[tips & advice] Interencheres.com, how does it work?

As an eBay regular, I’d never bothered with in-person auctions. But when JB attended auction sales at Drouot, and an influencer I follow regularly wins Hermès scarf auctions… I figured “why not”. Then one day, Nadia, a digital nomad who knows my passion for Hermès scarves, sent me a link to interencheres.com, where 400 Hermès scarves were up for auction with crazy estimated prices!!

I browsed all 400 scarves and signed up on the site ASAP.

It was my very first online auction with an auctioneer, so I didn’t win anything, but I figured out the rules of the game.

Note: this post is NOT sponsored, I paid for everything out of my own pocket.

How does it work?

• Auctioneers have a partnership with this site and they list all items up for auction on it.
• Then, the auctions take place in a physical auction room in a French city. But for nomads like me, I can also join the live auction from behind my computer at the scheduled time.
• A webcam lets you follow the sale in DIRECT LIVE, it’s super super gripping
• If you want to bid on-site, you don’t have to register on the site. Registration is only for people like me who participate remotely.
• Most auction houses don’t state their shipping conditions anywhere. When you email them, they don’t reply. So it’s better, before bidding, to call them a few days ahead to ask what the shipping conditions are (if you don’t live in the same city).
• Several days or even weeks before the actual sale date, bidding is already open. That means you can place a private bid via the site. That way, if you’re not at your computer during the sale, the system will bid on your behalf. For example, if the highest bid is €60 and you’ve set a max bid of €200, the bid will go up to €70. Then, once the bid exceeds €200, I get the impression the next increment is €20, and then the increment climbs pretty fast to €50, then €100 for higher amounts.
• Unfortunately, you don’t know the starting price. For example, for a scarf estimated at €100, the opening bid might be €50 or €60, it’s pretty random. So you still need to have some knowledge to know what it’s really worth (if you’re not at your computer when the sales happen).
• You can also place a bid lower than the estimated price (thankfully!)
• it’s possible to win the lot for a price below the starting price. For example, if the starting price is €20 and no one wants it, the auctioneer can lower the starting price (to €10 for example) to encourage bidding.
• the buyer’s premium is very high (in my case it was between 24% and 30%!!! + 4% online fees ) so do your math twice before bidding. Add shipping costs if you’re not in the same city. In any case, the fees are at least +14.28% including tax
• bids placed before the sale can be modified/cancelled as long as the sale hasn’t happened, but bids placed LIVE are immediately binding and if you win, you have to pay!!

First experience

The first sale I participated in was at Drouot in Paris, on a weekday at 2pm. I thought there wouldn’t be much competition (weekday) but I was wrong!!

For my first auction, I spotted a nice scarf estimated at €250-300 (which easily sells for €400 on Vinted). So I placed a €315 automatic bid, thinking “okay, I’m already bidding above the max estimate”. Then I completely forgot about the sale, and when I remembered, I logged into my account at 3pm, even though the sale had started at 2pm. The scarf had sold for €335!!

My lot was among the first up for auction. Sure, there weren’t many bidders at the start, but some must have placed automatic bids too. So I missed it by €20. If I’d been at my computer, I might have been tempted to throw in the extra €30, true. So I missed it, it was stupid, but it taught me a lesson.

Attention, you easily get carried away by the frenzy and the urge to win. I stayed glued to the screen for several hours to understand and learn, and I saw other scarves, stained and with holes, go for €200, in total WTF mode!!! Sure, it’s a Hermès scarf, but who wants an old scarf with holes??? As the sale progresses, there seem to be more bidders, because while stained scarves went for €100 at the start of the sale, by the end, everyone was fighting over them, and even the not-so-coveted, stained models could reach crazy amounts.

WELL, when you put things in perspective, the selling prices (for Hermès scarves at least, I can’t speak for other items) are MUCH MORE REASONABLE than the prices you see on Vestiaire Collective or Vinted (when you factor in the buyer’s premium). Plus, these are sales organized by auctioneers, so there are no FAKES, they’re the ones who have to guarantee the item’s authenticity, or they’d better find another line of work.

Second experience

So, armed with my new knowledge, I swallowed my pride and set up an alert on the site to be notified of all future sales featuring “Hermès” items. One day, I get an email alert about Hermès items and what do I see? a photo of the scarf I missed last time, in a different colorway. I log in and see that:

1/ this time, the sale is in Nancy, also on a weekday, so I’ll probably have less competition than at Drouot (Paris)

2/ there are 450 lots and mine is number 369 (Tesla’s favorite number, it’s a sign!), so you really have to be motivated to be right in front of your computer at that moment

3/ the remaining lots are really not interesting, just cheap jewelry, trinkets, no-brand items, it looks like a flea market… there are only 3 Hermès scarves for sale

4/ the auctioneer also misspelled the name of the scarf, so unless you’re a true collector, potential buyers can’t do a Google search and find out the real value of this scarf. Whereas with the photo, an expert would have immediately recognized the “Le Pégase” model that everyone is fighting over.

So, this time, at 2pm sharp, I was in front of my computer. I was able to watch the auction live. The lots were scrolling by.

You can see that lot 129 is estimated between €12 and €16 and the starting price was €10, which we didn’t know before the live auction began.

This time, I didn’t place any automatic bids (I was hoping to pay less than the estimated price, going live). Since I already had an account on interencheres.com and had registered for the sale in advance, they already asked for my contact details and credit card number. So I was ONE CLICK away from bidding on anything up for sale. It was too easy but also very dangerous because a moment of madness is just a click away.

And when you bid live DURING THE SALE like that, there’s no way to go back (whereas with automatic bids placed in advance, you could have cancelled them BEFORE the sale). I highly recommend logging in with a computer because it’s too hard to follow on your phone.

You can scroll down to the bottom of the screen and see what time they estimate your lot will be up for sale. For example, lot 368 was first estimated at 5pm then 4:55pm. I still recommend being there at least 20-30 minutes before the estimated time, so you don’t miss it.

For my scarf, the estimate was €80-€100. A ridiculous estimate if you know Hermès scarves well.

For Hermès scarves, I have a book that lets me know the values of Hermès scarves.

You can buy it on Amazon, but it’s often out of stock.

My scarf: “Le Pégase d’Hermès” is considered Rare and Sought After. A scarf with such ratings can sell for between €300 and €700, depending on which competitor you have against you and the color of the scarf. As for the color, you really need to be a connoisseur to know which color is rarer. I roughly know the value of my scarf because I’ve been searching for it for several years, but if you’re just opportunistic, you might pay too much for a not-so-rare color, etc. Well, it’s also a matter of luck.

I also recommend looking at second-hand sites like Joli Closet or Vinted, typing in the scarf’s name. But you can see that the price fluctuates enormously, so it’s better, before bidding, to participate in several sales of this type to get an idea of the price. Hermès sales happen very regularly.

So there were 3 Hermès scarves up for sale and the first 2 went for €130 and €120. And then mine came up. I thought, “ahhh, I might get it for €150”.

No way! Unfortunately, someone must have placed automatic bids or was in front of their computer, because as soon as I bid an increase of €10, the price went up by €10 too, then €10… it was quite hard to follow because you see the amount rising non-stop. €260, “bid €10 more”, then €270… you had to be smart and know whether it’s the amount of my bid I’m seeing, or the other person’s bid. That’s when you need to keep your cool and not click the red button like crazy. Because the auctioneer knows there’s a battle going on behind the computer and will take all the time needed to reach the highest amount.

Anyway, I set a price limit of €300 in my head, but in the heat of the moment, I admit, I went up to €310. And then the other person stops. The amount stays at €310.

The auctioneer announces: €310 going once, twice, three times… I stop breathing.

Sold!!

It’s in the bag. OMG OMG OMG!!! I can’t believe my ears or my eyes. I won the scarf I’d been coveting for years! A scarf released in 2011 and only reissued in 140x140cm format.

Honestly, if I had placed an automatic bid of €300, I wouldn’t have won the scarf. So I did well to lose 2 hours of my life 😀

The person competing with me must have set a max bid of €300, because it seemed a bit odd that they stopped so close, especially since last time it went for €350 (+ fees) and on Vinted between €400 and €700. Anyway, never two without three! I missed it once on Vinted, a second time on interencheres.com, but this time it’s the one!

After that, you have to wait for the auctioneer to confirm the sale. The next day, I receive a payment link and I pay by card. Then it’s up to me to contact the delivery providers from the list sent by the auction house. A quote is made for pickup and shipping via the service of my choice. The scarf will be sent to me in a package and I’ll be able to show you.

Update: I received my scarf and I’m a bit disappointed because the scarf has a few discreet stains not mentioned in the listing. I’m going to take it to a dry cleaner to take care of it, but I should have expected it because the listing description is sloppy, this auction house isn’t very serious.

My tips

So here are the learnings for you:

1. create your account calmly a few days before, register for the sale and enter your credit card, make sure it has enough money, before bidding
2. keep an eye on the seller’s fees before any purchase
3. call the auction house to make sure any purchase can be shipped by parcel (if you’re not in the same city)
4. read the descriptions carefully, I’ve seen too many far-fetched auctions for items in poor condition
5. you absolutely need to be in front of your computer screen when the auction takes place
6. do a bit of research before bidding because the estimates are somewhat far-fetched, especially for luxury items
7. if you can’t be there, never bid a ROUND amount (€300, €400) but always €312, €418 etc. because a lot of people will bid round amounts like you, whereas you can win by €10
8. click on the “bid €xxx” button instead of directly entering your amount.
   • Let me explain: during live auctions, you can enter your amount (so instead of clicking on “bid €10”, you can type “€200” for example, and I’ve seen people make mistakes. For instance, someone had to pay €330 for an item estimated at €10 by mistyping the amount, and even though the auctioneer suspected the mistake, she didn’t cancel the sale and announced “sold at €330”)
9. don’t worry, you’ll be given time to raise your bid, so don’t stress, and click the right button
10. don’t get caught up in the frenzy and competition, nothing is rare in life, my scarf was rare but I saw it twice in 2 months on the site, so there may be a chance for you to win it at a reasonable price, at some point

My thoughts on interencheres.com

I find they have quite a few sales, quite a lot of choice. I’m not sure about other categories but for Hermès scarves, every month, you can participate in at least one sale of this type.

The site is really easy to use, I think. The image and sound quality are top-notch, you can follow the auctions without any problem from a computer. However, from a phone, you don’t quite understand how it works.

What I find a shame is that you don’t have access to previous sale prices to get an idea. You can only see the final price of the live auction, which makes estimating and researching difficult.

Apart from that, the site is great, honestly I have nothing to complain about, except maybe their +4% fees for online sales hahaha 😀 and you can’t easily add a sale to your Google Calendar, but oh well… I do it myself, it takes me 2 seconds.