How to Find Cheap Jewelry Online
Finding cheap jewelry online is all about patience and persistence. You have to know where and when to look, and you have to be willing to wait for a good price on the jewelry you want. Here are some popular places people go to find cheap jewelry online.
Overstock Sites
When retail jewelry stores end up with merchandise they can’t sell, they unload it by selling to overstock sites. These sites then price the jewelry to move. You can get great discounts on overstock sites like Overstock.com or RetailJewelersOverstock.com. Try browsing the different sites to get a feel for the sorts of jewelry they have available. Some sites carry designer jewelry, which is more expensive but also better quality. Once you find a site you like, it’s just a matter of browsing it daily to keep an eye out for deals. One thing to be aware of is that some overstock sites don’t offer returns. So be sure you love the jewelry and are convinced of its authenticity before buying!
Overstock Auctions
Like overstock retail sites, overstock auction sites also get their jewelry from retailers and wholesalers that have ordered too much of certain products. Unlike retail sites, auction sites offer the chance to get even more spectacular bargains on overstock jewelry. The best bargains will be found in “no reserve” auctions. This type of auction has no minimum sale price, and bidding usually starts at just one dollar. “Reserve” auctions, on the other hand, start the bidding at a set price to ensure the seller makes a profit. However, even on reserve auctions you can end up getting jewelry at up to 80 percent off of the retail price.
Seized Auctions
Seized auctions sometimes offer even better deals that overstock auctions, because the seller has often paid even less for the jewelry. The items included in a seized auction come from the collections of individuals or businesses that have had their property confiscated. This might happen because they owe a debt or are being assessed a fine, or because the goods were purchased with funds gained through criminal activity. The main benefit of seized auctions is that they contain a truly unique mix of jewelry pieces. You may even find foreign pieces, antiques, or custom-made items that you would never see in a retail store or an overstock site. With a seized auction, you truly never know what will be on offer until you look! This means that it is important to visit the seized auction sites often to make sure you don’t miss anything.
Private Sellers
Private sellers also offer jewelry for sale online. Sometimes the prices are quite good, but more often the seller is trying to turn a big profit so you won’t get quite as good of a deal as you can find at an auction hosted by a professional jewelry auction company. Buying from private sellers also carries more risk than buying from well-established auction sites, because private sellers may not have posted accurate descriptions of their jewelry. They might do this through ignorance or deliberately as part of a scam. If you fall in love with a piece of jewelry from a private seller, ask for high-quality photos from multiple angles as well as copies of appraisals and other quality certificates. If the seller can’t provide these, buy only at your own risk!
Auction Strategies
Out of the above options for finding cheap jewelry online, it seems that dedicated auction sites offer the best chance to get big discounts on quality jewelry. However, browsing these sites and monitoring your bids daily takes a lot of time and effort. If you believe that time is money, you need to develop time-saving strategies for shopping at auction sites.
For example, one strategy could be to only bid on auctions that are 5 hours or less away from closing. That way, you are only involved in the bidding for a few hours, rather than a whole day or days. This helps to keep you from dedicating too much time to any one auction.
Another strategy is to avoid auctions where the competition is too fierce. For example, if you see a nice diamond ring at a great price, check how many other bidders are involved. If there have already been a dozen bids in the first 30 minutes of the auction, you probably don’t want to get involved. All those bidders will just keep driving up the price, and depending how stubborn they are, eventually the ring might end up selling for close to the retail price anyway. By bowing out of the auction early, you will save yourself time, money, and aggravation.
You might also consider avoiding the “popular” jewelry auction sites altogether, as it will be difficult to avoid competition on any of the items offered on these sites. Instead, look for smaller sites that still have good reputations. These sites will offer less competition and therefore better deals.
Another way to make buying jewelry at online auctions more efficient is to use an auction site that offers the chance to make automatic bids. In order words, you can set a maximum amount you are willing to pay for the item, and then let the auction site software release your bids at regular increments until you either win the auction or reach that maximum bid. This keeps you from having to spend time monitoring the bidding, and it also saves you from exceeding your budget.
One final strategy for finding cheap jewelry online at auctions is to always check the credentials of the auction site thoroughly. Make sure that they have good customer reviews and a reasonable return policy. You should also look at the prices on closed auctions, to get an idea of how high the bidding goes on various types of jewelry items.
As you can see, when you take your time, choose your auctions wisely, and bid efficiently, you can find cheap jewelry online pretty easily!
