock price, and who aren't shy about trying to push it in that direction...

full article: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-bi...?track=rss&ctrack=1&cset=true