How to Sell Jewelry Online: Tips from Jewelry Store Owners

19 min read

You know what they say: “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend.” Well, in this instance, things are a bit different. Diamonds, and all types of other jewelry, have become a seller’s best friend, especially now.

If you’re looking to sell jewelry, you’ve picked a great time to get started. The marketing world has shifted to a primarily digital format, meaning it’s become easier than ever to learn how to sell jewelry.

At first, you might think of those gleaming shops in the mall or the various specialty jewelry shops sitting around in your local downtown sprawl. They’ve always been around since you were young and always have these amazing, ornate displays of various jewel-laden trinkets just waiting to be bought for that special someone.

With the advent of ecommerce becoming the centralized platform to sell jewelry, outlets to sell jewelry are now only a click away.

A Gem in the Making — Entering the Market

Ecommerce has been steadily growing since the early 2000s. Online buying and selling have become the main form of business. After all, the internet has made it more convenient than ever for someone to find their own place online and set up shop.

Think of online markets such as eBay and Amazon. They each facilitate pages and pages of seemingly endless products, ranging from the most lavish of diamonds to a simple pair of cotton socks. They offer spaces for both sponsored and private trading, with eBay offering a more privatized arena for trading, auctions, exchanges, as well as buying and selling. The push towards a more digital format for places to sell jewelry has also become more prevalent than ever.

The community of buyers and sellers is vast and diverse. It consists of people looking to get rid of old jewelry from times past that is simply cluttering up their drawers, closets, or shelves. It extends all the way up to people who have spent their life devoted to selling jewelry, providing some of the rarest of artisan handcrafted accessories that might someday land themselves on the neck of a celebrity or any renowned figure.

The pool of resources is as vast as the internet is. Approaching something this expansive and constantly growing might seem intimidating at first. No reason to fret, though. In a vast ecommerce market that hosts hundreds upon hundreds of billions of dollars in sales every year, there is plenty of space for someone looking to learn how to sell jewelry. Let’s tackle a look at where to sell jewelry and how to get in on a shining gem of a market.

Crystal Focus — How to Stand Out

It is a constantly shifting market with plenty of potential to make as much of a profit as you could lose. Don’t let this deter you, though. It’s certainly worth trying to get your piece of the pie. Take a look at these brief reasons to get invested in trying to sell jewelry:

It’s small, meaning that it is easy and cheap to ship. With many of the transactions you will be facing happening online, this is a key factor in the cost and potential profit yield. Considering that each piece of jewelry on average yields a range of 25% to 75% in profit. This certainly offsets the cost if anything it will take to ship out those gleaming wares to the next customer.
Diversity is the name of the game. Thinking of an ornate brooch from the 1950s? That’s jewelry. A diamond ring from 10 years ago? That’s jewelry. A cute bead bracelet from a young relative? While it may not seem like it at first, that counts as jewelry. When learning how to sell jewelry, it is necessary to understand that there’s no reason to be pigeonholed in any one genre or product type when you’re just starting out. Let specialization take shape over time—if it’s necessary.
There are plenty of places to source your supply from, whether it be your local thrift shop ranging all the way to the Bulgari at the local mall (capital permitting, of course). With an ecommerce market this big, there will be no shortage of places to start accruing a dedicated supply of wares from.

Where to Sell Jewelry

The best option for any newcomer who wants to sell jewelry is to set up their own website to distribute their wares from. Websites to sell jewelry may seem a little too populated to think it’s a good idea to make your own. After all, oversaturation is a common concern of anyone trying to get their foot in the door of an already massive market.

There’s no need to worry, though, as everyone was once in your shoes. The best way to get your own website set up is to find one of the many content management systems, or CMSs. These are excellent partners that the ecommerce world has to offer. These CMS companies will give you all the tools necessary to set up the perfect online shop, with tons of tools and widgets to accurately display what your goal is and what your business is about.

The best part? Most of them are completely free!

How to Start Selling Jewelry — Step by Step

Step1. Find your niche

Think of something that customers can buy only from you. It doesn’t have to be an intricate handmade product. But when looking at one of your products, people shouldn’t think they’re able to make it themselves or buy it somewhere else.

Experienced handmade sellers advise focusing on the target audience. You should picture your customers and understand who are you selling to. It’s not just “women 21-45 years old”. Think of their lifestyle: how they spend time, where they go out, what they wear. Your accessories must match that specific lifestyle.

30%: of the annual income jewelry sellers get during the holidays (10% more than an average seller)

Jewelry is best sold during the holiday season. Historically, rings, bracelets, and necklaces make perfect gifts, so keep that in mind when thinking of what to sell. Try to create something you’d personally be glad to give your friends for the holidays. If you are not sure yet, your collections can be built around holiday themes in your first year. This is a safe start.

Your success formula is high quality + clear difference from competitors.

A huge product variety doesn’t mean you’ll necessarily have more customers. Some brands sell a single collection of a few items and earn more than those with hundreds of products. So don’t hurry to fill your store with lots of products.

Step 2. Create a collection

Essentially, you’ll have to:

Gather ideas
Choose the main theme
Draw the mockup
Create samples

Pinterest is great for searching for ideas. You can find popular products in your niche, understand how people wear them, and discover what competitors do about it.

Collect as many ideas as you can — don’t let criticism scare away your inspiration. When you get enough ideas, you’ll be able to notice patterns and make connections. Then it’s time to think of a theme.

This collection “To the Moon and Back” is devoted to the mystery of space

Write down your ideas and connect them to the jewelry types. Homogeneous sets work fine, for example, the classic combination of “necklace + ring + earrings”.

Devote your collections to cartoon characters

Don’t create a lot of products at once: start with a few samples. That way you’ll be able to test the demand and improve the quality of your products.

Step 3. Come up with a business plan

“Come on, I just make bracelets!” you may say. But a business plan differentiates a craftsman from a business owner. As soon as you write your business plan, you’ll get the feeling of owning a real business. It’s not just handmade jewelry anymore – it’s your income.

A business plan is a must-have if you want someone to invest in your business. As a handmade seller, you’d probably do well on your own, but who knows? If your collection strikes the market, you’ll start finding yourself surrounded by potential partners.

Stick to the business plan instruction in 2 parts:

Step 4. Create your brand name

There should be a story behind your brand name. People buy from people, so make the name reflect your personality. Check out available domain names, because you’ll want your brand name and your domain name to be the same.

“Long Cats” store takes a brand idea of a cat playing with a bracelet

Choose the name thoroughly and thoughtfully, so you don’t have to change it in a couple of months. It will always – or at least for a long time – be associated with your handmade products and you. If it’s hard to come up with a name, skip this stage, and take on financial matters first.

Learn more:

Step 5. Create your logo

Your logo is as important as the name. It must stand out and stick in one’s memory. It also should correlate with the style of your products.

Long Cat logo

It doesn’t have to be something extraordinary and super expensive — you’d better have a simple, minimalistic logo than no logo at all. Your customers may share pictures of your packages on social media, and your logo will be working for you.

You sure have some creative vision, since you make all these wonderful handmade products. If you don’t trust yourself on this matter, hire a professional.

Learn more: How to Create an Awesome Logo for Your Brand

Step 6. Think of your brand style

Brand style is not just about the color of your website background and the craft paper you use for wrapping. It is your exclusiveness in every detail.

You can always think of a twist, a small hook that’ll catch customers’ attention. For example, send candy or a handwritten note with every order. It will cost you next to nothing, but customers will remember it.

Learn more: 4 Tips to Maximize the Impact of Handwritten Notes

Step 7. Find wholesale suppliers

When you created handmade things just for your friends and yourself, you were able to afford purchases at the nearest craft store. But now you are at a professional level, production will grow at an exponential rate. It’s time to consider wholesale buying at reasonable prices.

You might need some advice on how to find suppliers. Keep in mind that your ability to provide clients with products in time depends on the regularity of supplies. Arrange long-term cooperation with suppliers. When setting up a contract, study it in great detail, so you won’t have problems later.

Read our guide on finding a reliable AliExpress supplier.

Step 8. Simplify your work

If you have been thinking about a new bead loom for a long time but have doubts about making an expensive purchase, then you should know — the time is now. Outdated equipment won’t keep up with a growing production level.

You can never predict how many orders you’ll get in your first week, but there’s a chance sales will fall on you right after you share your first creation on social media (this happened to another Ecwid merchant, Ali). It’ll be much easier for you to make your products with equipment. And it may also improve the quality.

There are so many techniques for jewelry-making that we can’t share the exact set of equipment you’ll need. So be rational. Your business plan (which you’ve already written) will show if you really need to get in debt to buy new equipment, or if the old equipment is good enough till the first income.

Step 9. Choose your wrapping

Oh, the beautifully crafted packages! Sometimes they bring as much joy as the product inside. Pretty wrapping is the first joy the customer gets from the purchase. It’s much more pleasant to carefully unwrap a sandpapery package or open a box than it is to see a boring t-shirt bag.

You can even make your own stamp with the logo and give your parcels a wax seal. Let your imagination run free, and clients will write enthusiastic reviews on your wonderful product presenting. And they will never forget who sent them this beauty.

Show how your products are packed — people often buy jewelry for gifts

Step 10. Create your store

Now comes the “official” part — it’s time to create your store! How to get through it, if you have zero knowledge of software code and don’t have friends who are ready to take on this project for a bottle of lemonade?

Luckily, nowadays many things can be done based on the DIY principle. To open an online store with a cart and a shop window, you’ll need just a couple of hours of your free time. Using Ecwid, you can create a free online store on an Instant Site or add it to your existing website (e.g. if you’ve been blogging for a while already) or even to your Facebook page.

Primitive Riches is a Facebook store built with Ecwid

Sell on marketplaces and in pop-up stores to get famous among the locals. The Ecwid mobile app will help you control inventory wherever you are — it’s especially important if you sell products in single copies.

Step 11. Take pictures of your products

No great pictures means no chances to survive on the market. No chance. At all.

Pictures serve the same purpose to your website visitors as a sales assistant does in an offline store. They say: “Look at this beautiful color scheme, this unusual design. Check out the high quality and how fancy it looks on a hand/ears/a neck/a foot.”

Your pictures should show products in detail and give an idea of how to wear your jewelry. So don’t limit yourself to one picture per product: shoot the product from different angles and in different combinations.

Creates looks with your jewelry

Check out these two articles that can help you to make beautiful pictures:

Step 12. Write product descriptions

Add descriptions to your expressive photos. Tell what the product is made of, why this material is better, what it goes well with, where to wear it, what the size is. The most important thing is to persuade customers that without your turquoise bracelet their life will be dull and tasteless. Read our guide to great product descriptions.

Try to provide every detail, especially if you sell premium products like this store

Step 13. Create store accounts on social media

You can do this before you open your store to increase the interest of curious visitors.

Instagram works great for all things beautiful. Create an account with your brand name and post inspiring product photos.

It is even better to post pictures of yourself, your friends, and clients wearing or using your products. Let potential customers see how to wear/use your products and how they look in real life. You can also run contests for the best look with your creations.

Constantly Look for Inspiration

You have your style, and you probably already have your customer base, who likes what you make. Go on! The changing market shuts out those who make no headway, and lets in more active and creative competitors.

Subscribe to the Instagram accounts of popular handmade sellers, check out Pinterest, and just pay attention to people in the streets and all things around you. That way you will be aware of the new trends and find new ideas to fulfill them in your own manner.

Now you’re almost ready to open your store. There are just a couple of steps left, and your life may change forever. Sounds like a movie or a book quote, doesn’t it? However, this reality can be yours in just a couple of months if you start to fulfill your dreams right now. Good luck!