Jewelry auction sites appear too good to be true, you can see marvelous items on offer for incredibly low costs that you can enjoy for yourself or even sell on for a considerable profit.
Why is their jewelry so very much more inexpensive than the high street? Well firstly selling anything on-line has much lower operating costs than trading through a physical retail outlet. Passing these savings on to the customer ensures more sales at an adequate gain.
Second the auction sale model is based on putting beginning prices considerably lower than they can be discovered elsewhere - even online. If an item you want is selling at the identical price or even less on a regular site why get involved in a bidding war and end up paying more than you have to?
Thus with start prices being very low you as a bidder have a very realistic opportunity of winning 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 orthodox methods - even on the high street.
The start price has to be small enough to tempt people to bid on the item - and ideally continue bidding until it's way over the actual value of the item.
Are all the con stories true about sub standard products being shipped out, stones being swapped out and credentials not corresponding to the actual piece? With some jewelry auction sites that may have been the case at some point but the chances are they won't be around for long so it's best to look for the more recognised web sites that have stood the test of time.
Like any established and prestigious auction internet site be sure that there are procedures in place for disputes and refunds.
So are there still any proper buys to be had out there? That depends completely 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 competent at spotting a steal. 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 internet sites for fun, profit or both?. There are numerous internet sites out there and the most popular ones have plenty of reviews. Probably the largest and most recognized one to cut your teeth on is bidz.com - you will find many - including our own - bidz reviews on-line. If you have a good eye for jewelry and recognise a bargain when you see it, you could end up a winner.
Peter Webber is the owner of Custom Unique Engagement Rings a site that specialises in helping people pick up high quality engagement rings and other jewelry at bargain prices on-line
