What is iOffer?
iOffer is an online trading community located in San Francisco, founded by Steven Nerayoff on May 1, 2002. As of February 2008, it claimed to have nearly one million users, including approximately 75,000 sellers, although the information cannot be independently verified, and it is not known how many of these users are active.
It deviates from the online auction business model but adopts the unique “negotiation business model” of garage sales and flea markets. This model is based on negotiations between buyers and sellers rather than bidding. When the negotiation is successfully concluded (that is, a transaction occurs), iOffer will charge a “final fee” based on a floating ratio. The site advertises this distinction, claiming: “This is not an auction. This is better!”
iOffer allows free listing of items for sale, and only charges when items are sold or when they are charged for listing services (such as bolding, highlighting, and listing on the homepage). The seller can publish the asking price or ask for a quote; the buyer, in turn, can buy the goods or bid at the asking price. Users can also publish “ads” for free and barter. All transactions have been recorded and can be viewed by other users.
It competes with other similar negotiation e-commerce sites and online auction sites (such as eBay). According to Greg Holden, the author of many books on eBay, from a seller’s point of view, iOffer is both a “supplement” and a “good substitute” for eBay. Through iOffer’s software program, Mr. Grabber, sellers can relist products on eBay to iOffer and import eBay feedback scores.
However, unlike sites such as eBay, iOffer cannot protect the buyer or seller from fraud and other problematic transactions. However, it does run the C.O.P.S. program, similar to eBay’s VERO program, for items involving counterfeit goods. In addition, for unreceived goods or goods that are not as important as described, purchases made with PayPal may be protected by PayPal’s Buyer Protection Program.
Although iOffer does not provide customer service over the phone, email customer service is available through the help desk, although most inquiries are most likely to be in the form of letters.
A survey of more than 2,800 online sellers through AuctionBytes.com showed that iOffer ranked 16th among 16 markets, with an overall score of 3.6 which is out of 10, second only to eBay’s 14th that is 4.2 is a perfect score of 10. Marked as ease of use (4.42/10), and its lowest mark is to recommend this website (3.14/10).
According to reports, in March 2019, the IACC (International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition) blocked it from using most (if not all) payment methods, forcing the website to temporarily shut down. In December 2019, iOffer’s website stated that it had permanently terminated all services.
Why is iOffer Shutdown?
Finally, users may ask some of the most popular questions, so we answer them here.
- Is it safe?
iOffer uses a third-party payment gateway to make certain secure payments. However, you cannot guarantee that it will not be hacked. It is not recommended for anyone to buy something from iOffer, because most dealers on iOffer are fakes. And no one of you can help you with the supplier from iOffer.
- Is it legit?
Shoppers want to know whether it is real or fake, and they can rest assured that, yes, iOffer is a legitimate real website. The company has a verifiable address in San Francisco, California, and has been recognized by the Better Business Bureau since 2013. Although the company did not respond to the comments on Trustpilot or SiteJabber, iOffer’s customer service team did positively respond to BBB’s efforts to show contact with customers and solve problems.
In addition, although negative reviews of iOffer are certainly more common, there are enough shoppers with positive experiences, at least in some cases, implying that the sellers behind iOffer are both legitimate and authentic.
Reviews against iOffer are full of shoppers who believe they have become victims of iOffer scams. These allegations are usually based on:
- Paying for items they never received. Sellers are unresponsive.
- Accept poor quality or undescribed items.
What happened to iOffer?
The International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition (IACC) has distorted many fakes sold on iOffer. Therefore, iOffer temporarily closed its website after the IACC, and its payment partners took action to stop the payment process on the iOffer website. According to IACC officials, iOffer claims that there are millions of users on the website every day, and more than 100 million items are uploaded to the website for sale.
- Is it a scam?
So is iOffer a scam? The answer is much more complicated than the simple yes or no. Ultimately, iOffer is just a platform that connects buyers and sellers around the world-products on the website are not connected to iOffer in any way, but to various sellers.
The real iOffer website is not a scam. But since they do not supervise or monitor sellers, they are likely to make purchases from dishonest sellers who want to collect money and operate. In fact, based on the prevalence of negative reviews on iOffer, this happens often.
Based on more than 220 complaints about iOffer, the Better Business Bureau investigated whether iOffer was fraudulent. In the end, BBB determined that the iOffer platform was not a scam. He said:
BBB suggests consumer review the company’s terms and conditions as it states that iOffer.com is an online marketplace like eBay, Craigslist and other websites that host third party classified advertisements. Then iOffer does not participate in any transactions, payments, provide shipping or confirm the authenticity of merchandise listed on the site.
Conclusion
- Is iOffer shopping online worth it?
Although the shopping online platform may be legal and authentic, it does not mean that it is worth your money. Based on long-term negative feedback, rejecting misinformed sellers and orders that never arrive, this iOffer review strongly recommends staying away from it.
The seller is not regulated, and the iOffer platform does not seem to bear any responsibility, it is almost impossible to resolve disputes or correct errors. Shoppers rely entirely on the integrity of individual sellers around the world, making it easy for crooks to penetrate the iOffer system and consolidate its one-star rating.
If you can’t resist the desire to buy through it and want to try it out, the best option is to make sure you only buy through top sellers.
Remember, even for top sellers, the negative reviews of it from frustrated shoppers implies that you should be fully prepared not to accept orders and become a victim of iOffer scams.
