This morning I signed up to the new fashion bidding site Designer Auction after reading this article on Cosmopolitan and this one on BitchBuzz. After hearing about the bargains the site offers I was planning to bag loads of Louboutins, Chanel bags and Jimmy Choos for scandalously low prices…

The idea of the site is every fashionista’s dream but I want to warn you that it’s not as good as it seems.

Every time you place a bid you pay a pound which seems fair considering the prices which items go for are shockingly low. BUT what I find horrifying is that for each bid placed ANOTHER MINUTE is added to the end time of the auction! This system means that the auction only ends if someone stops bidding. It is not the usual system most bidders will be familiar with (eg.Ebay) where the end time is fixed.

Having said that, if you were planning to buy something at full price anyway then you could definitely save yourself a good 10-20%. The site allows you to buy the item you are bidding on and even deducts the amount you have spent on bids from the total price, but if you don’t buy the item and you loose the auction then you can’t get your money back.

I managed to waste an hour on the site. I spent £45  on ‘bids’ after getting caught up in a frenzied bidding war and I still left empty handed when someones ‘autobidder’ beat me!

My advice is to approach Designer Auction with caution. It can be expensive and addictive but if you are savvy (unlike me!) then you can grab a real bargain.

MFW x

Update- I just won a pair of Christian Louboutin boots worth £995 for 80p and 3 bids (doing the maths that = £3.80!!!!)