Written by: Millissa Mathai, Editor in Chief of Haute Mimi International

I am in love with designer clothing, handbags and accessories. What I'm definitely not in love with are the huge price tags that accompany them. I am always looking for new ways to save on coveted designer digs. Sample sales are great but you don't really get the kind of steep discounts that they promise to have. That's why I am hooked on fashion-based live online auction sites. You can snag a Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Fendi, Valentino and more for literally ten bucks — sometimes more sometimes less. I really thought it was too good to be true but after trying it out I am seriously addicted to these fashion auction sites and wanted to share my favorites since there are so many out there. I personally like these three sites, since they only have a few auctions a day on well edited items, instead of thousands of auctions on unsubstantial items.

What are live online fashion auction sites and how do they work?
Live online fashion auctions can be described as,"a fusion of sites like eBay and Gilt where click happy online shoppers get the best in luxury goods at a fraction of the retail cost," says a representative from OohIlove.com. Along with handbags, the sites offers bid packs to use on the site as well as gift cards to major stores.

They allow you to buy bid packs consisting of 20-100 bids for around $20-$100.00 which you can use to place bids on designer items. Most of the sites give you free bids to start off with, like LuxeWin.com, which gives you 5 free bids when you sign up. There are approximately 3-18 auctions going on in one day depending on the site.

When a bid is placed, two things happen, depending on the site. First, the auction price increases anywhere from 1 cent to 2 cents, and secondly, the auction clock increases anywhere from 10 seconds to 30 seconds. The user who bids last before the time is up wins the bid and can purchase the item at the last bid price which is typically 90% - 99% less than the actual retail price of the item. Each of the sites featured offer a Product Guarantee and source direct from the designer brands or their distributors.

LuxeWin
LuxeWin is the hot new player in the online fashion auction game, so auctions are averaging over 98% off. The auction items are much more contemporary and feature hard-to-find designer bags, accessories and jewelry from high demand brands. I definitely like the aesthetic of LuxeWin and find that they offer very exclusive items like beautiful bags from Jimmy Choo, Moschino, Furla, Botkier and Rebecca Minkoff, jewelry from Rachel Leigh, D&G Dolce & Gabbana, Jules Smith and Andrew Hamilton Crawford and even Michele Deco Diamond watches. The site is similar in layout to the others but with larger product images and better product descriptions. They also have a great incentive for members who invite their friends. If you invite a friend to LuxeWin, and they buy a bid pack, you automatically receive 12 free bids. Everyone also gets 5 free bids when they join so that's always a plus. I suggest LuxeWin to the girl with exquisite taste who likes to stand out from the crowd and usually shops the hottest boutiques.

OohILove
OohIlove is probably the oldest of the auction sites and was started a year ago. The site is very beautiful and the items on auction are very desirable. OohIlove features auctions on Tiffany jewelry, Louboutin shoes and Louis Vuitton handbags, to name a few stand out items. I would suggest this auction site to women who love the obvious designer arm candy, as this site mostly features monogrammed items that you can't miss.

JoJoLie
Jojolie is another live online auction site that I recommend. Jojolie is very similar to LuxeWin.com and OohIlove.com as far as the site's layout goes. The items they have for auction are much less expensive than the other two auction sites. This site is great for girls who love mid-range brands like Coach and Dooney and Burke. It's also a very beautiful site.