Is Sky Auction too good to be true?
Oct 30th, 2001, 11:29 AM
#1
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Is Sky Auction too good to be true?
I recently booked my December 3rd honeymoon trip to Grand Lido Negril. I used an internet travel agent for the first time (American Express Online Vacation Center.) I was pretty happy with the deal I got until I just looked at Skyauction.com for the first time. Is it a legitimate site? (People are bidding $2 for a trip and getting it!) Has anyone taken a trip through the site?
Oct 30th, 2001, 12:10 PM
#2
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The site is legit, but I know that there are no vacations that have been won for two bucks. If you look at the vacation descripition you will notice additional tax and services charges. This as well as the winning bid often puts the aution price above and beyond what you can buy it from a travel agent or your loacal sunday paper.
Oct 30th, 2001, 12:21 PM
#3
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Concur with Jessie. The taxes are usally $195/person for a 7 day trip and $145 for a 4 day. Even the air inclusivbe trips originate in Miami and you also have to pay extra for an add on fare from your home city. I used to love skyauction (yes $5 bids win sometimes but add on the taxes afterwards) but now people bid like $300 which when you include the taxes and airfare is more than you would spend on a good internet deal. My advice is search the net know what the lowest price for a certain trip is then bid LESS than that (including taxes etc.) and no higher. Usually this low bid won't win, but sometimes you get lucky.
Oct 31st, 2001, 08:07 AM
#4
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I was the winning bid on an auction a year ago. I had done my research and knew NOT to bid on the trip that included the airfare, because in my case I could do better by booking the airfare on my own (those add-on fares really add up). The hotel I bid on and won was a great all-inclusive that my local Liberty Travel was selling for $385 per night. My stay at the resort was quite pleasant. I got 3 nights for two people for $800, including their taxes and the $14 document delivery fee, so it worked out to be $267 per night. <BR> <BR>You might see that a trip is going for $2, but in the last day it can jump up quite a bit. In my case, I saved about $120 per night, which is some savings, but it's not the same as getting a vacation for $2. Do your research, check prices with various reputable travel agencies, check the web for prices, and then decide what your maximum bid price is, before starting the bid. Good luck!
Oct 31st, 2001, 11:29 AM
#5
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Thanks very much for the advice. After my intial shock of the low prices and reading the fine print I did see that most trips had an additional per night tax - some as high as $150! I have decided to stick with my travel agent for my honeymoon, but may try an auction there another time. THANK YOU!
Nov 1st, 2001, 09:53 AM
#7
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I used Luxurylink in May for a wonderful trip to the BVI. I had no trouble whatsoever and would use it again any time. There was a couple there at the same time that were on their 6th trip with luxurylink! There are some great deals right now because people are just not traveling as much.
