Is bloodythumb.com a legit site to buy games from?

[lazyhoboguy]

http://www.bloodythumb.com/shop.php

I got the link to this site off of a forum on gamespot.com. The user "bloodythumb" suggested this site lol.

The site looks kinda fake to me. There is no help or about us section on the site. The reviews for games seemed like they are copied and pasted off of other sites.

Has anyone bough anything off of this site? I had never heard of it before today.

[Icarus Moonsight]

It pulls all it's stuff from amazon... even prices. IDK, I wouldn't trust it.

[lazyhoboguy]

Yea I tried testing it out and added an item to a cart, it then redirects you to amazon lol. Seems like a scam to get user info to me.

[mobiusclimber]

It's probably just someone selling stuff on Amazon and figured it would be easier to set up a website around it? Maybe? Does it redirect to a specific seller or just to an Amazon page with all the people selling that item on it?

[Kitsune Sniper]

Actually, there's a lot of sites like that. They basically pull the data off Amazon and make money by using referral links. Pretty skeevy.

[Icarus Moonsight]

It's not specific, it draws all the data from the amazon main page, by the item, and formats it for display on their site. I'm thinking it's a scammer, but I'm not sure. If you look, bloody thumb says they have 2 used Little Samson's starting at ~130... Oh my! So does amazon! That way, they can spoof a large inventory without all the data entry. That's my assumption, of course.

@Kitsune: Amazon promotes this crap? WTF!? That strikes me as odd. O_O

[Kitsune Sniper]

It's not specific, it draws all the data from the amazon main page, by the item, and formats it for display on their site. I'm thinking it's a scammer, but I'm not sure. If you look, bloody thumb says they have 2 used Little Samson's starting at ~130... Oh my! So does amazon! That way, they can spoof a large inventory without all the data entry. That's my assumption, of course.

@Kitsune: Amazon promotes this crap? WTF!? That strikes me as odd. O_O

I'm not entirely sure they "promote" this. They have a referral system in place which can be used by people to get money (some blogs, for example, link to specific products via Amazon links and get a few pennies that way). It's a neat way to get a bit of extra cash or credit on the site. I don't see a problem with that. Heck, this very site has referral links for Play-Asia. That kind of usage is totally legit.

However, there are sites which sole purpose is to harvest data off Amazon, pretend that they're a gaming site, and then link to Amazon itself when people try to purchase the item. THAT I have a problem with. And yet, they continue to thrive...

[BloodyThumb]

Hey guys...My name is Sam and I'm the owner of BloodyThumb.com our site is only about 2 weeks old. It is very legit. We never actually see any of your information as Amazon handles all payments and personal information. Only about 2% of the items listed will come directly from us. Everything else will come from verified Amazon sellers. I thought that this site would be a great way to put hundreds of thousands of games, systems & accessories together in one handy little site. We have plans to launch a forum using vBulletin (similar to this forum) closer to the first of the year. I hope that you will find the site beneficial. Your feedback is welcome!

Thanks,
-Sam

[HappehLemons]

haha, wasn't expecting that.

[lazyhoboguy]

I am sorry man, but I just do not see the purpose of your site then. If everything on there just links you to buying off of amazon.com, why would anyone want to use that site. The way you have it setup it seems a lot like a scam site because you have no information whatsoever about the purpose of the site on there. When you add any item to the cart it transfers you to amazon.com (or what appears to be amazon.com). Most people are not going to risk logging into a random link from your site to what you say is amazon.com

[Kitsune Sniper]

haha, wasn't expecting that.

Ditto. O_O

Now I feel oddly embarassed...

[BloodyThumb]

Actually we've had a tremendous response. In 2 weeks it has grown much faster than our other site that we've had for over a year now(TheBookDork.com) which is based in a similar way associated with Amazon. Many customers like that they can get only results for video game related items on BloodyThumb.com where on Amazon if you type in mario you could get anything from cook books to hockey items. Also I hope that you'll give us another look over the next few months as we continue to work on the site and add content and make it more usefull.

[BloodyThumb]

Ditto. O_O

Now I feel oddly embarassed...

Please don't...I'm a huge gamer...I've used the Digital Press site and game rarity guide for many years. I still buy nearly every old school game that I see at yard sales and thrift stores. I've been posting mainly on GameSpot forums lately but I'll try to get in here on a daily basis too.

[udisi]

it's done for referral money. They get a % kickback for every item someone buys through their web site. you can do it with ebay auctions too. Tons of websites out there like this. You add a site like this to google or something then when someone searches for x game, your site pops up in the search engine and people buy it through your referral site. they get the game they wanted and the site makes money.

[lazyhoboguy]

Actually we've had a tremendous response. In 2 weeks it has grown much faster than our other site that we've had for over a year now(TheBookDork.com) which is based in a similar way associated with Amazon. Many customers like that they can get only results for video game related items on BloodyThumb.com where on Amazon if you type in mario you could get anything from cook books to hockey items. Also I hope that you'll give us another look over the next few months as we continue to work on the site and add content and make it more usefull.

Well I do not think I will ever find the site useful personally lol, but as long as you are not scamming people I have no problem with the site.

[BloodyThumb]

Well I do not think I will ever find the site useful personally lol, but as long as you are not scamming people I have no problem with the site.
Well hopefully we'll one day give you a reason to use the site...until then "Play like you've got a pair" ...thats our slogan...atleast for now LOL take it easy lazyhoboguy g'nite

[Icarus Moonsight]

I wonder how they found out we were talking about them? Hmm...

Sorry man, I have a rather poor opinion of middle-men in general. It's not personal, it's merely a principle. The less palms between my money and my purchased stuff the better. A description or 'who are we' page would go a long way to help ensure stuff like this doesn't happen again in the future. You can't blame one for thinking about them Nigerian millionaires in cases like this.

[lazyhoboguy]

I wonder how they found out we were talking about them? Hmm...


I am pretty sure it was through google. Since if you type in bloodythumb.com this thread turned up as one of the results near the top.

[Kid Ice]

So he was googling his own site?

[monkeychemist]

Sorry man, I have a rather poor opinion of middle-men in general.

Middle men provide the service of convenience for the end user for a fee. In this case the fee is charged to the seller, so what's the matter with that? Obviously, his site makes it easier than searching the beast of Amazon for video games.


So he was googling his own site?

Of course! When you start a community, you want to see how your site ranks in google, what others are saying about it, etc. People aren't generally going to email you and say: "your site looks like a scam, please add a _about me_ page" Instead they talk about it on forums and so they get their ideas and feedback by googleing their name.

--------------------

Man, you guys are pretty quick to jump on the scam bandwagon..ease up a bit jeez..

[Icarus Moonsight]

Middle men provide the service of convenience for the end user for a fee. In this case the fee is charged to the seller, so what's the matter with that? Obviously, his site makes it easier than searching the beast of Amazon for video games.

*sigh* Maybe some can benefit from it, sure. But I'm not one of them.


Man, you guys are pretty quick to jump on the scam bandwagon..ease up a bit jeez..I didn't think of a legitimate referral program... Maybe you could cash a check for me. You can keep half for being my trusty middle man. LOL

[BloodyThumb]

[QUOTE=Icarus Moonsight;1612433]I wonder how they found out we were talking about them? Hmm...
QUOTE]

I'm not "them" or "they" ...just me ...sole proprietor :) Its not a very large opperation. I run both my book site and games site from my house here in Seattle. Yes I saw this post via Google and thought it would be helpfull to shed some light on what BloodyThumb.com is about.

I'm surprised that more of you haven't heard of Amazon's Associate program. There are hundreds of thousands of sites out there that are either part of the program or actually run 100% by Amazon. Here are a few that you may have heard of:

Borders.com
ToyrUs.com
NBA.com
Target.com
IMDb.com
Junglee.com
sothebys.amazon.com
Alexa.com
CDNow.com
Accept.com
Exchange.com
A9.com
Mechanicalturk.com
NowNow.com
Askville.com
Mobipocket.com

You can also search "Amazon Astores" these are sites that Amazon will actually provide you a website template and the code to build their links then you just need a host and domain name. These can be put together in a matter of minutes many looking exactly the same but profitable and beneficial from all ends.

[mobiusclimber]

I'm sorry but this is completely ridiculous. Amazon has a CATEGORY called VIDEO GAMES. You search within that category and come up with video games, not cook books or anything else. Your site doesn't provide anything for the user, apparently, and is only there to generate referral revenue. Nice try, tho.

[Porksta]

It is a niche store. From the looks of it anyways. A guy I know owns some ebay niche stores. Basically somebody Googles "gold coins" and is directed to the store. They shop on ebay through the store and buy everything from ebay. The store then gets a cut. Basically a middleman.

[ryborg]

Damn, what a bunch of haters in this thread. He's not doing anything illegal or wrong, and I doubt the site is designed for advanced game buyers like us anyway. Obviously these referral-based sites work, since there are so many of them. Good luck, Bloody Thumb guy, as long as you don't spam your site in every post.

[monkeychemist]

*sigh* Maybe some can benefit from it, sure. But I'm not one of them.

I didn't think of a legitimate referral program... Maybe you could cash a check for me. You can keep half for being my trusty middle man. LOL

Oh thanks my knight in shining armor for saving me from internet scams!!! Thanks so much!!!

Seriously, starting your own business is hard enough without the internet police dragging you down...

[lazyhoboguy]

Well I think its is healthy to have a high level of suspiscion of sites like this, since many are scam sites.

[Kid Ice]

Of course! When you start a community, you want to see how your site ranks in google, what others are saying about it, etc. People aren't generally going to email you and say: "your site looks like a scam, please add a _about me_ page" Instead they talk about it on forums and so they get their ideas and feedback by googleing their name.

That's a credible explanation. But only a day after the initial post here? Quite a coincidence.



Man, you guys are pretty quick to jump on the scam bandwagon..ease up a bit jeez..

I didn't call it a scam or even imply it. There may be a little chicanery here to avoid the spam label.

btw I've had my share of blisters, but bloody thumbs? Man.

[Kitsune Sniper]

That's a credible explanation. But only a day after the initial post here? Quite a coincidence.

I've seen stuff referenced here on the boards, and then do a Google search - and the thread is already indexed by them. Even on the same day the post was made.

And he could've also checked out the referrer logs. "Hm, DigitalPress is linking to me! Wonder what that's about." I'm guilty of doing that with my site. :p

[goldenband]

^Spambot city!

[wizardofwor1975]

Hey guys...My name is Sam and I'm the owner of BloodyThumb.com our site is only about 2 weeks old. It is very legit. We never actually see any of your information as Amazon handles all payments and personal information. Only about 2% of the items listed will come directly from us. Everything else will come from verified Amazon sellers. I thought that this site would be a great way to put hundreds of thousands of games, systems & accessories together in one handy little site. We have plans to launch a forum using vBulletin (similar to this forum) closer to the first of the year. I hope that you will find the site beneficial. Your feedback is welcome!

Thanks,
-Sam

I really like your Avatar. Very cool.