I had never been to an auction until recently and thought it sounded an intriguing prospect for an afternoon of entertainment.

I initially went as I wanted to buy a nice pair of earrings (which I had seen on-line and were described as modern diamond drops).  They sounded and looked lovely.  On auction day I was all prepared, having registered and done my research, as well as worked out my budget – I was ready to buy.  When the earrings came up for sale, it turned out to be only a 2 horse race, so the bidding didn’t end up too frantic and I purchased the earrings at a good price under budget.  I was happy.

Part-way through the auction I decided that I would go and pay.  There was a pretty long queue waiting so I diligently watched further items going under the hammer, until something caught my eye.  I thought it looked to be a great buy and a bargain price so quickly joined in the bidding.

By the end of the bidding I was rapt to be the proud winner of Lot No. 188 and said to my friend, ‘oh my goodness I can’t believe I bought that ring for such a reasonable price’. I had already made big plans in my mind to put onto Trade Me and sell for a profit. I had no intention or needed any more rings but thought it was the bargain of the century.  You can imagine my shock and horror when my friend asked what Lot I thought I had been bidding on and I said 188.  He informs me that I was actually bidding on Lot 186!!   What on earth had I bought that I so didn’t need or want.  More importantly, why wasn’t I wearing my glasses so that I could actually see clearly what was staring back at me!!  It is a question I will continue to ask myself for many weeks and months to come.

I was scared to go find out what I had won, and initially explained to the Auctioneer that I had bided on the wrong item.  He was sympathetic but advised that I was beholden to buy.  However he said as Lot 188 had got passed in, I could purchase that item instead.  This story unfortunately doesn’t have a happy ending as Lot 188 was worth over $20,000 whereas Lot 186 was worth just over $5000.

I on the other hand have learnt, that I won’t be going back to an auction anytime soon and at all costs will wear my glasses at all times.

Does anyone want to purchase a lovely 18 caret white gold diamond solitaire ring?

Yellow Tulip