Auction jewelry site Bidz.com announced substantial decreases in both its sales and profits for the first quarter of 2009.

The company’s net income in the three months ended March 31, 2009 was $1.5 million, a decrease of 67.1%.

In addition, sales decreased 49.7% to $31.2 million in the period, from $61.9 million the year before.

The company noted in its 10-Q: “The continuing economic decline resulted in a major slowdown in our revenue in the first quarter of 2009 compared to the first quarter of 2008. There was an overall decrease in online demand for our jewelry as consumers reduced their discretionary spending. If the economy continues to decline it will cause a decline in demand and have a negative effect on our revenue. We anticipate that net revenue will be lower for the second and third quarters of 2009 compared to the first quarter as the second and third quarters are seasonally weak periods for jewelry sales.”

JCK