Online Auction
How to Shop Overstock.com
Overstock.com is just what the name implies—an online outlet for the liquidation of excess stock, including designer and namebrand goods. It is, essentially, an outlet mall for the Internet (cue the heavenly beams of light and angelic choir).
Like any liquidation/closeout/outlet type shopping experience, however, knowing where to start (and where to go from there) can be a challenge. Some Overstock shopping tips:
Shop Overstock for High End Goods. If we’re going to shop Overstock, quite frankly, the whole goal is to get designer or name-brand goods at the cheapest prices possible—in other words, it’s all about shopping for value (if we want to just amass a bunch of cute but ultimately tossable stuff, we’ll go to Charlotte Russe). Have a goal in mind—that Prada handbag you’ve always promised yourself you’d have one day, or that pair of Christian Louboutin’s that are your personal shopping holy grail (there go the heavenly beams of light again).
Chat With an Online Representative. Overstock is among the increasing number of online retailers that allow you to click to chat instantly with an online representative, in case you have questions about products, ordering, etc. Much more convenient that filling out a “contact us” email (which, we’re pretty sure, get funneled into a black hole in distant outer space) or holding for half the day on some over-burdened 1-800 “hotline”.
Join Club O. If you like what you see and intent to shop Overstock REGULARLY, take advantage of Club O membership. We put REGULARLY in caps because you can find free shipping and other discounts for Overstock pretty easily without purchasing a special memberships. However, if Overstock is your spot, then for $19.95 a year, you get free shipping, 5% off orders (with some exclusions), and special O-club members-only coupons and discounts.
Hit Overstock Auctions. We did a search for those Christian Louboutins, and while Overstock didn’t have any at present, scrolling down took us to links for pairs on Overstock Auctions (including these unbelievably fab Armadillo Red Satin d’Orsay Pumps, which at that moment had a starting bid of $199 . We’re thinking that’s just scratching the surface, and we love that even if Overstock doesn’t have what we’re looking for, there’s another avenue to take without hitting a whole other site.
Online Best Price Match. Scroll down the front page to the “Help” section on the lower left hand side, and click on “Online Best Price Match” to get the lowdown on Overstock’s policy on price matching. Here’s the bottom line: If you happen to find a better online price for a specific product, and meet the particulars of the policy, Overstock will issue you the difference in price with up to $500 in-store credit toward future purchases at Overstock.com. Sure, this won’t come into play every time you shop, but if you just happen to buy something and find it cheaper elsewhere you’ve got an option other than messing around with returns (or just kicking yourself).
O-Text. Live on your Blackberry? Yeah, us too, which is why we dig an option that sends the deals to us wherever we might be. Like this O-Text option—and it won’t just be random deals, as you get to pick which categories you’re interested in. Oh, and you’ll get exclusive promotional discount codes too. Yep, no downside here.
Eleven Top Online Auction Sites
Shopping auction sites requires a few caveats—beware of designer knock-offs, check the feedback ratings on sellers carefully, only pay through secure options like PayPal. Once you’ve got the cautions out of the way, however, there’s the possibility of finding some truly great deals, even on items that are rare or one-of-a-kind. Also there’s the thrill of being the top bidder—if you enjoy that sort of thing (and we kinda do). Check out our reviews of these sites so you’ll know where to begin:
UpperBid.com. The most designer (Armani, Marc Jacobs, Michael Kors, BCBG Max Azria, etc.) and vintage items we’ve found thus far, and it looks the most like eBay, too, which may not exactly be a big deal except that means it’s familiar and relatively easy to read/navigate. Our fave find? A Miu Miu handbag (which appeared legit) with a buy now price of $59.99.
OnlineAuction.com. Lots of apparel, lots of handbags, a huge list of detailed categories. Okay, we like—but a few random clicks didn’t bring us much in the way of super-hot deals (there were several Juicy Couture handbags for example—which would be super except the prices weren’t much different than if you bought them directly from Juicy Couture). That being said, if you don’t mind browsing quite a big, OnlineAuction.com is a site that appear to have a good reputation and an extensive number of sellers.
CQout. When, at first look, we see more than 44,000 apparel items available, our heart rises just a little. And upon further inspection, oodles of cool shoes (Chanel, Fendi, Christian Louboutin), handbags (Gucci, Hermes), and apparel, with current bids well within the realm of affordability. Jackpot! The downside? Many of the items would be coming from abroad (the site is based in the UK) meaning pretty high shipping costs. However, if you find a fab designer deal on the cheap, the additional shipping still might be worth it . . . just watch your budget carefully. And there is a “local only” tab to sort out auctions closer to home, meaning in the US—the pickings are much slimmer, but many sellers offered free shipping.
ePier.com. After sorting through pages of random items on some other sites, we appreciate ePier’s search function—which, when we clicked “apparel” took us to the next set of categories (kids, men’s women’s) and then upon clicking “women’s” even more categories (designer clothing, evening wear, jeans, etc.). Of course, “designer clothing” brought up items like an Express skirt and Wilson’s leather jacket, but still. Well organized, easy to navigate, and opportunities to peruse classifieds, trade, and wanted item listings as well.
ShopGoodwill.org. We’re just going to come right out and say it—we love Goodwill. We love the stores, and we love the online site, mostly because this is the first auction site we’ve come across that when we clicked on women’s apparel, we came up on the first page with a mink coat and a vintage black, rhinestone studded dress. Okay, so we weren’t in the market for either, but it made us feel like we might really find something here. A little further searching turned up a few things more in our price range, like a Dooney and Burke handbag with a starting bid of $5.59 and a pair of new Nine West Black Leather Pumps (in a hard to find size 10 yet!) at $11 with 12 hours to go . . . Our favorite part is that being items sold through Goodwill organizations throughout the country, we’re pretty confident that the namebrands we’re bidding on are authentic items, not cheap knock-offs. And it’s for a good cause.
eBay.com. Of course you knew we’d get to this one sooner or later . . . and there’s probably not much we can tell you that you don’t already know. It’s the behemoth of online auction sites, and if you’re looking for something—anything—you will most likely find it here. The deals, however, aren’t quite what they used to be. We remember the days of actually getting designer and brandname goods for, almost literally, a song—now, with lots of eBay “businesses” and “buy now” options, the prices just aren’t as good as they used to be. Still, it’s no fuss, no muss—easy to find items, easy to bid, and pretty darn trustworthy payment options.
Webidz.com. Webidz gets pretty high marks from lots of the online auction site reviews we read, and they had a reasonable amount of apparel. But designer stuff? Not so much. We searched for a few designer names (Marc Jacobs, Vera Wang, Burberry) and came up with 3 items total, none of which were particularly tempting deals even at the starting bids. But, if you’re in the market for, say, sports memorabilia, toys, books, and collectibles, this just might be the site for you (the “sports memorabilia” category alone boasts more than 28,000 items . . . )
uBid.com. When clothing items are relegated to the “Everything Else” category, we know this isn’t exactly a site made for fashionistas (the day we looked there were only 45 apparel items, total)—so if you’re just looking to pick up designer apparel on the cheap, skip it. However, if you’re looking for computers, electronics, fine jewelry and watches, however there are plenty to choose from, with lots of auctions that didn’t even have reserve prices.
Overstock.com Auctions. Overstock.com is where we love to shop for namebrand and designer goods at big discounts, so we’re delighted to find that Overstock.com Auctions looks exactly like it’s easy-on-the-eyes overstock counterpart, featuring all the same categories, but with auction items from retailers and private sellers. Want some Overstock.com-worthy deals at potentially even cheaper prices? Look for the seller name “Overstock Returns.”
PropertyRoom.com. A police auction site, PropertyRoom.com is just what you might imagine, featuring items that have been stolen, seized, found and otherwise acquired by more than 1,100 law enforcement agencies that are involved with the site. Of course, designer goods are on the docket, but just don’t expect to find a specific item you have your heart set on. Instead, think of it as an adventure—one never knows when 200 Burberry handbags might be seized by authorities in Des Moines, for example (it could happen!). And we’re pretty sure the transactions are reasonably secure.
Amazon.com Auctions. We’re only including this because you may be wondering about it—but the honest truth is, don’t bother. Amazon may be a Goliath in terms of online sales of, well, just about everything else under the sun (and at great prices, if we do say so) but for auctions? Well, it’s clear that it’s not a priority. First of all, to log-in to Auction.Amazon.com one must have an account, and once logged in, you’re inexplicably taken to a page that says “search transactions.” Well, we didn’t want to search our transactions. So we clicked the teeny tiny “auction” tab—only to be taken back to the log-in page. Um, nevermind.
Propertyroom.com: New Way To Save Money via Online Auction
What: Bid on apparel, accessories, and more at the Police Auction site Propertyroom.com
The Lowdown: All eBay-ed out and ready to find another (possibly less overwhelming and overused) auction site to bid on apparel, jewelry and other household goods for less? We’ve recently come across Propertyroom.com, which is a Police Auction site, featuring goods that have been, well, stolen, seized, found and otherwise acquired by the more than 1,100 law enforcement agencies involved with the site. We spent some time clicking around to see how it stacks up, and here’s the bottom line: The upsides: Designer and namebrand goods up for bid? Check. Reasonably easy to view and navigate? Check. The downsides: Limited selection overall (of course, one can’t expect there to be 600 designer handbags that have been confiscated at any given time just for our convenience, right?), and no PayPal (which leaves us scratching our heads quite frankly). That being said, we found stuff like Burberry scarves with bids of around $80 (which normally go for more than $200), so the deals are there (and we found that one in the first 30 seconds of perusing, so it’s pretty easy). Our final word? Definitely worth putting on the favorites list . . .
Shop: Propertyroom.com
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