Updated on 03/28/11: See end of article

When BOOMbidz first launched, in May of 2010, the penny auction community was excited. Their design was slick, the functionality of their site was smooth, their service unparalelled, and their offerings desirable. The PennyBurners Team spent many hours on the phone with "Chief of BOOM", Dave Swanson, and came to value him as a friend and we believed in his vision for BOOMbidz.

Two months in, though, the future began to look bleak for the BOOMbidz Team. In July of 2010, BOOMbidz announced their last week of live auctions, citing "sudden and unexpected events". Dave and his partners did the right thing and refunded users their bids and sent out all remaining won items. We were disappointed that BOOMbidz didn't make it, but were glad to see that they stayed honest up to the very end.

Then, five months later, in December of 2010, Dave announced that BOOMbidz was once again up and running, with new capital and distribution support. It is rare that a penny auction site is able to recover and re-open after closing, but BOOMbidz did it, which excited the community further. However, it wasn't long before the horizon began to darken once again. In February 2011, a valued PennyBurners member posted in the BOOMbidz Forum:

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"I love Boom...but lately they have been listing less auctions and I never know when new auctions will be listed. Shipping is usually very fast and customer service is great"
-caveinit

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A month later, the concern and complaints began to roll in:

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"Dave...I've been trying to reach you without any luck. Just wondering if you're getting the contact forms that I've been submitting thru the site"
-suzyq

"What is going on with this site? Less auctions being listed, lower value auctions being listed and shipping has been VERY slow lately...I am owed some wins from January...I have sent emails that have gone unresponded to. Not liking this... I won't be buying any more bids until the site gets caught up with shipping. I just cant afford to go down that road again with any site."
-caveinit

" My wins also go back to the end of January and I'm really getting concerned because like you said, we've seen this happen too many times. My Paypal window closes next week, so I truly hope Dave responds. By that I mean by shipping and not just promises."
-suzyq

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The PennyBurners Team left a few messages for Dave, and finally, we were able to speak with him over the phone. He said he contacted the user that was owed items from January, and expressed confusion, as all January wins had been shipped out to his knowledge. He promised to get to the bottom of the situation. He also reported that they would be shipping again that week, and all outstanding issues should be resolved. The members who expressed that they were owed items were even contacted by Dave and promised that their won items would be shipped to them.

It has now been two weeks, and no one has heard from Dave since then. Phone calls have been made, messages left, and e-mails sent - still, no communication.

The PennyBurners Team contacted a former owner of BOOMbidz who stated that he and Dave do not speak, and that from his understanding, the investor for BOOMbidz pulled out of the agreement.

Whether or not Dave makes things right remains to be seen, however, we (the PennyBurners Team) cannot go on in good faith any longer. We’ve always touted that no matter how “nice” someone is, and no matter the hardship they may be facing, when it comes to your money and financial well-being, the only one looking out for you is yourself. You must be aware of your dispute windows and act accordingly as they approach, otherwise, you'll be out of money - and answers.

BOOMbidz customers deserve some answers, and we will continue to reach out to Dave for answers.. The Verified status of BOOMbidz has thereby been revoked, secondary to lack of customer service, non-communication, and non-shipment of items. We ask that our Verified Penny Auction Site owners uphold standards of excellence, and unfortunately, those standards have been dropped here.

It is with a heavy heart that we make this decision, as we like Dave and wanted him to succeed, but in the interest of being fair and unbiased, this was a necessary decision. We will continue to work with any users who are owed items from BOOMbidz, and will continue to try and reach Dave for further answers. BOOMbidz, LLC is based in Colorado, so please file complaints with the following entities:

Colorado Attorney General

FTC

IC3 (Internet Crime Complaint Center)

If you are owed wins from BOOMbidz or if you'd like to talk about this ongoing situation, please join the PennyBurners Forum and share your experiences with other bidders.

Update: On 03/28/11, Dave with BOOMbidz posted the following on the PennyBurners Forum:

"Hi Everyone,

I would like to apologize for the downtime BOOMbidz has been experiencing. We dropped the ball in getting back to customers emails and we can assure you all items will be shipped, along with tracking verification as we figure out our small restructuring at the company. We will be in contact with Penny Burners and we would like to become verified once again."