Fri, Mar 29, 2024 12:54:01 AM Hawaii
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Is Free Jewelry Too Good To Be True?

 


Free Jewelry: Is it Too Good to Be True?


Just like there’s no such thing as a free lunch, there’s no such thing as truly free jewelry. You simply can’t expect a reputable business to give you something for nothing—that just doesn’t make good business sense!

If a company is offering you free jewelry, you can bet there is some sort of catch involved. Read on to learn more about so-called free jewelry offers, as well as to discover a way to get jewelry for practically free.

 


Free Jewelry Contests


Some websites offer the chance to win “free” jewelry if you enter a contest. Such contests are supposed to be no-obligation, meaning that you don’t have to purchase anything in order to enter. What you do have to do is provide some information about yourself. How much information you will have to provide varies with each offer, but it will definitely be at least your name and email. Even this little bit of information is enough to flood your email account with spam. If you are asked to provide even more information, like your address, the website offering the free jewelry can then sell this to a direct mail company and then your physical mailbox will be stuffed with junk as well.


Another drawback of free jewelry contest offers is that there is usually an astoundingly small chance of actually winning. Be sure to read the fine print and make sure you understand the odds of winning. Only enter the contest if you really believe the odds of winning merit risking having your personal information collected for marketing purposes or sold to the highest bidder.


Free Jewelry with Purchase


Another popular “free” jewelry offer is free jewelry with purchase. Now, obviously this jewelry isn’t free precisely because you have to make a purchase, usually meeting a minimum spending requirement. Retailers will build the cost of the free item right into their other prices, so you’re really not gaining any extra value.


The most common problem with the free jewelry with purchase offer is that the jewelry is of really inferior quality. It will likely be cheaply made with poor quality or even imitation stones. It’s also often a lot smaller than it looks in the promotional pictures. You really have to read the fine print of the offer carefully in order to fully understand what exactly you are getting for free.


Be especially wary of free jewelry offers that involve diamonds. Obviously diamonds are quire valuable, so whenever free diamonds are on offer, you know that they are very poor quality indeed. They will likely be dark or cloudy, or else extremely tiny. Free diamond earrings are never a good idea, because it is quite difficult to find matching diamonds when such poor quality stones are used. You might end up with one dark, spotted diamond and one white, cloudy diamond, which won’t match at all and will not even be worth wearing.


Free Jewelry with Shipping and Handling


Sometimes you will find offers for “free” jewelry, but you have to pay the shipping and handling. Again, the company has built the price of the jewelry into the shipping and handling charges. Just take a look—the shipping and handling on the offer will likely be more than you would spend on a regular purchase from the very same company! You may think you’re getting a deal, but you’re really paying for it, albeit in a roundabout fashion.


Free Jewelry Samples


Now, free jewelry samples do exist. However, these are not for individuals. They are for wholesalers. Manufacturers will often provide a free sample item to a wholesaler, in the hopes that the wholesaler will inspect the piece, like it, and order a huge wholesale batch for resale in their own jewelry business. Don’t confuse free wholesale samples with free jewelry offers, most of which are scams!


Jewelry for Practically Free


Now that we’ve debunked all those supposedly free jewelry offers you’ve been seeing online, you might be feeling pretty discouraged. Don’t be! You can still get amazing jewelry for practically free at online jewelry auctions. Not only will this approach get you higher-quality jewelry, it will also offer more freedom of choice as to the type of jewelry items you can receive.


Jewelry auction sites can offer lower prices than retail stores for several reasons. First of all, they have much lower overhead, so they don’t have to mark up the jewelry like retailers do. But this is true of online retailers as well. What really enables jewelry auction sites to offer their rock-bottom prices is how they source their jewelry.


Jewelry auction sites get their inventory in two main ways: from overstock sales and seized jewelry auctions. Overstock sales provide the opportunity to purchase the very same pieces you would see in a retail store for a tiny fraction of the price. Similarly, seized jewelry sales offer the chance for auction sites to pick up a broad variety of unique and custom jewelry pieces from the estates of bankrupt individuals and criminals. In both cases, the jewelry inventory is acquired for pennies on the dollar, and the auction site can pass these savings on to you.


When you shop at jewelry auction sites that offer no-reserve auctions starting at $1, you really can get jewelry for practically free. All it takes is some patience and research, and a little bit of luck. You need to do research to identify good auction sites to target and to place intelligent bids. You need patience to wait for the right item to bid on that offers you the chance to get the best deal. And you need a little bit of luck to avoid ending up in a bidding war with another shopper with the same intentions as you.


As you can see, although free jewelry is a myth, discount jewelry is not. Take some time to learn more about selecting safe and secure online auction sites and strategies for winning auctions, and you’ll be well on your way towards securing your very own practically free jewelry.


Bidding Increments

Please note that the first bid ( aka opening or starting bid) on an item does NOT require a raise and therefore has a bid increment of $0.


This site is setup for whole dollar bidding only (no cents allowed,e.g $15).


Current Price Bid Increment
$1 - $49 $5
$50 - $99 $10
$100 - $249 $20
$250 - $399 $25
$400 - $749 $50
$750 - $1999 $100
$2,000 - $4,999 $200
$5,000 - $9,999 $250
$10000+ $400