Bidz
Bidz.com is an auction site. Mainly they deal with jewelry, and that's where I hang out every single day...but they do also have sections for computers and cameras and collectable stuff. Everything is laid out pretty straight forward here. On the left you click on what type of auctions you're interested in. I always go for the Free Shipping link, then look to the top and click on Jewelry & Watches. Oh yeah bay-bee. What I bid is what I pay in this section with no worries of additional shipping being tacked on.
Other links at the top right will take you to various things such as items you have bids on so you can keep track of them all right there together, or the cashier so you can pay for your stuff. They actually prefer that you don't pay for each item as you win it. You have 5 days and if you plan to go back and bid some more than wait til the 5th day so they can ship everything together. Helps keep their cost down.
Once you pay you can track where your order is at from that page. They tell you to allow up to 10 days for delivery. They wait and pull orders once a week it seems. Mine generally get pulled the following Thursday and I receive the package 2 days later via USPS Priority mail.
Everything is always well marked inside and packaged wonderfully to prevent damage.
The auctions are not from individuals but from Bidz.com themselves. I believe they have a jewelry store in Culver City, CA which sells these very items at full price, but I'm tellin ya you can get some killer deals on their auction site.
For example... my diamond earrings go for $709.00, I got them for an unbelievable $43 (less that $25 GC, so really for $18). Now, that was my very first order so really I was expecting to get some cheap crap being pawned off as diamonds.. or the dreaded little teeny diamond chips glued in. Nope! They arrived and I about fell out of my chair. These are good sized (0.50 ctw) diamonds mounted well in white gold. They're gorgeous.
Since then I've looked at the details on many things then searched around the web to find the true retail on several items and guess what... bidz.com is not inflating the value. How they can afford to let this stuff go so cheap is beyond me. Now, yeah, I do realize that what they have up for the auction probably the store rejects.. meaning perhaps those diamonds have a ton of flaws. So what, I say! They're still diamonds, damn it, and I don't anticipate anyone getting up in my ear with a jeweler's thingy to check the clarity. Yanno?
I've become extremely addicted to this place. (I am not about to admit just how much I've spent cuz like, Tom reads these! HA!) But suffice it to say that I have quite a nice jewelry collection now... I've bought sapphires, pearls, rubies, emeralds, amethysts, Sterling Silver... all much better quality than I ever expected. Their rings are usually size 7, but they will size them for you for an extra $25.
I generally stay out of the really high dollar area now, but they do have stuff that will make your eyes pop out. Saw a watch worth 20k sell for 6k the other day. I'm more the pay $4 for a $125 ring type though. I'm havin a blast! I amuse myself quite a bit by skipping ahead to items just posted and placing a buck or two bids on items with no bids yet and then waiting to see if those squeak through without any counter bids... sometimes they do!
I will caution you though to read the listing well. Dainty means tiny, ok? I love my $1.25 dainty Sterling Silver (O.925) ankle bracelet, but it is thin. They never lie about anything, but the pictures are all magnified to show detail so just read the descriptions...
They accept most major credit cards and I believe Paypal too. You are charged as soon as you hit 'order.'
Most jewelry auctions last an hour or two, some of the higher value things may be up for a few days. Most things they have in quantity so if ya lose the first auction, just browse til you find it again. Bids made in the last few seconds will extend the auction ending by 30 seconds.