JoJolie – A Different Kind of Sale
Posted on 11.24.09 to Updates by LindsayOver the last 10 months, the internet-fashion world has been completely overrun with “sample sale” sites.
…as we well know, because I fully support the idea! But, if you’ve seen the Event Calendar lately, you’ll get the impression either that a) I’m lazy, or b) there are so many sales on a weekly basis that it gets a little overwhelming. Jennifer knows the perils of the calendar… For 4 hours each Monday morning, when she asks how I’m doing, all I can respond with is “EVENT CALENDAR. D:”
While I fully plan to get that back up and running ASAP, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to tell you about a refreshing new type of sale site I was invited to check out last week: JoJolie.
Basically, if you smashed Gilt, eBay and Woot all together – you’d have JoJolie. The sales are based on bidding and strategy, as opposed to the first come, first served madness of a typical sale. They do one product per day, most often a designer handbag, and you purchase bids to try and snag a designer bag super cheap… And when I say “super cheap”… Well, you’ll see.
I was invited to participate in a trial run for a cute Marc Jacobs bag with a bunch of other bloggers. I documented it for you guys, because I had a feeling my explanatory skills would fail me.
Jojolie sweetly gave us all 25 bids to play with during the auction. Typically, 25 bids would cost $18.75, which sounds like a lot for something intangible, but keep reading…
All the auctions start out at $1, which is awesome, and the bids only go up by one cent at a time, and they’re timed (one hour)! Each time someone bids, however, the auction time extends, so you have to watch out for that! It’s like a game.
So, the auction started and there was a natural awkward lapse of time where I’m sure everyone involved was e-looking around, uncomfortably, wondering who was going to make the first move…
Elizabeth (of White Lightning) did! After that, it was “Game On” and the bids were off… I was winning for a minute!
Did I really thing I’d last an hour at $1.04? No, but I honestly hoped. What can I say, I’m a romantic. And I certainly wasn’t going to stand idly by and let Geri or Elizabeth get that bag, damnit.
So I held the lead for a while… But not too long! The bids started coming in full force – I was glued to the screen. Literally about 5 inches away. I know, really bad for my eyes, but look at that bag!
The bids and time goes by so fast, I had to pop in to my account to see if I even had any bids left…
23 bids left. So I’ve used…. two. Okay, so math isn’t my strong point.
After many minutes and many bids, I decided it was time to quit whimpering and get back in there! I made my next bid:
Ha, back in the lead! Then I looked at the bidding history…
I totally sniped Jazzi! Sorry, girl! Fashion is a rough game sometimes, friends.
As the bids flew by, i started to examine the participants a little more (keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer, right?)
(Yes, they’re enemies when I could have a MBMJ bag for $1.14.)
(No, okay. I don’t really hate them. Jeez, ruin my joke.)
The silence was deafening, post-tweet. Naturally, my competition was hiding in the shadows, hoping to catch me off guard! I THINK NOT!
After the rest of my bids, and the rest of my hope… A winner finally emerged after a lengthy series of last-minute-snipes and time extensions.
Lilliana?! She came out of NOWHERE!!
She got a brand new, current, Marc By Marc Jacobs bag…
… for $2.10.
Two dollars.
And ten cents.
There’s really nothing more to say. Watch out for me on JoJolie.com, though, because I’m coming back with a vengeance.
NOTE: I’ve been contacted by a wonderful blogger, Barbara, and she’s written up a take on JoJolie that holds a lot of water! I wanted to throw the link up here because she does have a good point about the lack of transparency in JoJolie’s business model. Stay informed, and read her post on her blog, barbbarbbarb.
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Comments ( 13 )
stylefyles added these pithy words on
Nov 24 09 at
5:07 pm
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I’m still trying to fathom how that is all possible. Awesome heads up.
Though since you were playing with a sample group, I wonder if the prices will escalate when more people are involved? I guess the rule of the game is to get in early before everyone else finds out!
S added these pithy words on
Nov 25 09 at
1:58 pm
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Wow, this is amazing! Inevitably, it’ll get harder as more people catch on, but wow, what a great deal for now!
estee added these pithy words on
Nov 25 09 at
5:45 pm
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Hey this sounds really cool but I wonder where they get there stuff from? any ideas?
Barb added these pithy words on
Nov 26 09 at
1:51 pm
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Hello. I’d like you to read my blog post regarding jojolie.com. It’s kind of… a trick?
http://www.barbbarbbarb.com/2009/11/jojolie-com/
.-= Barb´s last blog ..MICHAEL Michael Kors on 6pm.com =-.
Miss Elle added these pithy words on
Nov 27 09 at
1:07 pm
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Barb: I wasn’t able to click the link – is it broken? I’d love to read whatever you have, if you have new information!!
Tom @ JoJolie.com added these pithy words on
Dec 01 09 at
1:36 am
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Hi MissElle, thank you very much for the blog post. We appreciate it. Barb and I have corresponded privately and she should know there’s complete transparency in the business model. The auction rules are the first thing we present to someone visiting the site, and the rules are the rules. Participants purchase bids and the winner walks away with a fabulous deal. There’s a strategic element to bidding and winning strategies evolve over time.
If any Broke & Beautiful readers have any questions, I’d be happy to answer them. As you can tell by the timestamp on this comment, I’m a night owl 
Thanks again!
Miss Elle added these pithy words on
Dec 01 09 at
4:49 pm
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Awesome, Tom, thank you! I hope that any skeptical readers will contact you for the full scoop!
ShaberryNYC added these pithy words on
Oct 09 10 at
8:40 pm
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I would like to know if these bags are truly real as well..
dawn in nevada added these pithy words on
Oct 23 10 at
3:26 am
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First of all the website wouldn’t let me register..kept repeating and using different passwords only to have it take me in circles. Ding Dong…this is when I realized that what they really want and are making money from is our information…information sells guys! A purse for under two dollars? Have you ever heard the old phrase if it looks too good to be true then it probably is? I gave them a call and left a message that I will be turning there scam into the better business bureau. In no way did I sign up thinking that I would win an auction at such a low amount. If they are using pennies to raise a bid IT IS A SCAM!! Sorry…deals are to be had out there, but not at pennies on the dollar.
Sincerely,
A girl who has been around the block a few times!
tld limited added these pithy words on
Mar 14 11 at
10:04 pm
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I got totally ripped off by this place. Bifd on a Gucci bag….won, paid and NEVER got my $800.00 bag!!!!!
tld limited added these pithy words on
Mar 14 11 at
10:33 pm
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Been emailing 7-8 times…no response and the phone number is out of service!!!! What a disappointment. The site had actually had me excited.
I also have over $50.00 worth of “bids” that I haven’t used.
tl danna added these pithy words on
Mar 14 11 at
10:35 pm
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Places like this fly by night better start to have some reprecussions….
As a comsumer, I sick of the Bull s____!
tl danna added these pithy words on
Mar 14 11 at
10:41 pm
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What everyone should realize is that it doesn’t turn out to be $4.00 or whatever.
Those bids that you buy are Nearly a buck a pc. and it can easily take 300 bids to get your bag!!! This $1,000. guarantee, doesn’t really hold any value, because they dont deliver…..literally. I am still waiting for my Gucci and I won the auction in early December. NICE huh?
I will report to BBB if I don’t hear back like…..really soon.
