We have tried to cover every aspect of selling jewelry from online sales, jewelry shows, galleries and more. Articles are always being added so be sure to check back or sign up for the newsletter to know when new articles go in.
One of the most common customer questions that Magpie Gemstones receives is “How can I sell my jewelry?” This is also one of the questions that we would most like to be able to answer. Unfortunately, the truth is that we can’t tell you how to sell your jewelry. We have tried to share ample information with readers regarding how jewelry can be sold. You will find articles and tips on . . . .
You stated your retail price is 400 % of your absolute base wholesale price. Would you mind shedding some light on how you determine absolute base wholesale price? Many of us (From reading posts on the WWJ) are ready to give our creations away to make a sale and get our names and jewelry out there. I think we could all benefit from some advice on pricing and not under pricing. One final thing I loved the idea about creating a piece at the coffee shop.
You likely began making jewelry as you found an activity that suited your talents and personality. You liked the activity and just kept going. Before too long, however, you may have discovered that you wanted to make more jewelry than you, your family and your friends could wear and needed to find a market for your wares. If you are like me, you just jumped right in and began selling without consideration of your true niche. I just wanted to make enough money to buy more supplies so I could make more jewelry.
I'm fairly new to jewelry making, but I already love it enough to turn it into a business. I don't want to rush, though. I don't want to be a simple bead stringer. I want to take time to develop a variety of skills so I can put some real thought and craftsmanship into my work. I also know that I will need to build up my inventory and learn more about managing a home business.
Do you party? I’m not asking about your personal life, but rather about selling your jewelry. There is considerable information online about how to conduct home jewelry parties/shows. I was truly surprised by the number of hits pertaining to this topic that came up on the internet. In this brief article, I’ve tried to keep things concise and to offer both a synopsis of the information I found as well as a few suggestions of my own.
If you are just starting to plan for your first jewelry or craft show, you’ll want to think seriously about how to set up your space. It seems that the most important part of show preparation is making your products, but if the product isn’t displayed well, it will be hard to entice those customers. Below is a brief list of things to consider as a minimum in setting up your show display. These are probably obvious, but do bear mentioning. Included are photos from client's showing off their displays.
Are you tired of setting up at shows or sitting outdoors when the weather is unpleasant? Perhaps you’re just interested in forming more consistency to your design business with regular customers who purchase several items at a time. If so, then marketing to boutiques might be for you.
Prior to approaching a boutique or gift shop about your product, plan an expedition to search for a store that might be a good fit with what you make. Visit the store first as a potential customer getting information about the type of merchandise the boutique offers.
Following your initial contact with a boutique or gift store, give the owner about a week to explore your website or any other information you provided. Then make a phone call to find out if the owner has found anything in that information that you might bring by the store. Do not expect the store owner to call you. Often, the person has not thought about or looked at the information you supplied. Your phone call is a chance for you to say that you understand how busy things get, but to say that you really wanted to let the person know about the new pieces you’ve done since you were in the store. Just talk about what you’re making and the enthusiasm you’ve received in other venues. Hopefully, the store owner will realize that you should bring your product to the boutique. If so, ask if there is anything in particular that you need to bring. For example, are customers looking for more bracelets or something in a specific color?
Other than a website, which is a subject in itself, and people that I come in contact with, which is very few with my needing to stay at home, how does one locate a gallery to have ones jewelry at on consignment? What options are there to selling this way?
Some of us who engage in making and selling jewelry have little business background. When I started in this business, I erroneously assumed that people would treat me and my products the same way I treated my buyers. It didn’t take many months to learn that this is not always the case. Most store owners follow sound, ethical practices in dealing with vendors; yet there may be a few who do not. Due to the above, it’s most helpful to develop a business policy that protects both you and the wholesale or consignment store
Another question....the primary gallery I'm in opened 3 yrs ago and she did a 35/65 split with the artists. She's gone up to 40/60 and now says since she's moving the store location, her expenses are higher and she will probably have to go to a 50/50 split. This seems high to me (and would probably mean an adj in prices which I don't want to do) but I thought I'd check with others. The Gallery is located in a small tourist town of maybe 10,000 in the Texas Hill Country, not in a large city.
I have my work on consignment in two small galleries. While my work is selling, it’s moving very very slowing. I have an inventory of around 50 pieces in each venue which includes earrings, necklaces, pendants. But I’m beginning to think the maintenance of the jewellery & the displays is not worth it. In one venue the owner doesn’t seem to be actively promoting it either unless I’m there. The only 2 sales have been when I just happened to be there dusting & rearranging things.
I receive a lot of questions about selling jewelry online. I am going to attempt to share the experience, knowledge and expertise to you in a way that will save you the years of research and mistakes I have made.
Many think they'll open up a store, put in some jewelry, sit back and the sales will start. Unfortunately that is just not true. The Internet is a huge market and there is great potential, don't get me wrong. Selling online takes a certain set of skills and traits, and people need to find you before they can discover how wonderful you are and how gorgeous your jewelry is. It takes effort and time to build up a clientele and to be "discovered".
Search engine optimization is knowing the rules on how search engines look for information once someone has asked for it. It also includes how different search engines rank pages to decide which pages to show first.
This article is written with the intent of cutting through all the information out there on SEO and simplifying what to do with your jewelry site at least as a begining. There is a great deal of more advanced inforamtion out there once you start researching
This topic is as individual as the artist doing the selling and everyone will find their own unique way. I am writing from experience and information gathered from sales training webinars. It covers a few tips you might want to keep in mind while you are finding your niche and style.
Branding Your Business
Branding can be just as important for the products we offer as it is in the cattle business; yet, it may be one of the last things we think about when trying to market those wares. When one of the etsy newsletters www.etsy.com prompted me to think about branding, my first thought was that I had enough to worry about without branding myself.
To begin you need to apply, process and complete any permit applications your state, town and in some cases HOA require. The actual permits, paperwork, requirements may vary so be sure to confirm with your state, county town, HOA* They many include and are not necessarily limited to: filing for DBA, sales tax certification and zoning to note a possible few.
You're doing your first show selling your jewelry, a bit intimidating isn't it? You wonder if people will like your work, if anything will sell, will you forget anything? Take a deep breath and realize that many people succeed at selling at shows and there is no reason why you can't.
We are asked at least once a week how we get such great pictures of our beads. Taking pictures of jewelry and gemstones is not all that difficult with the proper set up.
I use and old discontinued point and shoot camera, a Fuji E550. I like this camera because it has a manual white balance setting and an aperture setting so I can get the depth without the subject blurring. You can still find these for sale second hand or refurbished online.
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Turquoise Magpie PO Box 1410, San Marcos Texas, USA 78667 512-392-3091 turquoisemagpie@hotmail.com
