I'd like to let everyone know that Jeremy West at spendbitcoins.com is unable/unwilling to follow through with deals he makes for BTC. I would advise everyone to steer clear of his business, as he has shown that when he later decides he does not like the agreement he has already made, he will back out of it.
Be very careful if you decide to engage in any business with him, as it's entirely possible he will keep your BTC and not provide the goods or services he's offered. While this has not happened to me (thankfully) and he backed out of the deal prior to me sending bitcoins, I would question any deal I made and whether or not he would honor it once the BTC were received.
For those that care, the problem originated in his auction for a time share.
Starting Bid: 1 BTC
Bid increment: Minimum 1 BTC
Auction closing date/time: 10 November 2011 at 20:00:00 UTC (Click to see date/time in your timezone.
Instructions: Post a bid below which is a minimum of 1 BTC higher than previous high bid.
You are bidding on 1 week (3 Dec-10 Dec 2011) in a fully self-contained 2 bedroom condo at the beautiful Hanalei Bay Resort on Kauai, the so-called garden island of Hawaii. We booked it using our timeshare early this year, but due to pregnancy complications will not be able to use it. Luckily, it is transferable, so you can take advantage of this opportunity to get a full week at a super low price! Bidding starts at 1 BTC and goes up in minimum 1 BTC increments by posting your bid below. Auction closes 10 November 2011 at 20:00:00 UTC (Find out when that is for you by clicking --> here).
excerpt from
http://www.intervalworld.com/web/cs?a=1503&resortCode=HAN&parentResortCode=HAN:
Hanalei Bay Resort is situated above scenic Hanalei Bay with a view of the Na Pali Cliffs, Bali Hai Mountain, picturesque beaches, cascading waterfalls, and swaying palm trees. It is located within the world-famous Princeville Resort, which features 45 holes of championship golf. The resort offers eight tennis courts with an on-site pro shop, gift shop, and two swimming pools, one complete with multiple waterfalls and streams that cascade directly into the pool. Guests have direct access to the beach and Hanalei Bay.
The final bid price includes accommodation for the entire week at the resort for up to six people, and there is no reserve on this auction, so start bidding! See my feedback at
http://feedback.spendbitcoins.com,
http://bitcoinfeedback.spendbitcoins.com &
http://ebay.spendbitcoins.com and bid with confidence.
Nowhere in his original auction did it state the bid could not be open ended... it did not, in fact, state anything about the format of the bids at all.
As anyone who's used any auction site in the world knows, if you bid X dollars on a product, your bid is the top bid above the bid below you, not the "max" amount of your bid. As such, I bid "up to 66 BTC" on the auction. The next highest bidder was 35 BTC. Apparently, my bid of "up to 66 BTC" was unacceptably too low for the auction, and thus he "reopened" it for "an hour" to take more bids in a "silent auction."
But in either case, even if Jeremy did not "intend" to have a "normal" auction like every auction site on the Internet, my high bid was well above the next top bidder of 35 BTC. In either case, Jeremy did not like the result and thus decided to "reopen" the auction in a "silent auction" style so he could manipulate the price to be whatever he wanted.
Anyone that dishonest does not need your business. Buyer beware.