All three rings above are from Skinner Auction, won through online bidding
From left to right: sapphire & diamond navette ring from Fellows Auction, gold “Love, Peace, Hope” ring from Hampton Estate Auction, sapphire ring from Richard Winterton Auctioneers
From left to right: snake ring from Hampton Estate Auction, Yellow topaz from Burns White Galleries, X band from Fellows Auction, diamond and black enamel elongated ring from EBTH
You’ve seen me show off jewelry won at auction on here and on my Instagram page. I’ve bid online at auction multiple times, with various platforms, different auction houses–even different countries. I’m here to break it down for you, to make bidding at auction less intimidating and hopefully you come up a winner. But winning isn’t something that always happens for me–eight times out of ten I come up short and end up defeated. It takes time, effort and practice–but most importantly luck and intelligence. The first few times I bid online I was SO nervous! (And when I say bid online, I’m not talking about bidding on eBay. I’m referring to bidding live at a real-life auction, just virtually via computer.) When I was a beginner at this, I usually lost or ended up missing certain items I was looking out for..a few times I didn’t even realize you had to register beforehand! A good portion of my personal collection consists of pieces won at auction, my wins came from Skinner, Fellows, Hampton Estate Auction, Richard Winterton Auctioneers, and Burns White Galleries.
In total, I’ve placed 11 winning bids on rings that are currently in my personal collection! Some of these are the most unique pieces and my absolute favorites. Some of these are the best “deals” I’ve scored as well. I have never purchased something at auction that I would say is worth less than I paid for it. In fact, many items are worth twice, three times, even four times more than what I paid. So if that doesn’t entice you enough, here are some lessons I’ve learned along the way to help you even more:
1. Register at least one week in advance of auction date.
2. Register with several websites which host auctions.
3. Login and bid live.
4. Don’t forget about the fees.
5. Opt to phone bid vs. bid online.
WANT MORE? You may also enjoy taking a peek into my jewelry box.
