How to Sell Jewelry Online – CRATEX Abrasives

Now that you know in what jewelry making school to go, what tools do you need and where to buy them, and you’ve completed few beginners jewelry making projects it is time to learn how to successfully sell the jewelry online and make some money.

Personalization and customization of jewelry are one of the major trends in the global online jewelry market. Over 30 million people purchased jewelry online daily. So, purchasing and selling jewelry online is big business and can be hugely prosperous.

Online jewelry includes various items that are segmented into beautiful and fashion jewelry. Considering the retail value sales of various jewelry items through the online channel, Technavio’s market research analysts estimated that this market will register revenue of more than 34 billion USD by 2022.

Customers are becoming more and more comfy purchasing online, which will only boost the growth of this type of jewelry sales. Jewelry sellers are using the opportunity in this niche by coming up with innovative ways, from personalization to home trial options, to meet customers’ requirements.

This article will explain the advantages of selling jewelry online and guide you through the process of making a business plan, choosing the right type of jewelry for business needs, finding suppliers targeting market, choosing the best marketplace, finding suppliers, building a store, and marketing that eCommerce.

How to Sell Jewelry Online

If you want to launch an online jewelry store, you may have thought about how to sell jewelry on the web. This eCommerce market is a fast-growing, multi-billion-dollar industry, and it can be intimidating. It doesn’t matter if you’re a professional metalsmith or a fresh beginner at jewelry business, or you want to set up a low maintenance dropshipping business for trendy jewelry.

There are no barriers to entry. Follow 10 easy tips listed below on how to sell jewelry from home.

Make a Business Plan

Making a business plan helps you sell handmade pieces on the web, and it doesn't have to be demanding. It is more than a "useful tool" for anyone who wants to sell jewelry on the internet. It's also needed if you ever apply for a bank loan.

It can be like a one-page document that lists what you make, identify the type of jewelry you’re going to sell, who your customers are, where you’ll ship jewelry online and your financial goals.

Make sure to include all your costs to get to your bottom line: SSL, hosting, platform, domain name, email, website themes, plugins, extensions, monthly fees, payment gateways, credit card processing fees, advertising, inventory, packaging supplies, etc.

Choose the Kind of Jewelry You Sell

Any kind of jewelry can make a sale online. You need to identify and define what kind of jewelry you’ll sell. This will make things clearer for your buyers base and save you time and energy in the long run. Let’s explain these 4 categories:

Handmade Jewelry

Handmade jewelry presents not only the skill of the craftsman but their artistic style also. Semiprecious stones and more unique materials are used to design unique pieces. Clients are drawn to this one-of-a-kind quality. It allows them to buy something that looks truly special, without having to spend more money on fine jewelry.

Costume Jewelry

This type of jewelry is trendy, mass-produced, and crafted from inexpensive materials. It's super affordable to customers, but also means that you will have to sell a lot to turn a considerable profit.

Vintage Jewelry

Vintage and second-hand jewelry have become an increasingly popular option for online entrepreneurs. Some people just have a great eye and love scouring flea markets and second-hand sales. Vintage jewelry gives customers the opportunity to purchase something unique and with history also.

Fine Jewelry

This type of jewelry incorporates high-quality metals and precious stones like diamonds and sapphires, performed with superior craftsmanship. It promotes the high quality of materials over unique craftsmanship. Expensive materials can cost excessively high but make higher returns when you sale.

Choose Suppliers (If not Selling Jewelry You’ve Made)

One of the first rules of business is to figure out where you're going to source the jewelry from. Look at your market and consider that when searching for your suppliers.

You have 2 options for sourcing supply: wholesale or dropshipping.

Choosing wholesale means that you'll purchase larger quantities of the jewelry. It's the traditional way of conducting business.

Or, you could go with dropshipping, which means that you partner with a dropshipping supplier who handles all aspects of packaging, storing, and shipping. Your only responsibility is to manage website, market, and handle customer support.

Target your Market

Women, men, young and old, everyone likes jewelry. But the kind of jewelry that different people appreciate varies tremendously. You will need to target folks who'll love jewelry that you are going to offer. It helps to think about who is your ideal, target customer.

Women and men are seeking different things in jewelry. Age factors also, since older customers are increasingly less likely to buy fashion jewelry for a one-time occasion, except it’s as a gift. Some folks actually “hate” secondhand jewelry, while other prefer vintage pieces. Most of the people can't afford fine jewelry, but some on the other hand think that anything less than diamonds look cheap.

Some cultures have traditional jewelry styles and understanding this can help you to determine better where the jewelry you are selling will fit. Get to know yourself with the motifs and traditions associated with the jewelry you sell to tell its story better. This will also help to understand your target client.

Try to wear some of the jewelry you plan on selling. If you can't wear it all day, future buyers won't be able to, too. It's also a great idea to take a photo of yourself wearing it.

Make deals your client won't be able to pass up. These deals may include earrings and a necklace, or a  set that consists of 3 items. Be sure to display the price for the set as well as the price for each piece separately. If you’re selling the set for $39, and want the set to look more appealing, type something like “Or, buy one for $28!”.

Set the Price

One of the most paramount decisions you'll have to make is pricing your jewelry. Best way to set the price is to start with 4 times your material cost and packaging. Most dropshipments or wholesales take up 40 to 60 percent of your retail cost. By establishing a base price at 4 times your materials, it will save you from working for free or even worse losing money.

Think about are you going to charge consumers for shipping, too? If so, make sure to add in how much it'll cost them before they decide to buy your product.

Choose Right Marketplace to Sell Jewelry

Jewelry is one of the most grateful items to make a business from scratch. Whether you're finding precious pieces to sell, or you're just made these goods, you might be wondering about the right websites to sell jewelry.

The margins for entry is lower than ever, and with creativity, enthusiasm and working ethic, you can create your own business. Below you’ll see 5 best marketplaces for selling jewelry online and some tips that can help you choose the right site for your business.

Etsy

This website is considered by many as the best place to sell jewelry online. Etsy has 54 million buyers worldwide with more than 40 million unique listings, which is a significant niche for the startup business. Many people have heard about Etsy, and they trust the platform when buying handmade jewelry.

When you pay the listing fee, your products can sit in your store until you sell them, because there are no monthly fees for keeping your goods on this platform.

Etsy has 1.8 million sellers, and that's a lot of competition. Consider that it costs $0.20 to list each one of your assets for sale, but if your inventory is extensive, listing all that goods can boost costs rapidly.  

Shopify

Shopify platform has more than 600,000 stores and 1 million active users. This platform makes it easy to get your e-commerce business started with a Shopify Lite subscription for only $9 by month.

Capacity to serve buyers both large and small makes Shopify an excellent place for entrepreneurs and their e-commerce businesses. It supports more than 10 different payment gateways. These include PayPal, Amazon Pay, Stripe, Apple Pay, and Shopify Payments.

Shopify allows you to integrate your online store with some of the biggest online channels out there. You can connect to a Facebook store, Instagram shop, and marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay.

eBay

eBay has more than 160 million active user, which means an enormous market for selling jewelry. You can list up to 50 items by month without listing fee, and when you pass that number, the price is $0.35 per item.

And you can set a minimum selling price to make sure to cover all cost and expenses you had for making that piece of jewelry.

The fee for selling the item is assessed as a percentage of the final value. Consider this fee into your business plan if you choose eBay as your selling solution.

If you want to avoid auctioning of jewelry, just create buy-it-now offers or pay additional fees to build your own store on the platform.

ArtFire

This marketplace is where folks from all over the world can come together to purchase, sell and interact. ArtFire provides a wide variety of handmade items and offers the solution for customers to post a "wanted" ad if they're seeking for something specific to be made. 

The platform offers search by category, colors, trends or boutique. It includes a listing fee, but it can be as low as 23 cents by-product. A Standard subscription costs $4.95 per month, plus the per-item charge for up to 250 items. 

ArtFire takes 9 percent of the final sale. A Popular subscription is $20 by month, but ArtFire only takes 3% of a sale, you can list up to 1,000 items, without listing fee. The high-end Featured subscription is $40 by month with a 3% cut of sales on 2,500 items and no listing fees. That version provides more visibility on the site.

Big Cartel

Big Cartel is "made by artists, for artists." This marketplace promotes the originality of the crafters in a market dominated by mass-produced jewelry. With this website, you can easily customize one of the premade themes by changing images, colors, fonts and more. 

There are 4 plan solutions, ranging from five products that's a free option to 300 products and resources like Google Analytics and inventory tracking for $30 by month. It integrates with 4 payment processing services, each of which has its own per-transaction fee, but Big Cartel doesn't charge a transaction fee.

Create your own Website for Selling Jewelry

To take jewelry business to a higher level, you should consider building your own website. Having your own digital storefront allows you to skip the middleman and have more control over every step of the sales process.

If you want your own website, here're a few steps you should take in running your online jewelry store.

Choose a Domain Name

Picking a domain name is like choosing a brand name, it needs a lot of thought and consideration. Domain name is your online identity, so you should select a domain that not only targets your store, but it's also easy to find and promote.

A short and simple domain is a better option than a long and complex one. With a complex name, you risk clients misspelling or mistyping it. So, choosing a domain name that is easy to type is crucial for online visibility and success.

Use keywords that describe your business and target your area. There are countless registered domain names, so having a domain that is catchy and memorable is most important.  

Make a Functional Website

Selling jewelry on the web needs more than is usually included in a typical website. There's the sales process to start with, which needs a lot of work. Then there’s security when you start accepting payments online, you promptly become a target for hackers seeking for credit card numbers they can steal. Don’t hesitate and build an eCommerce site that:

• Contains an SSL certificate to protect credit card info,
• Is mobile friendly,
• Provides customers a different payment option,

The easiest way to sell jewelry online is with WordPress and plugins that you can add to your website. This platform includes with an array of ready-made site templates made just for stores like yours. Payment processing, easy inventory management, shipping and a lot of other important stuff is built right in. Best of all, it’s free to setup and many plugins are free to use.

Be Google Friendly

Once your site is created, you must get as many eyeballs as possible on it. Search engine optimization or SEO is the best way to do this and is well worth the couple of hours it takes. Couple this with your learnings from Google Analytics to bring a steady stream of likely buyers to your store.

Social Media Channels

When it comes to jewelry that you make, always promote your items on social media platforms where jewelry lovers hang out like Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc. Stay active, post frequently and respond instantly to anyone who mentions you online.

These are the core basics you should plan before you open an eCommerce site.

This information will allow you to be able to review the business plan, features, and platforms to know which will work best for your online store concept.