Jewelry auction sites seem too good to be true, you can see marvelous pieces on offer for implausibly low costs that you can enjoy for yourself or even sell on for a substantial profit.
Why is their jewelry so much more bargain-priced than the high street? Well firstly trading anything online has much lower operating expenses than trading through a physical retail outlet. Passing these savings on to the customer assures more sales at a decent profit.
Second the auction sale model is based on setting start prices considerably lower than they can be found elsewhere - even online. If an item you desire is being sold at the identical price or even lower on a regular internet site why get engaged in a bidding war and end up paying more than you have to?
Therefore with beginning prices being very low you as a bidder have a very realistic chance of acquiring an item no one else bids on for a real bargain price. Or on the flip side as a seller you can put on an item that gets far more than you could hope to get for it through conventional methods - even on the high street.
The beginning price has to be small enough to tempt people to bid on the item - and ideally keep bidding until it’s way over the actual value of the item.
Are all the swindle tales true about sub standard products being sent out, gemstones being swapped out and certificates not matching the actual piece? With some jewelry auction web sites that may have been the case at some stage but the chances are they won’t be around for long so it’s best to look for the more recognised internet sites that have stood the test of time.
Like any recognized and respectable auction web site be sure that there are procedures in place for disputes and returns.
So are there still any genuine deals to be had out there? That depends totally on how well you know what you’re bidding for or not. Like any auction on or offline if you know your stuff then you’ll be confident at spotting a deal. Of course you can’t physically pick up and scrutinize what you’re bidding for - but you can’t really do that at offline jewelry auctions either. At the last major one I attended in Geneva the jewelry was being guarded by men with guns.
So are you prepared to start bidding at jewelry auction web sites for fun, profit or both?. There are many web sites out there and the most popular ones have plenty of reviews. Probably the largest and most recognised one to cut your teeth on is bidz.com - you will find many - including our own - bidz reviews on-line. If you have a skillful eye for jewelry and know a deal when you see it, you could end up a winner.
Peter Webber is the owner of Custom Unique Engagement Rings a web site that specialises in helping people acquire high quality engagement rings and other jewelry at bargain prices on-line
