In competitive auctions, strategic outbidding can dramatically alter outcomes, as demonstrated when Charlie Wade outbid Steven Knox on a pearl necklace by jumping from $800,000 to $8 million, ultimately winning the item despite its actual value being around $700,000. This illustrates how auction dynamics can create situations where the final price significantly exceeds an item's intrinsic value, and how psychological factors like confidence and perceived wealth can influence bidding behavior.
Deep Dive
Prerequisite Knowledge
- No data available.
Where to go next
- No data available.
Deep Dive
Born to Rule | Ep 55 | Did Steven Doom His Entire Family? | Pocket FMAdded:
Soon the car pulled up to the convention and exhibition center. The center was a massive circular building with a domed roof. The outer ring was filled with shops selling flowers and exotic birds with the main auction room located right in the middle. The convention and exhibition center built just last year was magnificent and had a classic antique feel.
Charlie followed Waria into a scenic glass elevator and they rode it up to the sixth floor. As soon as the elevator doors opened, they stepped into a grand exhibition hall. Classical paintings hung on the walls all around them. This was the auction house.
The auction stage up front was covered with a red carpet and below it were plush sofa seating areas for the guests.
Each table was stocked with imported wines and fresh fruit for them to enjoy.
Compared to the last auction, it was clear that the collector's vault had really pulled out all the stops this time. Just renting and setting up the venue must have cost nearly a million dollars. Warnea's reserved seats were right in the middle of the front row. As they were about to head over, they suddenly heard a commotion behind them.
Charlie barely had time to turn his head before he was shoved from behind by a few people, forcing him to step aside.
He frowned, watching as a group of people came storming through the entrance. A few bodyguards were clearing a path. "Owen Pierce is here, too," Waria whispered, surprised, as she looked toward the crowd.
The people getting pushed aside were all important guests for the auction, but right now they were all fawning over a middle-aged man with a cold, arrogant expression. He was wearing a simple linen tunic, and everyone was looking at him with extreme respect. Charlie took a look and remarked, "So that's Owen Pierce. He's certainly making an entrance." Owen Pierce, surrounded by the adoring crowd, walked forward. He pulled out a glowing triangle charm and handed it to the businessman who was praising him the most. He said with an air of indifference, "It seems our meeting was fate. Take this peace symbol. It's a gift. It will keep you safe and prosperous." "Thank you, Mr. Pierce." The businessman was thrilled, completely flattered. He took the peace charm, clutching it like a priceless treasure. He turned to the people around him and boasted, "Mr. Pierce's Peace Charms are incredible. I've gotten one from him every year, and thanks to him, my business has been booming for the past few years." The crowd around them looked on with jealousy. A few bold individuals even begged Owen for one, but he completely ignored them. The assistant next to Owen scoffed and announced to the crowd, "Do you really think you can just get one of Mr. Pierce's good luck charms for the asking. The starting price for a good luck charm from the metaphysical emporium is $200,000 each. The crowd came to their senses and someone immediately shouted, "It's so rare for Master Pierce to come to Oris Hill City. I'll pay $200,000 for a peace charm. Please, Master Pierce, sell one to me. I want to buy one, too. Please, Master Pierce, sell me a charm." Owen Pierce's Peace Charms are hard to come by. 200,000 is nothing. I'll buy five.
The scene was electric, and several business owners started wiring deposits on the spot to buy one of Owen's peace symbols. Line up one by one. The assistant impatiently started taking their names, and the whole place was buzzing. Charlie couldn't help but mutter, "What kind of peace charm is so expensive?"
"It's too easy to make money." His voice wasn't loud, but Owen suddenly snapped his head up and stared at him, his brows furrowed. Owen pushed through the crowd and stroed over to Charlie. He sized him up and said, "Hey, you. From the sound of it, you have a problem with my good luck charm." Charlie said lightly, "I just don't think it's worth that much money." Someone in the crowd immediately yelled, "What do you know? Mr. Pierce's Peace Charm is a steal at 200,000.
That's right. Some people would gladly pay 2 million for one. You bum. You probably can't even afford the $2 piece charm from the chapel.
Owen looked at Charlie, snorted, and said, "You should learn to think before you open your mouth. It's best not to talk about things you don't understand."
After saying his piece, Owen curled his lip in disdain and walked into the exhibition hall. Charlie's expression remained neutral. He didn't give Owen a second glance. Waria standing beside them said with a bit of embarrassment, "Mr. Charlie, don't mind him. Owen Pierce can have a bit of an ego."
"Charlie just" shook his head unfazed.
"Let's go in," he said to Waria. The guests filed into the venue one by one.
The host for the event was Terry Castillo, the owner of the collector's vault. After a few standard opening remarks, the auction officially began because the last auction was cancelled unexpectedly. There were far more items up for bid this time and the number of guests had doubled. The first item was wheeled onto the stage on a cart by two hostesses. It was an antique copper incense burner. A fragrant white smoke curled from its top. The auctioneer began his introduction.
>> This is the ornate silver sensor from the Thompson era. It was one of the treasures given to the renowned painter and artist Felix Dunn by the emperor himself. The two boxes of amberress it uses were made exclusively for the royal crest estates and forbidden for commoners. Moreover, the technique for making it has been lost to time. The scent is invigorating and has a subtle uplifting effect.
After speaking, he signaled for an assistant to light the incense. A hostess carefully scooped out a pinch of incense with a silver spoon and lit it.
A stream of white smoke began to pour down from the sensor, creating a waterfall effect. The oak and eagle motif on the sensor seemed to come to life, their wings almost fluttering.
A faint, pleasant scent immediately filled the auction hall. The smell was refreshing, and everyone felt a sense of calm wash over them. Charlie nodded.
That's definitely real amberress. It's processed from sperm whales. You basically can't buy handmade incense like this anymore.
The auctioneer banged his gavvel twice and announced the starting price for the incense burner is 800,000 with a minimum bid increase of 100,000.
This incense burner was exquisitely crafted and had significant collection value. The starting price was reasonable and bidding paddles shot up across the room. In just a few moments, the incense burner was sold to a bidder for 1.6 million.
Immediately after, seven or eight more items were presented, all of them highquality antiques. The atmosphere in the venue was electric as guests enthusiastically placed their bids.
Jacob watched with excitement, but his wallet was empty.
Otherwise, he would have been itching to raise his own paddle. However, Charlie had no real interest in these collections. While the items were precious, they were just collector's pieces and held little practical value for him. Just then, a hostess brought out a white porcelain plate. On it rested a string of purple pearls shimmering under the lights. The auctioneer began. These are freshwater purple pearls. Only about one in a thousand pearls makes the cut. The beads are perfectly round and uniform in size, which makes them an exceptionally rare find. The starting price for this string of purple pearls was surprisingly low, just 400,000.
Charlie looked up and immediately placed a bid. 500,000.
Jacob's eye twitched and he quickly whispered, "What are you doing with this? A pearl necklace is worth maybe tens of thousands. 400,000 is a complete waste. Don't bid." Charlie smiled, looking at the string of pearls, but thinking of Clare. I think they would look perfect on Clare, he said. Pearls are said to have a calming effect. She's been under a lot of pressure lately and hasn't been sleeping well. When he heard that Charlie was buying them for his daughter, Jacob immediately clamped his mouth shut, swallowing whatever else he was about to say. The collection value of the necklace wasn't very high so no one else was bidding. Just as the auctioneer was about to make the final call, a voice suddenly rang out.
600,000.
Charlie turned his head, looking for the source of the voice. He saw Steven from the Knox family leaning out from the side with a sneer on his face. He looked directly at Charlie and said, "Sorry, I've taken a liking to this necklace, too." Charlie couldn't help but frown.
What was he doing here? Wasn't he grounded by Christian Knox? Steven had been having a miserable few days. After getting into trouble, his uncle had given him a serious talking to and grounded him. But his love for antiques was too strong to miss an auction like this. So he managed to sneak out to attend. But he never expected to run into Charlie again. He'd always looked down on Charlie. In his mind, his uncle had been completely fooled by the guy.
Still, he didn't have the guts to confront Charlie directly. So when he saw Charlie bidding on the necklace, he immediately jumped in. It was a pointless move, but it would be satisfying to make Charlie squirm.
Charlie glanced over at him, then turned away completely unbothered, and continued the bidding. 700,000. Steven shot back immediately. 800,000. Jacob couldn't take it anymore. He leaned over and said quickly, "Charlie, let's just drop it. Forget it. Don't get into a bidding war." Charlie just smiled faintly. "Just watch," he said. I'm just messing with him. With that, he raised his hand high. 8 million. The entire room went silent, completely stunned.
The bid was at 800,000 and he just jumped it to 8 million. What was wrong with him? Steven was floored. Damn, he thought. This guy doesn't play by the rules. The bid was at 800,000. He was supposed to say 900,000, maybe a million tops. What was this 8 million nonsense?
Did he have money to burn or was he just brain dead? Charlie raised his eyebrows at Steven and smiled.
Steven knocks. Your turn. Steven scoffed.
You think I'm crazy buying that piece of junk for 8 million? Forget it. It's all yours. Even though he was humiliated, Steven wasn't stupid enough to bid 8 million. The necklace was worth 700,000 at most. If he actually spent over 8 million on it, his family would kill him when he got home. That's not how you spend money. Charlie stared at Steven and said with a smirk.
Giving up so soon, Steven. I guess you don't have what it takes. The crowd laughed. Steven<unk>'s face turned red.
You're really pushing it. I don't think you can afford it at all. You're just bluffing, trying to trap me, right? I'd like to see how you're going to pay for that. Charlie curled his lip. If you can't afford it, just say so. Why make a big speech about it? Just then, the auctioneer brought down the gavl. 8 million sold. Congratulations to Mr. Charlie. After that, the hostess came over to Charlie with a wireless card reader and said, "Mr. Charlie, we can take your payment now." All eyes were on Charlie. Steven sneered. Let's see you swipe that card, Charlie. You really have 8 million? The others were curious, too. Was Charlie just putting on a crazy act, or could he actually come up with that much money? Charlie just smiled faintly, took out Christian Knox's premium card, and swiped it. The machine beeped. The premium card didn't even require a password. Payment successful.
The hostess handed the receipt to Charlie and said respectfully, "Mr. Charlie, the treasures you've purchased will be delivered to you before the auction is over." "Good."
Charlie nodded. The crowd was shocked.
So, he really was rich. Buying a necklace worth700,000 for 8 million. This guy had some serious guts. At that moment, Charlie looked at Steven and asked with a smile, "So, Steven, are you satisfied?" A burst of laughter erupted from the crowd, and someone called out, "Looks like someone's allowance got cut off and he can't afford to pay." I guess young Mr. Steven just couldn't cut it.
Steven<unk>'s face was burning with humiliation. "Damn it," he thought. The guy actually had the money. He was so embarrassed. He gritted his teeth and snarled. "Charlie, I will not lose to you on the next item." Charlie just nodded completely unfazed. "Okay, let's move on to the next one." Steven had no idea where Charlie was getting this confidence from, and he definitely didn't know that Charlie was still holding a card from his own uncle. Soon, a few more items were sold, and then a semi-finished sunstone core was brought out. Half of this crystal core was still encased in rock, proof that it was completely natural, and the starting price was 800,000.
Hey amazing viewers, it's Charlie here.
Thanks for sticking with us. By the time of the release of this video, only 11% of our viewers have joined the party by subscribing. And 89% of you might miss out on our next mind-blowing video. So, what are you waiting for? Hit that subscribe button and join the exclusive club.
Related Videos
VALORANT's Latest 'Exclusive' Tier Bundle is Rough...
KangaValorant
17K views•2026-05-28
Flight Attendant Mocks Poor Looking Black Woman — Mid Air Announcement Exposes Her Real Power
SkyboundStories-b4r
184 views•2026-05-28
I FIXED My Friend’s Blown Turbo RX-8… Then Sold It
Cameron-RX8
134 views•2026-05-28
NewsWatch 12 at 5: Top Stories
NewsWatch12
1K views•2026-05-28
Simon Jordan & Danny Murphy deliver PREDICTIONS for Arsenal's Champions League FINAL with PSG
talkSPORTArsenal
6K views•2026-05-28
Botting is OUT OF CONTROL in Classic WoW (Again)...
SolheimGaming
108 views•2026-05-28
The "AI Job Apocalypse" is CANCELLED!
WesRoth
9K views•2026-05-28
STREET FIGHTER 6 - INGRID Story Walkthrough @ 4K 60ᶠᵖˢ ✔
RajmanGamingHD
12K views•2026-05-28











