Our Review of Bidz.com: If you are looking for diamonds, gemstones, watches and similar luxury jewelry at bargain basement prices, look no further than BidZ.com. They specialize in auctioning thousands of these items 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Most of the BidZ auctions are Business to Consumer (B2C) based, with some transactions being conducted between businesses (B2B). In a recent phone call with the BidZ marketing department, we learned that their sellers are primarily professional corporations, with some individuals as well. BidZ requires all of their sellers to have a sales license before they will grant approval to market goods from their site. We asked the BidZ staff about their usage and demographic statistics, and we found that the site currently has 3.5 million registered users, with 1/2 million 'opt-in' members receiving a monthly newsletter. Although their user base consists of a wide variety of individuals, their primary demographic is females living in the Midwest, whose age ranges from 25 to 50 years old... In other words, a very hot potential client in the jewelry store biz. Some additional research of the BidZ website pages revealed that their user base expands with roughly 1000-1500 new users per day. If you are selling gems, jewels or other fine luxury gifts online, you definitely have to check out this auction website. Their 3 minute auctions are one of the top draws to the site, and similar to eBay's 'Buy-It-Now', this feature alone has created many a dedicated repeat visitor to the site. It's certainly our favorite feature about bidz. What's a 3 minute auction? Just what is sounds like: a fast paced auction lasting only three minutes, in which everything from inexpensive cubic zirconium trinkets to expensive multi carat diamonds and gold watches are sold 'live'. You have to know what you want, have nerves of steel, and be able to bid quickly without hesitation. Do your homework on the type of items you need before you start looking, because you won't have time to research once you find something you like! The 3 minute auction is a fantastic revenue driver for sellers as it creates a huge amount of impulse buying. Plus, it's great for buyers, as it's an exciting and fun way to snatch up some incredible deals, without having to wait forever (in auction time, 'forever' equals one week). Of course, BidZ has other types of auctions as well: They advertise themselves as the 'Home of the $1 No Reserve Auctions', and they offer 'Extremely Expensive' auctions and 'No Shipping' auctions. The extremely expensive category is where you can find top of the line jewelry, watches, paintings, sculptures and the like, selling for anywhere from several hundred to several thousand dollars. The free shipping section is pretty self explanatory: these items are sold by sellers who will pay the shipping costs. Another pulse pounding draw to the BidZ site, similar to the three minute auction, is the 'Live Streaming Auction' section. The link is on their left hand toolbar, about eight icons down. We are being specific, because you DON'T want to miss it. Even if you aren't planning on buying anything right now, you should check out the streaming section at BidZ, just for fun. It's exciting to watch the high rollers zoom in on some of the precious finds. While checking out the site for review, we watched the 'Live Streaming Auction' section for awhile, and saw a beautiful men's Movado watch with a 'Buy Now' retail price of $1190 go for $418 USD. This was a great deal on a truly superb watch! If you use BidZ, make sure you don't miss this category as a buyer or a seller. We feel that streaming sales such as these will soon be the standard in the auction biz- Kudos to BidZ for being ahead of the curve. If you are in the business of selling jewelry and similar gifts, this site can be absolute sales nirvana. But BidZ also sells all the stuff you might expect at other auction sites: books, DVDs, vacations, collectibles, etc. How do you keep these types of items from being overlooked? The solution: you might want to list your regular auction stuff when you are also listing lots of jewelry related items, and then cross sell the collectibles, antiques and other kitsch to your buyers. As a buyer at BidZ, you have the best of both worlds: a shopping paradise if you are in the market for fine gems, jewels and high ticket items, as well as some great deals on the usual auction fare such as lunchboxes, posters, movies and more. There is far less of a frenzy or glut on the regular auction items at this site, so bargains can and will be found if you have a sharp eye. In conclusion, BidZ has something to offer for all auction users, from casual bidders to serious buyers and sellers. Once considered by some merely an upstart rival to eBay, they have currently molded their site into a unique form of online commerce; their luxury market specialization, 3 minute auctions and consistency in playing the bidding game their way has made them a staple of the auction community, and a great place to shop and sell. | 
