How To Sell Jewelry Online

Selling Jewelry Online

The Internet is a great avenue for making big in the jewelry business world; it offers endless opportunities for you to position yourself as a professional artist and showcase your jewelry pieces for the whole world to see. To sell jewelry online, it is important to make yourself visible in the Internet.

Selling jewelry should be a major part of having a jewelry business; it is not the be all and end all of your business. Think of it as the end result of your hard work creating those pieces of jewelry, but the beginning should be the “how”. And how to sell jewelry online means having to start with the most basic step. Be visible.

Yes! Be seen; inform the whole community that you are making great jewelry pieces. It is given that you make amazing jewelry, but getting yourself known and getting your jewelry projects sold should ultimately be the whole reason why you are exerting the effort.

Check out this article about establishing your business online to know where and how to start your online jewelry business.

How To Sell Jewelry With Fashion

Your customers will be your sole focus when you think of selling your products. Their preferences and ideas is of good substance, that is why you should be looking into getting their suggestions to make great jewelry pieces that is intended for your audience.

You can spare a column in your website to give way for ideas and suggestions that will help your create pieces that will actually sell. People who buy jewelry online would love to know more about the materials you used for a jewelry project so giving out more information about the beads and components you are using will be a good addition to your website structuring.

Amethyst braceletKeep them informed, put images of your jewelry that are big enough and focused on the details of the jewelry itself. Read this article about how to photograph jewelry piece effectively and apply that to taking images of your own jewelry and make that a striking attraction in your website.

The Rise Of Social Media In Online Selling

Now for the easiest part, yes, I mean easiest because the World Wide Web has a lot of information to offer to make your jewelry business grow. One is social media, did you know that according to Nielsen Wire global time spent on major social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter is at huge 82% in December 2009 and is still growing year after year.

Just imagine how much more powerful social media is in the coming years and getting ahead of your competitors would make you great income, in fact really huge ROI. So start creating your Facebook Fan Pages today and integrate applications that will improve your business’ visibility and increase traffic to your website as well.

Build Customer’s Trust

As a customer it is quite frustrating not to have an interaction with your seller, specially in an online business. So it takes an effort to design features in your website that will introduce you as the owner and jewelry artist.

about me  graphics for myspace 17You have to connect yourself to the name that you bring so they can relate it to you as their trusted seller. Create a page of “About Me” that will speak of how all your jewelry business begun, talk about your family and interests as well.

Rachel Lucie Jewellery Designs Centre Spread in the Halifax CourierCreate a “press page” where all of your works has been mentioned, if not featured, so in that way you will establish credibility for your jewelry projects.

You can also create a page where your “sold pieces” are located, you can also ask previous customers to put comments and reviews of your work so they will have an idea that what you have is a professional online jewelry business.

tutorialsTutorials are great add-on to your website too, make videos and upload it to YouTube and link it to your Facebook page so you can integrate it to the social media world. It is a great opportunity out there, think of other ways that you can enhance your website. This is how it works for online business, be unique and maintain the integrity of your jewelry business.

Creating Good Content

Blog IconOne thing about selling jewelry is that it doesn’t only focus on the jewelry pieces itself, the how-to’s, tutorials, and jewelry making techniques matters. So by now you know that it is important to own a blog dedicated to your niche which is jewelry making.

Make yourself be seen by making good content for your blog, upload video tutorials or PDF step by step instructions. Make these materials a free download in your Facebook page to attract more “Likes”, thus making your content shareable to the general social media users. And by that I mean it can be tweeted, or shared in Digg, StumbleUpon, Del.icio.us, and any social networking sites in the Internet.

By making regular content every day, you can go viral if people find it really good and worth sharing. So planning what to say and what to teach would be your first agenda to succeed, serve your audience information that’s interesting and worth sharing.

And to make life easier for your jewelry business, Bead Manager Pro has amazing jewelry software features that will help you jump-start your business in a breeze without the headaches of tracking inventory, jewelry pricing, and tax computation. Go grab one now!

Just as any business, selling jewelry online is as grueling and hard work as it can be, so you see now why I said it is not all about the jewelry pieces, these loads of ideas will eventually help you in making your business venture a success. The whole marketing process is the other side of making jewelry business work, so keep your stakes high and be prepared for great things to come!

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Great Resources for Learning How to Sell Your Handmade Jewelry

Do people tell you that you should be selling your handmade jewelry? Are you interested, but don’t know how to start? There are lots of free resources on the internet that can bring you up to speed on what you need to know. Here are my top 7 great resources for learning how to sell handmade artisan jewelry.
1. The Jewelry Sweet Spot (http://www.thejewelrysweetspot.com)

A great site is dedicated entirely to jewelry designers and artisans. It offers free marketing E-Lessons to teach you how to grow your business more quickly, articles about dozens of ways to promote your business, sell more, and work more efficiently and effectively, and alerts and reviews about new products, tools, and books that can help you in your business.
2. The Jewelry Sweet Spot Blog (http://www.thejewelrysweetspot.com/wordpress)
Lots of articles here. There is a regular featured jewelry artist (I think about 2 a month). This is a great place to learn about others who have successful jewelry design businesses and see what others are making. There are also free jewelry making How-To’s and tutorials, and articles about selling at shows and online.
3. Home Jewelry Business Success Tips (http://www.home-jewelry-business-success-tips.com/)
Rena Klingenberg, Author, Publisher, and Jewelry Designer has a great site with lots of articles, tips and shortcuts about selling artisan jewelry. There are over 400 articles listed on this site. Don’t miss her interview with Eni Oken. In this interview, Eni Oken explains what she calls, “the twist”, easily the best and most concise design advice I’ve ever read.
4. Eni Oken’s Jewelry: http://www.enioken.com/
Eni Oken offers a number of great resources and tips for jewelry designers including free and pay tutorials that you are free to use in your own “for sale” jewelry. So refreshing to see a designer that is willing to share her designs instead of jealously guarding them. All she asks is that you help her promote her site as well. Pretty smart marketing really. Well worth checking out.
5. Jewelry Making at About.com (http://jewelrymaking.about.com/)
This site, maintained by Tammy Powley, offers tons of information about making and selling jewelry. It is a pretty broad site aimed at anyone and everyone, hobbyists, beginners, and jewelry designers alike. I find it a little difficult to wade through all the ads but there is a lot of information here, especially of the beginner variety.
6. Art Jewelry Magazine (http://cs.artjewelrymag.com/artcs/)
There is a great forum site here where you can interact with other designers, ask and answer questions about business, and share pictures of your work.
7. Etsy.com (http://www.etsy.com)
This has been a great business starting point for many. Etsy is an online selling site devoted to handmade items of all kinds and is a very inexpensive way to get started in selling your jewelry. There is a very active online forum where you can ask for website critiques, read about selling tips of all kinds (although mostly Etsy related), and make connections with others. The only caveat is that Etsy is quite saturated with jewelry. If your jewelry is common, it may get lost in the sea of jewelry, but if you make very distinctive, appealing jewelry, and do a lot of outside promotion through craft shows and home jewelry parties, you can do quite well on Etsy.

Christine Gierer is a self-taught jewelry designer, crafter, and Work-at-Home-Mom who enjoys reading, writing, and making handmade jewelry. CG Handmade Jewelry for the Understated Princess.(Women Who Want to Shine, not Blind)

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Selling Your Jewelry on Consignment

Selling your jewelry on consignment through shops and galleries can be a nice source of income. But consignment arrangements do bear a risk for the artist, because the shop or gallery owner holds several pieces of your jewelry for which you haven’t received payment yet

Since in a consignment arrangement you (the artist) retain ownership of your merchandise until it’s actually sold, you must take responsibility for protecting your property. Here are a few pointers to make consigning your jewelry safer for you:

1) Many states have consignment laws to protect artists. Each state’s laws are different, so it’s a good idea to check with your state legislature to be sure you know your legal rights and responsibilities before entering into a consignment agreement.

2) Check out a shop or gallery carefully before approaching them about consigning your work there. What kind of care do they appear to give the merchandise that’s already in their shop? Do you like how they display things? Do they already have items that resemble your work? Does the shop itself appear to be well cared for? Is it easy to get to, and does it attract shoppers who are in your jewelry’s target market? When it comes to choosing your consignment shops or galleries, an ounce of prevention is worth several pounds of cure!

3) When you first consign jewelry to a shop or gallery, start with just a few pieces until you feel confident that this consignment relationship will be successful. It’s not a good idea to start out by consigning more jewelry than you can afford to lose, before you’ve had a chance to “test drive” the shop.

4) Use a professional, legally-binding consignment contract that clearly spells out what is expected of the artist and of the shop. It’s a good idea to have an attorney look over the consignment agreement to be sure it doesn’t have any loopholes that could spell trouble for you. In fact, you may want to provide your own consignment contract that’s been OK’ed by your attorney.

5) Consignment shops and galleries can go in and out of business quickly, especially if the owner is inexperienced or doesn’t have a sound business plan. You may want to stick with only proven shops that have been in business for several years, or else consign a small amount of jewelry in a new store that hasn’t had a chance to prove itself yet.

6) It’s important to keep good records of your jewelry consignment inventory and every other aspect of your consignment arrangement with the shop or gallery. This includes having a record of every piece of jewelry plus any jewelry displays you have loaned to the shop. You should also keep a record of when you delivered your jewelry to the shop, how long the shop agreed to keep and display it, the retail selling price, the agreed-on consignment fee for the shop, and your agreement regarding when and how the shop will pay you and return any unsold merchandise to you.

7) Keep in close touch with the consignment shop or gallery once you’ve delivered your jewelry there. If it’s local to you, stop in periodically and check on your jewelry; are you satisfied with the condition it’s in, and with where and how it’s being displayed? If it’s in another town, call or email frequently to check on things. Invest a little effort into developing a good relationship with the shop or gallery owner.

8) Set a specific time limit (for example, three months) for the shop or gallery to sell your jewelry, and state it in your consignment agreement. If your work hasn’t sold within that time frame, arrange to have it returned to you. It doesn’t make financial sense to let your inventory sit any longer than necessary without earning you a return on your investment.

9) Discuss with your jewelry business insurance agent any additional insurance coverage recommended for consigning your work to shops or galleries. This may include damage, loss, theft, liability, etc.

In summary, there are risks and rewards involved in consigning jewelry to shops or galleries. Successful consignment selling hinges on choosing a good shop or gallery for your work, keeping detailed records of your arrangments with the shop, using a consignment agreement or contract, and protecting yourself and your jewelry from the possible risks.

Learn more about marketing your jewelry via shops and galleries at Selling Jewelry Wholesale and on Consignment by Rena Klingenberg.

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How To Sell Jewelry


This free arts and crafts jewelry making video will give you tons of advice about where and how to sell your handmade jewelry using various techniques and venues.

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How To Make And Sell Homemade Jewelry


Learn how to sell your homemade jewelry by watching this great free arts and crafts video.

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