Amused

[geminigirl]

If I get bored, I do the math and wow, just wow. Each and every day let alone each week.... I wonder if they are on eBay, and the other sites? did I say wow?

[SueB]

There’s NOW WAY SHE’S GONNA PAY $300. For that six stones pink sapphire ring in SSilver just no way in he double toothpicks!!!! Needs to be stopped!!! She had the whole pink sapphire ring page except for 2,3 items!!!!!!

[Ruby]

I hope everyone has figured out that the website generates computer bids to raise the auction prices. I have been shopping here for over 5 years and it has not changed. Very rarely you might get a great deal, but then the item becomes "not available" when you place the order. Don't be fooled. Have you noticed they also lock the topic everytime this comes up in conversation?? Hmmmmmmm.........

[D-Flawless]

Hi Ruby....I definitely disagree! ShopLC is not doing anything shady at all here...it’s certain bidders like Merilee...who has now changed her name to “Marleen”! (She thinks we are too stupid to notice!) I’ve been buying from ShopLC since Day #1 in April 2007 and I purchase mostly from the Rising Auctions. Since I have over 1,300 rings...you could say I have a bit of experience! It never used to be this bad with so many, lazy, greedy resellers just bidding on thousands of items....at $200+ The way I do it is just bid $1 to get it on my watch list, then I set the alarm on my phone and go in at the end of the auction to see if the price is still at a point that is a good deal. If it is, I bid and hopefully win! It’s definitely labor intensive but it’s very effective and FAIR because I’m never unnecessarily bidding the item up to crazy high prices. Obviously most people don’t do this and resellers would constantly be bidding if they used this method, but in my extensive experience this is the only way to get the best price! I’ve gotten some incredibly good deals on my massive collection and never once have I received a message that an item is “not available”! And I don’t buy the cheaper items! Sorry, but it’s simply absurd to think ShopLC is “fixing” the auctions in any way! There’s plenty of people who don’t do their homework and are too ignorant to check the prices on the catalog side first who overbid and thus overpay! ShopLC obviously doesn’t need to do anything shady on the auctions to make money or they would have discontinued them altogether years ago! They shut down a thread when people suggest there’s something shady going on simply because it’s simply false drama! Yes....I hate the overbidders like Merilee aka Marleen and Sharon and the rest and it’s very frustrating but I definitely wouldn’t have over 1,300 rings...and countless pendants, bracelets, watches, handbags, blankets etc., etc if I didn’t get exceptional deals on the RA! Soooo PLEEEEEZE stop saying the auctions are rigged....the struggle is REAL with overbidders! (Just watch the overall auctions for a bit and you’ll see those people are also winning many items at excellent prices! It’s simply a numbers game for them...if you bid on enough items you’re going to win a few good deals! The difference is that the people like me care about what I bid on and I actually WANT the items I bid on and the resellers/overbidders couldn’t care less about the actual items they win...it’s all the same to them!) As with everything in life....if you’re willing to do the work, you will reap the rewards!

[CC]

D-flawless, a person I will just call "Shar"(you know who I am talking about) bid I believe it was $100 something dollars on a pink jade tennis bracelet in stainless steel that she!he could have just bought off website for $49.99. She/he also had bid pending (I don't know ending bid) of $23 for a pair of pink jade drop earrings in Sterling silver which she could have bought for $19.99 on website. There was a slight difference in shape of drop but other than that same design earrings with .MORE carat weight. Posted about this before, doesn't make ANY sense to me.. I pretty much always shop first, ,bid after..

[Moderator_Stephanie]

I hope everyone has figured out that the website generates computer bids to raise the auction prices. I have been shopping here for over 5 years and it has not changed. Very rarely you might get a great deal, but then the item becomes "not available" when you place the order. Don't be fooled. Have you noticed they also lock the topic everytime this comes up in conversation?? Hmmmmmmm.........

We absolutely guarantee you that we DO NOT have a program artificially placing bids, nor do we have people on staff placing bids. The ONLY system we have in place is our MaxBid feature that is available for all customers to use on our Online Auctions.

Our auction listings are computer generated based off of the inventory information entered in the system. Unfortunately there are times where the inventory that our computer thinks we have does not match what we actually have on hand, due to either human error when the inventory amount was entered in, or product becoming lost in the warehouse. There are also times where we will go to fill the order only to discover that the last piece(s) we have available are damaged and we will not knowingly ship out damaged/defective merchandise. (Yes, we are only human and unfortunately at times damaged items do slip by between the picking and packing process and regrettably get shipped out.)

[Blossom]

Hi Ruby....I definitely disagree! ShopLC is not doing anything shady at all here...it’s certain bidders like Merilee...who has now changed her name to “Marleen”! (She thinks we are too stupid to notice!) I’ve been buying from ShopLC since Day #1 in April 2007 and I purchase mostly from the Rising Auctions. Since I have over 1,300 rings...you could say I have a bit of experience! It never used to be this bad with so many, lazy, greedy resellers just bidding on thousands of items....at $200+ The way I do it is just bid $1 to get it on my watch list, then I set the alarm on my phone and go in at the end of the auction to see if the price is still at a point that is a good deal. If it is, I bid and hopefully win! It’s definitely labor intensive but it’s very effective and FAIR because I’m never unnecessarily bidding the item up to crazy high prices. Obviously most people don’t do this and resellers would constantly be bidding if they used this method, but in my extensive experience this is the only way to get the best price! I’ve gotten some incredibly good deals on my massive collection and never once have I received a message that an item is “not available”! And I don’t buy the cheaper items! Sorry, but it’s simply absurd to think ShopLC is “fixing” the auctions in any way! There’s plenty of people who don’t do their homework and are too ignorant to check the prices on the catalog side first who overbid and thus overpay! ShopLC obviously doesn’t need to do anything shady on the auctions to make money or they would have discontinued them altogether years ago! They shut down a thread when people suggest there’s something shady going on simply because it’s simply false drama! Yes....I hate the overbidders like Merilee aka Marleen and Sharon and the rest and it’s very frustrating but I definitely wouldn’t have over 1,300 rings...and countless pendants, bracelets, watches, handbags, blankets etc., etc if I didn’t get exceptional deals on the RA! Soooo PLEEEEEZE stop saying the auctions are rigged....the struggle is REAL with overbidders! (Just watch the overall auctions for a bit and you’ll see those people are also winning many items at excellent prices! It’s simply a numbers game for them...if you bid on enough items you’re going to win a few good deals! The difference is that the people like me care about what I bid on and I actually WANT the items I bid on and the resellers/overbidders couldn’t care less about the actual items they win...it’s all the same to them!) As with everything in life....if you’re willing to do the work, you will reap the rewards!

D-Flawless (RA Queen!) Wow, if I had a hat on I would tip to you! I think you're right about RA & the method you use seems to be the trick! I have also kinda bid in that manner & have set my alarm but usually item is already more than I'm willing to pay & I got up for nothing. I also agree it is much harder to get the deals than it used to be. You inspire me to not give up & try harder!

[D-Flawless]

Thanks Blossom!! There’s definitely an “art” to getting excellent deals on the auctions! But I find that putting in the effort usually pays off! I definitely keep a close eye on the catalog side so I know what a fair price is and also to plan what will be hitting the auctions soon! When I see something I want go on sale on the catalog side....I know it isn’t far from hitting the auctions! Typically items aren’t kept in inventory for more than 90 days for tax purposes so it’s easy to plan! Just got my favorite Red Andesine ring that way last week at 60% off the catalog price! Woooohoooo! Victory lap! It’s gorgeous too...just arrived yesterday! So hang in there and try to be patient! Patience and perseverance pays off!

[Boston Irish]

SHARON birds on everything!

[jojosmom]

Hi Ruby....I definitely disagree! ShopLC is not doing anything shady at all here...it’s certain bidders like Merilee...who has now changed her name to “Marleen”! (She thinks we are too stupid to notice!) I’ve been buying from ShopLC since Day #1 in April 2007 and I purchase mostly from the Rising Auctions. Since I have over 1,300 rings...you could say I have a bit of experience! It never used to be this bad with so many, lazy, greedy resellers just bidding on thousands of items....at $200+ The way I do it is just bid $1 to get it on my watch list, then I set the alarm on my phone and go in at the end of the auction to see if the price is still at a point that is a good deal. If it is, I bid and hopefully win! It’s definitely labor intensive but it’s very effective and FAIR because I’m never unnecessarily bidding the item up to crazy high prices. Obviously most people don’t do this and resellers would constantly be bidding if they used this method, but in my extensive experience this is the only way to get the best price! I’ve gotten some incredibly good deals on my massive collection and never once have I received a message that an item is “not available”! And I don’t buy the cheaper items! Sorry, but it’s simply absurd to think ShopLC is “fixing” the auctions in any way! There’s plenty of people who don’t do their homework and are too ignorant to check the prices on the catalog side first who overbid and thus overpay! ShopLC obviously doesn’t need to do anything shady on the auctions to make money or they would have discontinued them altogether years ago! They shut down a thread when people suggest there’s something shady going on simply because it’s simply false drama! Yes....I hate the overbidders like Merilee aka Marleen and Sharon and the rest and it’s very frustrating but I definitely wouldn’t have over 1,300 rings...and countless pendants, bracelets, watches, handbags, blankets etc., etc if I didn’t get exceptional deals on the RA! Soooo PLEEEEEZE stop saying the auctions are rigged....the struggle is REAL with overbidders! (Just watch the overall auctions for a bit and you’ll see those people are also winning many items at excellent prices! It’s simply a numbers game for them...if you bid on enough items you’re going to win a few good deals! The difference is that the people like me care about what I bid on and I actually WANT the items I bid on and the resellers/overbidders couldn’t care less about the actual items they win...it’s all the same to them!) As with everything in life....if you’re willing to do the work, you will reap the rewards!

I do the same. I have gotten quite a few excellent deals. It is just annoying sometimes waiting for "M" and "S" etc to buy an item I like several times at outrageous prices and then hope they continue to post the item so I am have a shot at it.