Jewelry Software

In this interview Gary Capps talks to Dr David Weiman of MarketingJewelry.com about simple steps you can take to massively improve your jewelry business.

Dr David Weiman is the marketing Director for Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist, the worlds oldest gem, bead and jewelry arts magazine.

Dr Weiman is also a psychologist who specializes in helping jewelry artisans understand the psychology of selling handcrafted jewelry.

You can read the full interview below as well download a pdf copy of this interview or listen to a recording of it here;

Gary Capps Interviews David Weiman of MarketingJewelry.com

Gary Capps:

Hi everyone; welcome to our talk today. My name is Gary Capps from Beading-Software.com, the creators of bead manager jewelry software. I’m joined today by Dr. David Weiman from Marketingjewelry.com

David is the third generation of Weimans in the jewelry business. His grandfather founded the small jewelry chain Weiman’s for diamonds that had several locations in Philadelphia and then his father owned and managed the stores until changing careers to become an attorney.

David is the marketing director of several publications such as Lapidary Journal jewelry artists magazine which is oldest gem and jewelry arts magazine in the world and Step by Step jewelry as well as being one of the founding creators of Beads Fest, the instructional bead show which is now all over the U.S.

David has also been a licensed psychologist in Pennsylvania since 1998, presenting seminars around the country on how to make the psychology of connecting with customers easy to understand and simple to implement.

Welcome David and thanks for taking the time today to talk to me.

David Weiman:

Gary, it’s a pleasure to be with you.

Gary:

You are known as the expert jewelry-selling psychologist. Can you explain why psychology can play such an important part in being successful in your jewelry business?

David:

The essence of this is that jewelry is not a necessity; and yet people keep buying it. There’s virtually an infinite market for it.

In fact, I recently suggested in a newsletter article that I wrote that the jewelry makers ask their customers how many pieces of jewelry they own; because my contention is nobody really knows how much jewelry they own. Most people don’t unless all they own is a watch and a wedding band and a bracelet or something like that. It’s something that people buy that they really don’t have a specific need for.

You can understand the psychology of that, why people buy things they don’t need and understand specifically around the buying of jewelry and what attracts people to it and where the real action is.

I know we’re going to get into a little bit later in our conversation some of the deeper psychological meanings behind some of these transactions. It really is, I believe, mainly psychological and the reason is that the average consumer is not an expert in the materials used to make jewelry.

Most people do not understand what they’re looking at. They couldn’t tell the difference between something that was real gold and gold-plated, for example or a real gemstone vs one that was created in a lab or in a manufacturing plant. So the psychology of it is very, very rich for this particular field.

Gary:

I definitely agree with you about people not knowing how much jewelry they own; especially when you look at my wife’s little jewelry basket or jewelry box. I just had to buy her more because it was her birthday. It’s definitely an impulse buy a lot of the time, I think, rather than a need for the product.

David:

When we’ve asked people what they were thinking of during that impulse moment, a lot of times it’s a connection to something in the past. Somebody may see a ring that they do like but it also reminds them of a ring that their grandmother owned; and that may be the impetus for buying. They can’t really tell you why they were attracted to a piece; that’s at an unconscious level but it is fascinating how people make those choices.

Gary:

Yeah; so trying to tap into why they want that and if you can get in line with why they want that item then you can align with that customer successfully.

David:

That’s right.

Gary:

Could you give any specific examples where some clients have implemented these psychological tactics in their business and some of the results they have seen?

David:

For customers who understand what I teach about the objection-handling process, they notice a shift not just in their attitude but in the corresponding attitude of the customer.

More specifically what I mean is, a lot of jewelry-makers are defensive – and rightfully so; I’m not criticizing them for having this feeling. A person walks by your booth, you have your jewelry out, and the prospect or the passer-by kind of snorts and says, “My 5-year old can make something better than that.” Your initial inclination is to react very defensively and sort of create an argument with that person. A person who walks by and says, “I would never pay that much money for that piece.”

The defensive instinct is to argue back but that’s the last thing you want to do; because all of these moments where somebody is saying something is an opportunity to engage and learn more about them.

So the shift there is, instead of responding to be curious and ask questions about why they said what they did and to learn more about their preferences. Because that’s a skill that’s always useful whereas arguing in business is never useful.

The other thing that I think is critical is when somebody recognizes what they do well and what they don’t; and in what they don’t, if they have any desire at all to improve that.

Somebody attended one of my Bead Fest seminars on selling jewelry and she recognized that her interest in connecting with people was so low and she was so shy that it wasn’t working out for her to do shows well. She told me that her boyfriend loved her jewelry and really did like connecting with people; loved talking with people about it.

The major change that she made after attending the seminar was to start selling together with him. He started coming to the shows and he started taking over that direct connection with customers. At a future show – she had come to the same show one year later – she told me that she had doubled here revenue from shows because she was engaged, she was enthusiastic; people were attracted to that and they started buying more.

Gary:

I was going to ask you to say what you feel are the three most common obstacles that any jewelry business owner new or old should really face up to and overcome?

So you think the connection with people, making sure that you can align with customers is obviously a very important one. Do you think there are another couple as well? Obviously, making sure you get that right; what would be another couple of really common obstacles that they need to overcome if they want to succeed?

David:

The most common one, the obstacle itself is the challenge of seeing it as business instead of a hobby. A lot of people who come to my website Marketingjewelry.com are hobbyists who are interested in converting this to a business; or people who have been in business for a while who are now looking to bring up the level of it.

Even those folks tell me that they still have trouble seeing themselves as a businessperson. You have to leave that aside as a dirty word. Being in business as a jewelry maker is a wonderful, amazing way to share your jewelry with other people. It’s not a dirty word and it’s something that they should feel good about.

I think another obstacle is just the idea that they’re selling something; but the reality is that our entire lives are spent persuading people in some way to do something that we want. When your 5-year old wants a cupcake for dessert, they’re selling you on the idea that they deserve it even if they didn’t eat their dinner.

So, we’re selling throughout out entire lives and these tactics or skills of persuading are important to possess. Many people say, “I don’t want to have to sell my jewelry.” Well, that’s fine. You may not be as successful as you could be.

I think the third area is understanding the value of their jewelry and that it is worth more than most jewelry makers charge for it. The obstacle there is recognizing that they are worth it. They as human beings who have created this are worth it and that the jewelry may last well beyond the generations, even of the person whom they sold it to in terms of passing it down.

For example, a piece of jewelry that you sell to a customer who has a daughter, if she gives it to her daughter, it may survive longer than her daughter and that daughter’s daughter. It’s something that will be passed down through generations if it’s well made. That’s extremely important and extremely relevant.

Gary:

I think that’s a really good point to make. There’s that term out there about’ starving artists’ and there seems to be a badge of honour about that starving artist who’s just getting by, by selling a bit of jewelry and people not valuing it enough to actually realize what they’re doing is worthwhile. I think that’s a really good point that you made there.

David:

And that gets conveyed in very subtle ways; when your body language and your tone of voice is submissive and you’re showing that you don’t feel very good about it, abut the jewelry and whole sales process, people pick that up. And it does transfer to how valuable they feel the jewelry is.

When you’re confident, when you feel good, when you know the jewelry is worth the price that you’re asking for it and you love making it, all of that goes into the experience that the buyer has as well.

Gary

Yeah; so when there are people looking to actually start turning their hobby into a business, where would you suggest that they actually begin to market themselves, to actually grow out of that hobby phase into making money?

David:

The most logical place for people to start is with the people who are closest to them; and that is family and friends. For a few reasons, although they may feel uncomfortable accepting money from friends – but that’s something they have to get over.

The social circle is extremely important for jewelry sellers at the beginning. They’re people that the jewelry seller is already comfortable with, that they already know. Their folks are going to give them an honest opinion about the jewelry.

It is very common for people who are wearing jewelry to get remarks comments and questions about it. When it’s your sister or your mom or your cousin Beth who’s wearing the jewelry, and somebody they work with notices it, cousin Beth says, “Oh, yeah; my cousin Rachel made this.” it’s an easy and smooth connection right back to the jewelry artist. So that’s typically the place where they’re going to have the most success.

That can extend a little further out if you think of social contacts as a series of concentric circles; the next furthest out point is generally people that that person works with. Most jewelry artists are not fulltime jewelry artists, the do other things. So the other people in your social circle like co-workers, people who perhaps you’re involved in a club or an activity with.

In fact, this is often how jewelry makers in selling. Somebody notices a bracelet they have on, that they made. A co-worker says, “I love that; where did you get it?” The jewelry artist says, “I made it.” The co-worker says, “Could you make one for me?” And that’s how it starts.

Gary:

It’s some nice word of mouth marketing, really.

David:

Exactly.

Gary:

What about people who’ve already go an existing business but they’re looking to shift up a gear or two. How would your advice differ to those people?

David:

There it’s much more important to ratchet up your marketing. There’s a lot of… I guess for those folks, a lot of them lose sight of that their current customers are their best source of new business and referrals.

It’s kind of like if you had an apple orchard and you were in a hurry; you sort of quickly went through and grabbed as many apples as you could. You’re leaving a lot on the trees. I want those jewelry makers who are already established to go back and do a little more harvesting; to spend more time marketing.

I say this with sort of a chuckle in mind because not a lot of people keep track of this. If you’re marketing yourself 10 hours a week you want to spend 12 hours a week doing it. If you’re marketing yourself 4 hours a week you want to spend 6 hours doing it.

Whatever they can do to add a little more time to that is going to pay off; because if you think about it – you yourself as a successful businessperson can relate to this – to get to your first level take a huge amount of work. To get from that level to the next level doesn’t take twice as much work. It probably takes a quarter again as much work; because you already have the base. You’ve already learned from your mistakes. You already know what works.

So it’s really a matter of putting more time in and seeking out more of the folks who fit your primary and secondary targets.

Gary:

I think it’s like… somebody explained it to me once. It’s like when you get a business started and for those people that remember the old water pump with the big handle? I’ve seen them on telly; they weren’t around when I was a young lad. But you used to have to pump those really hard and fast for a while, you get the water started. But once you actually filled up that pipe and the water was coming through it was very nice and easy and gentle to keep it going and the water would carry on flowing.

Running a business can be very much like that, can’t it? Once you put in that initial effort then you can keep it going along quite smoothly.

David:

That’s a great analogy for it because you have already got that thing flowing. You’ve done the hard part so it’s about tweaking from that point on

Gary:

And good maintenance, really and keeping in touch with those customers, remembering important things about them which is really important.

When people get into business, they often feel they’ve got to sell their product… I think we touched on this when you were talking about   confidence and how you actually present yourself. Can you explain the difference between selling yourself and selling your products and why selling yourself can be so important?

David:

It’s a great question and it reminds me of the phenomenal marketing writer Harry Beckwith, who’s written some great books on service marketing that I think definitely apply to selling jewelry as well. One of his books was Selling the Invisible, that was his first one. He also wrote What Clients Love, which is just a terrific book for jewelry sellers to read; And You Incorporated.

It basically says that people sell things in the wrong order. People tend to sell on the price first then the product then themselves. He’s talking about service marketing but this applies to jewelry as well because the person has to trust you before they buy the jewelry. If they don’t, they may buy it because they still like it. But that’s not going to result in a long-term loyal customer.

Long-term loyal customers result because of their connection with you. So you really want to sell in the opposite order according to Beckwith, than you would think. You want to sell yourself first then the product and the price last; because for artisan jewelry, people aren’t buying it on price.

If you don’t want to spend very much money on jewelry, here in the U.S. you could go to Walmart, Target, or any of the large discount stores and find jewelry while spending almost no money for it. That’s not why people buy artisan jewelry. People buy artisan jewelry because it’s unique, it’s one a kind, it’s handmade, and they get to have a relationship with the artist – that’s key. People love saying to someone who’s admiring their jewelry, “I know the artist who made that.”

So you really want to re-orient how you’re selling, to focus on what you have brought to that jewelry because otherwise, it’s just an object. We associate so much with something that we love that you want to include yourself as a part of that package; something that a lot of jewelry makers are shy about.

I’ve gone to websites at the request of jewelry makers who have asked me to review their site where they don’t have a photograph of themselves. You’re trying to make this personal connection with the customer and they can’t figure out what you look like. So that’s key.

I often advise people not just to include a photograph of yourself but show you interacting with customers; people laughing, smiling, and having a good time. That’s extremely persuasive. Again, it sort of links back to our discussion about low self-esteem among jewelry artists and artists in general; that you want to see yourself as part of what the person is buying – and to feel great about that.

Gary:

That’s a really, really good point there. You’ve been in the industry for a long time now, over 20 years I think, working in this field. Is there one common problem that you’ve come across in that time that you could name and how would you advise people to get past that?

David:

I think the biggest problem is under-pricing their jewelry. Before we started our recording today, you and I were talking about your software Bead Manager Pro and I was sort of testing it out myself; I love it – and that’s a shameless plug for you but I really do. I think it’s fantastic.

A lot of people under-price for all kinds of reasons. There was somebody who came to one of my seminars and she said, “I was selling a piece for $27 and I was sort of happy to get $27 for it. So my husband sat down and broke the piece apart in terms of its components. He didn’t literally take it apart, he just added up everything that was there and said I had $37 worth of components in it. So I was losing $10 every time I sold it.”

Well, that’s what your software does. Part of what it does is sort of helping somebody handle that. Had I known about this software back then, I would’ve suggested that she get a copy of it.

Things like that; jewelry makers just don’t see themselves… I don’t blame them. They’re not attracted really to the counting of things and knowing exactly what went into a piece because that’s counter to the creative mind. The creative mind is the right brain; that supposedly where all the creativity emanates from and the left brain is the logical side. So she really joined up with her husband and he helped her out. But beyond that., I’m not even sure if she had used a formula the resulted in maybe double or triple her component costs would have been the best way to price it.

The truth is, a piece of jewelry is worth what any willing buyer will pay for it. And aiming low out of a fear that your price will be a deterrent is that problem that I’m talking about. They’re so concerned about rejection that they think, “How low can I price this that anybody would buy it without even thinking about it? “ But that ignores the fact that psychologically people associate price with quality.

For example, if people are looking at two very similar pieces of jewelry and price is not an issue for them; they can afford either piece. One is $100 and one is $50. This also depends on which one they saw first. They may think, “Great! I can get the same piece for $50? Half the price? That’s phenomenal.” That’s not the customer you want. You want the customer who says, “$100! Man, that must be a really nice bracelet; really well-made.”

I’ve had this experience and a story about this I often tell is, I was looking for a toaster oven. The average toaster oven today lasts a week. When I was kid, my grandfather had the same toaster my entire life up until the point where he dies, you know? He had for like, 20 years. They don’t make them like they used to; that’s the common expression.

I went to the Consumer Reports website and I did some research on toasters. They had an interesting conclusion and it was that the best toaster was the lowest priced toaster that they tested. But that wasn’t the most popular one. The most popular one was much more expensive. The ultimate conclusion was that people believed that the higher priced toaster was better so they bought that.

I printed out this article; I went to my local Bed Bath & Beyond store to buy the toaster. I was standing there at the toaster display with a couple that looked like… they had the fresh-scrubbed look that looked like they had just gotten married and somebody just plucked them right off of the wedding cake; picture perfect couple.

They were looking at a toaster that must have had a $200 price tag on it and I was about to pick up one that was about $25. As they were reaching for the toaster they wanted – which was on my list as not a good toaster; it did not make toast very well. it made hot bread; slices; it actually browned it.

I said to the couple, “Wait a second. I have the consumer reports article that says that toaster you’re about to pick up for 200 bucks actually doesn’t make toast very well.” They looked at me the way they would curiously look at an animal in the zoo; like I wasn’t talking and I was just a curiosity. They backed away a little bit and they grabbed that toaster and bought it.

So, even as I was trying to present them with evidence that it didn’t do what they were buying it to do, they didn’t care. They wanted to spend $200 on a toaster. I got mine for 25 bucks; works perfectly well, I’m very happy with it. But I don’t have the prestige feeling that I own this popular, exclusive brand.

That has a lot to do with it.

There are people who, when the see a piece of jewelry, the more money it is the more they believe it’s better; it’s higher quality, better components. And because it’s not something people understand very well… I mean, a toaster’s pretty easy to understand and the couple that I saw in Bed Bat & Beyond still bought this overpriced thing that didn’t work. But that’s what they were happy doing.

If you think about it, they spent 8 times what I did an they got an inferior product but they didn’t care. What they cared about was that the price was (in their mind) directly associated with the quality.

If jewelry makers can get over a little bit… (Look, I’m from a jewelry family. I’m from the third generation of my family in the jewelry business. I tell people I was born at night but it wasn’t last night) to really think about this and to feel comfortable and to almost be curious and experiment with it. If I were to charge 50% more, what would happen there? How would that change people’s perception of it? And ho to continue to think about this concept – that it’s worth what a wiling buyer will pay for it because that’s extremely important.

I would say that really, the most common problem that I’ve come across is just people under-pricing their work. I think your software addresses this and I think they can go even further in experimenting because the software lets them do that, with hanging some of the elements that go into it. Because honestly, if you priced it out and it came out to $75, that doesn’t mean you couldn’t get $250 dollars for that ring.

Gary:

A really good word you used there at the end was that perception and perceived value was so important. That’s not to say people should be trying to overcharge for shoddy products.

You want to make sure it is a good quality product because you want to make sure those customers come back again. But the perceived value of something that is quality made can be so much more than even the double mark-up rates that people charge for it. I think that’s a really good point that you made there.

David:

It’s amazing that people feel good when they…

Gary:

…..Spend some money; they like it because they’ve got something to show off for it.

David:

Exactly. For a certain kind of person, when they pay $250 for that ring, that’s an extremely valuable ring to them. And that all by itself is relevant and important to them. They wanted to pay that. Most jewelry makers I know don’t have a gun at their booth where they’re holding people up. They don’t say, “You must buy this or else.”

The reality is, and I think it’s a tough one, in different markets and different places depending on where you are, you’re either going to hit that market or not.

If you go to a flea market, or what I call a parking lot sale; you know, they have them in churches and flea markets that are outside… they have all sorts of names for them here. Sometimes they call it an ‘antique show’; but it’s really all the junk in your basement that you want to get rid of. That’s not a good environment for selling $250 rings.

But in a more exclusive environment where the people are really looking for that special thing, once they see it, once they’re delighted by it, the feel very good about paying for it and that’s they key thing.

Gary:

It’s good to know you can actually make your customers feel better by paying more. That’s really good.

We talked a little bit before about making the best of a bad situation, such as show that maybe didn’t go so well. You were saying that maybe if someone makes some comments about your jewelry, you obviously don’t want to react to that.

Can you elaborate on the a bit more and explain how to turn those bad situations into positive ones?

David:

The best thing that you can do when it’s clear that you’re at the wrong show, if you’re selling at  place where they’re also selling discount sunglasses and bars of soap, things like that… That is not a good spot for an artist and jeweller but that can happen, is to relax a little bit and say, “OK, I’m in a classroom right now and I’m going to study. This is my laboratory.” I’m just going to talk to people and learn; because you can learn a lot from the bargain hunter, too.

You can ask them questions like, are there areas in your life where you’re not seeking bargains? Where you’re not looking for the lowest price? What are those areas? Are there things that you truly value and price doesn’t have anything to do with it? Oftentimes, the person who is a bargain hunter in 99% of their life may have one or two areas where money’s no object.

We all know people like this. They may be incredibly cheap on everything except where they stay when they travel. They don’t like budget hotels. They like to stay in a nice place.

I know people who are excessively cheap about everything except this one food item that the love.

Gary:

Don’t name them here.

David:

No, I’m not going to use brand names but…

Gary:

I meant your friends just in case they ever hear this – don’t name them.

(laughter)

David:

They know who they are.

But there may be one thing. It may be a certain kind of cheese that they like, or a certain kind of oatmeal or whatever it is. They’ll gladly pay up for that. So learning about that person’s mind is extremely important.

The other thing is to talk to other vendors there, and see what their experience has been at other shows, other venues, in other communities, in other towns and learn as much as you can from that.

All of this is in the service of educating yourself about that kind of consumer. Do you want to sell to a bargain hunter? No. They’re not a good customer for artisan jewelry because artisan jewelry cannot compete on price. But that’s not what it should be competing on. It should be competing on value, quality; the fact that it was handmade and it’s unique, things that we’ve already talked about.

So, one way of making the best of a bad show is stop worrying about what you’re not selling and start really talking to people. Take your time, learn as much as you can. You can also use that information to avoid that type of show in the future.

Try and write out as many characteristics or factors about tat show that you think are making it a bad show. Oftentimes when we leave a venue, we don’t remember as much about it as we think we do. We’re typically more confident in our memory than is actually true. So of you’re allowed, take some pictures, take some notes, and in the future when you’re evaluating the show make sure that the components that you feel sure made that show bad don’t exist in the new one.

For example, some people love a show that’s just jewelry makers. Some people don’t. Some people want a show where there’s jewelry, accessories and other artisan level products there. That’s fine. But if it’s birdfeeders, that’s probably not a good show for your jewelry.

Seriously, the most important thing they can do is learn as much about a show before they pay a booth fee. Google the name, see if anything’s been written about it, call vendors who you believe… if you know who was there the prior year or the last time that show was put on, call them and talk to them. Call the promoter and ask them what kind of advertising and marketing they intend to do and how many people were at the last show. There’s disincentive for then to be honest if the show as bad. That’s just the nature of business but definitely learn as much as you can because a lot of people are optimists about a show they’ve never been to before. It’s just a natural human tendency if we don’t have experience about something, to be slightly optimistic about it. They’re hoping for the best. You can hope for the best; you still need to plan for the worst

One piece of advice I gave that I was highly criticized for was that if you’re going to a show and you’re not sure what value people place on artisan jewelry, is to have a small line of manufactured jewelry with you that you did not make, that you will put out of it’ truly a bargain hunter show. Why should you suffer there and sell nothing?

The criticism that I got was from people who said, “You can’t do that! You can’t go to an artisan jewelry show and then put out manufactured jewelry.” They missed my point. I’m not advising people to go to an artisan jewelry show with manufactured jewelry. I’m saying if you wind up at a flea market then you should bust out your manufactured jewelry, put your stuff away and sell, sell, sell, try and recoup some of your investment. There’s no need to be stubborn about it. I know jewelry artists who do that. It’s almost like their emergency kit.

Gary:

Their little bargain basement basket.

David:

The Bargain basement stuff; It’s out there; why not be prepared? I’m not suggesting that anybody present that as handcrafted jewelry. I’m saying take all of your stuff off the table, put that stuff out, and sell it. You’ll learn for the next time.

Gary:

I think that’s really good and it ties up across where we were talking  before, about adding more value and the perceived value of your jewelry and the right audience for that; then realizing, exactly as you say there, when you’re in a different audience that that’s just not going to work in certain situations. So understanding your sales situation is very important. That’s really good.

OK, we’re just going to wrap up. I want to ask you finally, what is your number one success tip for everyone out there?

David:

The number one success tip is to set goals; to be clear about where you want to go. If you went to the airport to fly to California from New York; you got on the plane and the pilot said, “I’m not really sure where we’re going today. We’re just going to get in the air and see what happens.” You’re would try to get off that plane.

Gary:

Yes.

David:

The reality is that in all areas of life we benefit from having goals. The goal there is to fly to California, not all over the country. It’s key, it’s essential to have a sense of where you want to go with your jewelry business.

Is that in terms of numbers, like your profitability or your revenue? That’s fine. If your goal is just to enjoy yourself more selling your jewelry, that’s fine. If your goal is to sell at five more shows or do three more home parties this year, that’s fine.

But without goals, your jewelry selling is sort of like water meandering down a hill towards a stream, without much direction except downhill. I don’t recommend that. I really like people having a focus and some clear goals to direct what they’re doing because you will arrange your behaviour around that.

So if your goal for example is to do five home parties this year; you’re chatting with some friends at the local supermarket and one of them mentions that she’s going to be having some kind of summer party, you might think, OK, that’s an opportunity there to discuss doing that as a jewelry home party.

Without that on your radar screen, you may have let the moment go by without taking advantage of that or discussing it with the person; and I don’t mean that all of your friends have to suffer because you’re trying to market your jewelry. But when you have the goals firmly planted in your mind, in your brain; in your unconscious mind, your brain helps you look for ways to achieve those goal

So I really think that number one success tip is to write them down. Discuss them with friends and family, with your business partner (certainly your business partner); but to discuss it with others to make it public and to hold yourself accountable to it.

Gary:

That’s great. Thank you very much for your time today, David.

For those people who have been listening, if you want to find out some more advice from David, you can go his website Marketingjewelry.com. He’s got a free e-book that you can download which is 50 Great Jewelry Selling Techniques.

Thank you again David, for taking the time to catch up with us today.

David:

Gary, my pleasure. Thank you.

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Is your jewelry making a hobby or a business? If you have decided to take a step further in your beading hobby and have decided to make a career out of it, you may choose to take one of two options. First is to open up your own boutique or even consider setting up your online jewelry store where you can sell your products or you can consign it with established shops and galleries.

Consignment deals can be an easy way to make money out of your designs. It saves you the hassle of doing footwork to get the sales and this works especially well for people who have the gift of art but are not that inclined in the selling side. At the same time though, finding a good place or person to consign to and managing this relationship can be very tough.

In every business move you first have to make the initial decision. In this case, you probably have already made the decision to turn your hobby into a business. Now you have to make the decisions that directly involve your business such as how you want to operate it.

To help in your decision-making process, it is important that you do a lot of research. What are the pros and cons of consignment? If you do decide to consign, which stores would you most likely be partnering with. When determining this, make sure that your jewelry style is consistent with that of the store. Otherwise, their patrons would not be the same people who are more likely to be attracted to your designs. You should also compare the prices of that store against those of your products. You don’t want to sell really high-end ones in a store that caters to, say, teenagers. The next step would be to talk to the owner or the manager of the store. See if this person actually has the personality that would allow you two to work together.

There are those people however who generally advise against consignment. The main factor is that you don’t get to see cash right away after your product is hold. Essentially, it is being tied up in inventory. It is very risky but then again risk always comes with something that is potentially profitable. Just be sure to keep a tight record of which shops got which products and to have a steady stream of information between you and the shopkeepers. A good working relationship always makes wonders for a business. The more organized you are and the better you keep track of everything in your business, the higher probability that you will succeed. If you are serious about your jewelry business then it is essential that you learn how to maximize profits using jewelry software.

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Technorati Tags: consider consignment deals, jewely consignments, selling jewelry

Almost everyone in your circle of friends knew how you love and enjoy making beaded jewelries. They always appreciate you wearing your own pieces of beaded jewelries and would love to wear the same. Yes, they love it when you give your beaded jewelry as a gift or a present. And you were highly regarded by your friends because of your jewelry pieces. They want you to produce more and they are willing to buy those pieces for a price.

Now, what will you do? Don’t panic because it’s an opportunity for you to empty those boxes containing beaded jewelries you made and accumulated for months but most of them you haven’t use at all! Because you love to make beaded jewelry, you haven’t notice how much you were able to produce for a short period of time. Selling your own creation is the right thing to do to put those wonderful creations to use and in return you earn some good money out of it. This will also make your friends and buyers happy while enjoying making some more.

To be able to sell your own beaded jewelry, sort them and plan how you are going to present it well to your friends or buyers. If your pieces need some retouch then do it by finding the right material and tool to use. Plan a simple garage exhibit to showcase your beaded jewelry. You may also join trade fairs where you can showcase your jewelry pieces. It may take a while to learn the best way on how to sell your handmade jewelry, different locations will bring different types of clients.

If you join a trade fair, displaying your own beaded jewelry side by side with other beaded jewelry products is really challenging. You need to show your craftsmanship both in your jewelry creations and the way you present it to the public. Don’t use a cloth to wrap it. Be creative and use other available, trendy, and fit to use material that adds uniqueness and visual appeal to each piece of beaded jewelry you make. Likewise, do the same with your display. You can create levels for both horizontal and vertical display. Make your display look easy and fresh on the eyes of buyers. Don’t overload the space. Choose the right color of your display’s background that will highlight the beauty of each jewelry piece you have for sale. Plan the lay out of your display. Those unique pieces of jewelry you made can help market your other pieces of beaded jewelry if you place them in front of others to attract buyers to your booth. Don’t forget to have a nice art cards describing each piece like the type of stones or beads; type and grade of metal, and suggest what type of occasions that piece would be fit to use. Jewelry trends change constantly so keep an eye out for any jewelry display update that will help you keep your displays fresh and enticing.

Lastly, don’t forget to give out calling cards to interested buyers to get some orders, why not? You can even use your hang tags for your jewelry as calling cards to save money.

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Technorati Tags: beaded jewelry, beaded jewelry creations, beaded jewelry selling, jewelry creations, sell beaded jewelry, selling jewelry

Customer’s satisfaction is a great compliment to your handmade jewelry business as well as you as an artist. Most customers buy a specific jewelry item depending on their mood. And because you are the seller, you have the responsibility to know what jewelry matches the mood of your customers, ask what their purpose is, and do a quick analysis of what type of person they are so you can suggest the perfect jewelry designs for them. Doing jewelry making; teenage jewelry designs, precious gems, handmade glass beads and all the other types of creations that you are good at is only half the art.

The mistake that a lot of home jewelers make is not asking the question, is good customer service important? Good customer service is not only providing jewelry on time as per the order, but being able to offer pieces of jewelry by reading a customer will go a long way in ensuring that they always come back to your store or booth. You must be careful in suggesting a piece of jewelry simply for the sake of making a profit. It that customer goes home and then decides that it was not a good purchase and they do not like the item anymore, chances are that they will not come back to you. You have to make sure that the piece of jewelry suits them and will look so good on them that many people will comment and let them feel good about wearing your designs. Knowledge is an advantage for your business, not only a knowledge of how to make jewelry, but also a knowledge of what pieces suite individual people.

If your customer is a casual kind of person, suggest a light gemstone jewelry or custom gemstone beaded jewelry. Be sure to have a collection of this exquisite gemstone beaded jewelry in different colors and designs to match the wardrobe of your customer. Diamond studded earrings or diamond hoops can add a sparkle look to your customer, and she can wear these on all occasions or everyday with every dress that she prefers. This type of jewelry can spice up a casual personality.

You can also suggest diamond jewelry or hand crafted cheap pearl jewelry to those customers who prefer to wear tiptop dresses. Your customer will look stunningly beautiful with the spectacular shine of diamond jewelry.

If your customer wants to look good with shimmering silver jewelry, of course suggest your fashion sterling silver jewelry items. This type of jewelry can go well with all types of dresses, and this is in fact the favorite choice from ancient times.

If your customer will be attending evening functions and parties, you should suggest some eye-catching jewelry that can magnify her beauty. You can present adorable titanium amethyst jewelry, glitter gold jewelry, antique silver jewelry, black or white diamond jewelry, platinum jewelry, or sparkling gemstones. These types of jewelries can zest the inner self-esteem of your customer while wearing this wonderfully designed jewelry.

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Technorati Tags: choosing jewelry, how to choose jewelry, How to Sell Jewelry, selling jewelry, selling jewelry advice, undersatanding how to sell jewelry

Putting hanging tags on your home-made jewelry is a great way of showing your effort at making them, whether they are for selling or for giving to friends. You can put the name of your business, your full name as its owner, contact information, and other important details. This is one good technique for a potential buyer to contact you easily. Some hang tags that are commonly used are business cards, rubber stamps, computer cards, and printed basic cards. If you also sell jewelry supplies like handmade glass beads then put all the beads in a packet and tie your tag to the packet, that way you can still give your contact details to your customers. As a start up jewelry business finding a good sales rep may not be a concern at the moment for you due to budget issues, so at this stage hang tags are your sales representative. If budget is an issue they don’t have to be fancy as long as you are getting you name out there as a jeweler.

Hang tag business cards are commonly used by beginners not just in the jeweler’s field but also in some other fields of small businesses. You can create your own hang tag business card by cutting a thick card stock into whatever shape you wish to create. Paste your business card on top of the card and use needles to punch a hole. Some crafters punch holes directly through their business cards and hang the jewelry from them. This is a good money saving tip in customizing your small business.

Another option is to use rubber stamps. If you want to hang your home-made finished earrings from this rubber stamp, you can use a straight pin to punch holes through them. There are some very nice stamps that have different designs. However, be careful when using stamps to add designs on your tags because there are now lots of stamps that have copyright restrictions. But, of course there are still those that you can use for free.

You can also use your computer to create a card from a word program. You will need some perforated business card paper. You can choose from a large assortment of designs and colors. Just follow the instructions on your word processing program when printing out the cards.

If you want to make your work easier and faster, you can try the printed basic cards. Just go to the nearest printing press and have your next group of cards printed. However, before going there and having your cards printed, make sure that you have included all the necessary information to prevent any delay.

Far too many people worry about how to overcome the downside of selling handmade crafts, the major downside for most people is that they don’t get enough sales to continue their business; hang tags are a cheap effective way of ensuring new and repeat customers.

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Technorati Tags: business tips for jewelers, jewelry marketing tips, promoting your jewelry, selling jewelry

When you experience the fun and excitement in making jewelries, how much more when you are now in the process of selling them? This is cool experience, having some fun plus earning money, I bet you agree. There are some ways on how to sell your handmade jewelry items while having some fun. One of the most common is the outdoor craft show. It is important to try identifying the clients at each craft show so choosing perfect beads for bracelet and necklace items are more focused for that specific show.

Outdoor craft show is fun activity to showcase all your handmade jewelries. This is a great opportunity for you to present the uniqueness and creativity of your design to other people. However, you have to first make sure that it is a good time for putting up the show, some of your consideration is the weather. That is why always anticipate other things that might happen, be prepared! Here are the tips that will make you well prepared:

• Tent or canopies are commonly used in outdoor craft shows. They served as shed from the heat of the sun and from rain. But, if it’s not raining nor the heat of the sun is not bad, don’t disregard the blow of the wind. So always prepare a material that can weight down you canopy or tent. Material weights such as paint cans filled with heavy things, cinder blocks, and jugs filled with water, and sometimes these weight materials need to be hanging in your canopy.
• Before leaving, don’t forget to bring hammer, nails, wire or string, rope, and small pieces of woods. Just to be secured, you want the display boards and tables securely hammered.
• Make sure to keep all other stock safe from water and sawdust. Keep them in water sealed bags and containers, jewelries that are on cards can be damaged if they are wet.
• If possible put your jewelry item such us earrings on display boards or frame. This is an easy and quicker way when packing in case of unexpected storm and tornado. Keep an eye out for any jewelry display update that may give you fresh ideas on displaying your jewelry.

Though it sounded quite not fun for a craft show, however this can really make sense if you’re up to your knees with uncooperative weather. Never the less, you can feel the fun, joy, and excitement whether the weather is good or bad. There’s no harm in preparing, expect the unexpected things, you will never know. Always pack more hang tags for your jewelry than you will need, they come in handy as business cards that you can pass out if things are quiet.

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Technorati Tags: craft show tips, marketing your jewelry at craft shows, selling handmade jewelry, selling jewelry, showcasing your jewelry

When your studio starts to look like a dragon’s treasure stash, it’s time to start selling your handmade jewelry! Why not? You’ve been making jewelry for some time now, and all your friends and family have hinted they have all the jewelry they need for now. You’re so addicted to the relaxation and enjoyment of creating lovely pieces of jewelry that there is no way you can, or want to, stop. It’s really time to make your hobby pay for itself and earn some cash for yourself, too. It is time to turn your jewelry making into a profitable hobby.

Assigning prices to your jewelry can be fun once you know the basics of how to do it. Use these three steps as you guideline.

• Add the costs of the materials and tools for the pieces you want to sell.

• Pay yourself for your time and labor. Your hourly rate need not be extravagant. To start, $10 an hour, although it may seem low, is a good place to start. You can give yourself a raise once your business is off the ground.

• Since you work from your home, your overhead expenses may not be much, but don’t ignore them. Overhead expenses include a business phone line, costs of utilities rental fees for booths at crafting fairs and shows, and web site rental and maintenance fees if you decide to have a web site or open an e-Bay shop. The best way to estimate these costs is to allow one quarter of the sum of your other costs.

From here on, keep records of all of the above expenses, plus any extra costs, such as shipping costs on orders for supplies, office equipment and business-related software . Keep all invoices and receipts, and be sure to record your time and wage for each jewelry item.

If you’re thinking of starting your jewelry business by opening a shop outside your home, you may want to reconsider. It takes a great deal of hard work and time—not to mention money from your own pocket—before you will see any monetary rewards. Why not start small, first? You can make your community aware of your jewelry business, and quite likely build a solid customer base before you even open your shop doors! Here are a few inexpensive, but profitable venues to try.

Home Jewelry Parties: This is one of the least expensive, fun and profitable bases from which to start your home-based jewelry business. You can host the party yourself or have someone you know host it for you. Invite several people, serve refreshments and show off your jewelry to your guests. Let the guests try on the jewelry, and provide mirrors large enough to allow them to see how well a necklace fits. Have a receipt book and plenty of cash change on hand, because you’re sure to sell some of your beautiful jewelry items!

Fairs and Festivals are great places for novices in the business of making and selling jewelry to learn the ropes. With vast exposure to customers and other artisans, you’re sure to pick up a few tips for making your business a success. Customers may so impressed by your lovely work that they ask for custom-made jewelry, or contact information to share with family and friends. Other jewelry crafters are good sources of business contacts, such as how to source the best wholesale jewelry, setting up your online jewelry store, and for learning new design ideas and the most popular current trends in jewelry and other accessories. The overhead is low and the profits are usually quite satisfying, if not downright lucrative!

Online Jewelry Shops are relatively low-overhead/high exposure venues for selling jewelry without leaving your home. You can join an online shops network that specializes in jewelry and accessories, or build your own web site shop. Online auctions are immensely popular, and generate tremendous exposure! E-Bay shops are one of the most cost-effective ways of displaying your jewelry, especially since e-Bay has such a vast customer base.

Home jewelry parties, virtual shops and auctions and crafts fairs are the best ways to build your home-based jewelry business. You can try concentrating on just one, or combine two or all three venues for maximum profit. Once you learn how to sell your jewelry, you may still want to open a brick and mortar shop or boutique, but then again, you may be so hooked on the fun, excitement and excellent profits you can earn by using the above methods that you may never consider having a “real” shop again!

Technorati Tags: How to Sell Handmade Jewelry, How to Sell Jewelry, Sell Handmade Jewelry, selling handmade jewelry, selling jewelry