by Tricia
There’s a little over four days left with my loan listing at Prosper and it is currently 43% funded with 21 bids.
Here’s something I’ve been thinking about today…
I did not join a group on Prosper mainly to keep my anonymity because of my blog. If you join a group at Prosper, the Group Leader is supposed to perform “vetting” on you to get to know you better. They can ask for paystubs, proof of home ownership, etc. The degree of vetting involved depends on the group you join and your group leader. I think that’s a great idea to have something like this to help prevent fraud within the Prosper community.
Since I am not in a group, I figured I would receive at least a few emails from Lenders asking a few more questions. But it appears that my blog is answering most of the questions that Lenders may have? Or is it that my credit score is an “A”?
Looking further into it, the highest amount someone has bid so far is $175.00. I have seen some Lenders bid over $2,000 on a single loan. Is that because there is doubt as to who I am and what I claim to be doing? Or is it because I am asking for only 12%?
So many questions. For an analytical person like me – this is fascinating 🙂
I wouldn’t take it personally…the small bids. Prosper does recommend to the lenders to diversify their bids. I placed my bid on your loan this morning and I am sure you will be covered before your time is up.
Your my only A, but I am just starting. I love this concept, it is about time we take some of the profits from the banks.
Agreed. The whole idea of prosper is that a lot of people bid a little bit on each loan. That way if someone defaults I am out only a small bit of money. By the same token if they pay I make a small profit.
I’d be very curious to hear what you think of it.
Chris Z
The small bids do not bother me. If I decide to lend on Prosper (if it’s still around in a few years), it would be hard for me to bid more than $50 on any one loan.
I guess I should note that someone has since placed a bid for the full amount of my loan request. He has now been outbid, but I take it as a compliment that he did that.
Indeed, most people, including me, see you as a low risk borrower because of your blog – you put so many efforts into it, and into the idea of freeing from debt, so it’s unlikely you will just run with money.
However, by general risk aversion, most people will bid high amounts only if there is additional real-life verification.
But, again, I am personally sure you are safe! Best luck!
Anonymous – I am about as nosy as a person can be and you just said that “I am personally sure…”. Do I know you?
Please email me if you do because I am super-curious! So far, only my mom and my hubby know about my blog but it wouldn’t take long for anyone who knew me to figure out it’s me.