We supply a lot of Jewellery Party businesses. Some of them are successful, and have been buying from us for years; some are just starting out on their own after having worked as a consultant for one of the big party plan companies; and others are on their last legs, on the brink of closing down their business due to poor sales and lack of interest.

All are buying the same products from us at the same prices. So why do some succeed where others fail?

There are three areas where Jewellery Party organisers go wrong. They are:

1. Over pricing
2. Sourcing only the cheapest of jewellery
3. Not changing stock often enough

Failing in any one of these areas will put a serious dampener on your profits. Failing in more than one will lead to the demise of your business. Let’s look at each of these in more detail.

1. Over Pricing

The most common mistake made by new jewellery party organisers is to charge too much for their products. Your price should never be based on what similar items sell for in a Jewellers on the high street, or in a display cabinet at Next or River Island. It should be based on the price you paid for the item, plus any additional expenses that detract from your overall profit.

For example, say you purchase 5 of the above bracelet from us. The cost price per item is £2.31, and when VAT and shipping costs are added, you’ll be looking at just over £3 per bracelet. Charging £15-£18 at your first jewellery party may seem like a good idea, and you may very well sell one to a sister-in-law or a friend from work, but you’ll never sell another to the same person.

Far better to charge a more enticing £7-£8. Yes, your profit per item will be considerably less, but you’ll be selling far more. Which is better: two items earning £12 profit each, or fifteen items earning £5 profit each? And once you start pricing your jewellery well, the same people will return to buy from you next time, and chances are they’ll bring some friends along too.

Over pricing is a fatal and all too common mistake. When your early parties are attended by family and friends who feel obligated to buy something from you, it’s easy to miss.

2. Sourcing Only Cheap Jewellery

Our necklaces range in price from as little as £1.50 to over £7. Every now and then, a new customer comes along and places an order for 30-40 items, all priced around the £1.50 mark. The number of items purchased is just enough to pass our £45 minimum order size, and they only buy one of each item. We know we’ll never hear from this person again.

It’s not that our cheap items don’t sell, they certainly do - our bracelets are amongst our best sellers, and the same customers regularly come back for more. It’s that your customers want to see quality, expensive items mixed in with the cheap and cheerful lines. By all means, buy the cheap items and sell them for a fiver each, but you need to mix up your display with different styles at different prices.

The above necklace sells for £5.35, looks completely different to our cheaper lines, and could easily be sold on for £15+.

3. Not Changing Stock Often Enough

Sterling Silver Jewellery is timeless. Whether it’s a ring, a pendant, or a pair of earrings, last years fashions will look just as good this year. The same cannot be said for Costume Jewellery. We estimate that costume jewellery has an in-fashion life span of about 4-6 months, which is why we bring in new lines so frequently and never restock sold out items. What was popular last year, simply will not sell this year. What sells well in the summer will not sell in the winter.

You need to change and update your stock frequently. Just because a particular range sold well the last time you gave a party in Guildford, does not mean they will sell well this time. If you try to sell the same items to the same people again and again, your party attendances will get smaller and smaller.

Time after time we hear from customers who bought items from us months ago, asking us when we will be getting more of a necklace or bracelet. The answer is, we won’t, and neither should you. As a jewellery party organiser, you should be telling your customers what’s fashionable, not expecting them to tell you. You should be setting the trends, not hawking last years fashions.

There is nothing wrong with the jewellery party industry - it’s still going strong, despite all the doom and gloom we hear about the economy. If your party attendances are dwindling; if your customers are simply not buying, or are only buying the cheapest items; if your hostesses from months ago are not inviting you back; chances are it’s your fault.

Look to your pricing, and look to your stock. Are you over priced? Are you buying only cheap items? Are you bringing in fresh designs and colours?

Other useful links:

How to make that party a success
How to get the most from your Jewellery displays
Sourcing that Jewellery Party Stock

One of the most important elements in running a successful wholesale business is knowing who your customers are, and this is even more crucial when most of those customers buy online. The days of large wholesale companies sending sales reps out to bricks and mortar shops is fast fading. While it’s true that many of the more established wholesalers have yet to realise this, online selling, and the new opportunities it has opened up for independent retailers, has changed all this.

We only sell wholesale online, and have no showroom, no industrial sized warehouse, and no team of salesmen driving company cars up and down the country. It is for this reason that we are able to sell at the prices we do.

The great downside of selling in this manner is that we never get to meet our customers face to face. Even speaking to them on the telephone is a rarity, as most communication is carried out by email. As such, it takes a lot more effort to ferret out any real information about them. A yahoo.com email account and a residential shipping address tell us next to nothing beyond their geographic location, and buyers are notoriously cagey about their own businesses.

So who are we selling to in the UK jewellery world?

1. Small Independent Shops.
We don’t have any large chains on our books, and have no desire to seek them out. But smaller retail establishments are another matter entirely, and by this I don’t mean regular jewelers. A whole range of shops from fashion boutiques to shoe shops sell small amounts of jewellery to compliment their primary business. The problem is, the amount of jewellery they sell, whether watches, rings, or necklaces, does not compare to the larger High Street jewelers, and as such, they often have difficulty dealing direct with jewellery wholesalers.Buying online gives these retailers the opportunity to source low volumes of stock from many different suppliers, without entering into any long term agreements, and without having to take the time out of their day to visit warehouses in distant cities. Most of our sales to these sorts of clients come during the evening, after the shops have closed and the business day has ended.

2. Jewellery Party Planners
When we began selling wholesale, jewellery party planners were amongst our earliest clients, and at the time it was an industry we knew very little about. The vast majority of women who organise jewellery parties work through larger companies such as Virgin Vie in the UK and Lia Sophia in the US. There are however, a small number of more entrepreneurial and ambitious woman who are prepared to take a little more risk, bypassing these companies entirely and sourcing their stock direct.

The advantages of this approach are that they are not tied to working for a single company, or to buying their stock from only one source. More variety, purchased direct from wholesalers at varying prices, leads to greater profits. On the back of our experiences with these clients, we’ve put together a Jewellery Party page, where we offer some tips on how to make the most from your parties.

3. Professional Market Traders
Wholesale companies do not like selling to market traders. I have no idea why this is the case, as our experience has shown these same traders to be very professional and easy to do business with. This bias against market traders benefits no one and has led to many traders seeking alternate sources for their jewellery stock. Their busiest times of year seem to be the summer months, when outdoor music festivals and similar events are hosted across the UK, and of course, the weeks leading up to Christmas.

The volume of stock sold by traders at these events is often higher than a high street shop boasts at their busiest time of year, which makes the attitude of many wholesalers all the more incomprehensible.

4. Car Boot Sellers
Alongside the full time traders, weekend sellers who ply their wares at car boot sales across the country have proven to be an unexpected source of business. Though the amount of stock they buy is significantly lower than their more professional counterparts, there is a consistency in how they order. Many wholesalers impose a large minimum order size that turns these buyers away, but we’ve found that once this order size is dropped to more enticing levels, they begin to place regular orders.

On the negative side, along with market traders, these buyers are almost fully dependant on weather conditions for the success of their business. The recent flooding across the UK had a major impact on the frequency of their orders.

5. eBay Sellers
In terms of setting up a small business, it doesn’t get any easier than eBay. Anyone, anywhere, can set up an eBay business, but not everyone does so successfully. The key to succeeding in the long term lies in sourcing stock at affordable prices. When eBay and PayPal fees are taken into account, this becomes even more important. We’ve often found our own stock appearing in eBay shops just days after it was dispatched, selling at high markups. As with car boot traders, eBay sellers tend to buy low volumes of stock frequently, waiting to see what sells and what doesn’t before purchasing more.

When you know who your customers are, it makes buying new stock that little bit easier. Jewellery Party Planners buy far more fashion necklaces than other buyers, while market traders do not buy large volumes of rings (far too easy to steal, we’ve been told). Being able to target these different types of buyers direct rather than relying on generic ‘catch all’ marketing is a huge advantage.

We’d be interested to hear from any buyers who fall into categories not mentioned above. Do you sell your jewellery in a way we haven’t heard of? Or do you find that our range of stock is lacking in some key area?

What is the difference between an Apple Store and a Currys Superstore? Visiting one is a pleasure and visiting the other is a chore. Buying an iPod in an Apple Store is as much about the buying experience as it is about the iPod, whereas buying a TV or a stereo in Currys is hard work.

Yet the Apple Store sells less than 10% of the stock on offer at a similarly sized Currys, and they only sell one brand. There’s no big secret here - it’s all about the display, and how that display creates an experience that makes people want to buy.

As a jewellery seller, you too can create a more enticing buying experience. It doesn’t matter if you own a small shop, or sell in people’s homes in the evening out of plastic bags - by showing your goods at their best, and making it as easy as possible for people to try them on, you encourage them to buy.

Trickery doesn’t come into it - you’re not fooling people into buying something they don’t want. What you are doing is removing some of the barriers that may prevent them from buying in the first place. The other day I was browsing some jewellery auctions on eBay, and something struck me about many of the auctions I visited: I was unable to work out if I actually liked any of the jewellery on offer. Now, chances were that much of that jewellery was good stock, in fashionable or contemporary designs, but the quality of the displays and images were such that I simply could not decide.

And this does not only happen in the online world. Not long ago, walking through one of Ireland’s larger indoor markets, I was drawn to a small stall tucked away in a corner. The stall owner was selling Ikita jewellery, and every single necklace was sitting in a large pile on a flat table - tightly wrapped in plastic. Despite the popularity of Ikita, no one was stopping; and no one was stopping because most people didn’t even realise he was selling jewellery. With a proper display, and a little effort, this could have been the most popular stall in the market. Instead, the owner packed up and went home early, probably never to return - no doubt telling his friends that Irish women just weren’t interested in jewellery.

So how do you display your goods to their best advantage?

There are two things to know when it comes to setting up your display: Firstly, you need some props, and secondly, you must give yourself enough time. If you’re planning a jewellery party that kicks off at 8pm, get there by 7, and spend that extra hour laying out your stock so it looks as attractive as possible.

A whole industry exists to make this easier for you. Whether you’re selling necklaces, bracelets, earrings, or rings, careful use of props can present them in such a way that will remove indecisiveness from your buyers. Be sure to take everything out of its plastic wrapping, and get that same wrapping out of sight, preferably under a chair somewhere. Necklaces should be displayed on proper necklace stands that allow people to picture them around their own necks.

Bracelet displays should show each piece from many different angles, giving buyers the opportunity to see how they hang from a wrist, as well as how they compare to other styles. Do remember to make it easy for your customers to try on each item.

Earring displays are often forgotten, but it is very important for people to be able to see how they hang. Unlike bracelets and necklaces, they are rarely tried on, so your display must present a good picture of how they would look when worn.

Displaying rings is relatively straight forward, and because they are so small, setting up a large and varied display is not difficult.

The props shown in the photos above can be built up over time, and the decision as to which should be used for a particular display is something that will get easier as you gain more experience. I would suggest however, that you not overdo it - start small, and work up. Very large, cluttered displays, are almost as bad as no display at all.

Over time, we’ve built up a lot of contacts in the jewellery business, as we sourced stock, packaging, and displays from various suppliers. If you’re looking to purchase display props similar to those above, we’d recommend a Birmingham based company called Talbots. Their website is small and does not carry a full stock list, but their catalogue is comprehensive and contains all the information you might need before deciding which props are for you.

Careful use of props and elegant displays can have a major impact on sales, but it doesn’t stop there. Once the sale is made, you have a final opportunity to impress your customer and make them want to come back for more. This opportunity lies in how you pack your goods.

Do you normally drop those sterling silver necklaces into a paper bag and move on to the next customer? Why not box the necklace instead? There are a whole range of packaging options available to you, with different boxes and bags designed specifically for rings, necklaces, and bracelets, in many different styles and colours. And they do not cost an arm and a leg either. Again, these items can all be purchased from the supplier mentioned above - one more reason to get your hands on that catalogue.

The question you should ask yourself, is how do you want your customers to look at you and your business? Do you want them to see you as a Currys Superstore - cheap, drab, and crowded - somewhere they really don’t want to go? Or do you want them to picture you as an Apple Store - elegant, tasteful, and a pleasure to visit.

We like to know who our customers are. When it comes time to restock or source new lines of fashion jewellery, the more we know about our buyers and their businesses, the better able we are to meet their needs.

Over the past year, it’s become clear to us that we attract different sorts of buyers in different countries. In Ireland we sell to a lot of market traders and small independent shops - in Denmark there ARE no market traders. And in the UK and US, a high proportion of our customers are Jewellery Party Planners.

When I speak of Party Planning, I’m not referring to weddings or corporate events. Think Ann Summers and you’re nearly there: small, intimate groups of women gathering in one person’s home or hotel, a few bottles of wine too many, and an opportunity for one aspiring entrepreneur to sell their wares. Fashion jewellery, necklaces and rings are very common items to sell at these events, as are handbags and watches.

There are companies set up specifically to ‘manage‘ these sorts of events - selling pre-prepared, mixed packages to the party organisers, who work on a strange kind of commission. They offer little choice in terms of stock, but call their buyers ‘Consultants‘ to compensate.

So why are the Jewellery Party Organisers choosing to buy direct from us? This quote from one Party Plan web-site sheds a little light: “As an Independent Consultant you will earn 25% commission on total party sales.”

WHAT?

You sell a very attractive sterling silver ring or necklace for £10 and you make £2.50 profit - and that’s before you factor in petrol and babysitting costs. Is it any wonder many financially-aware buyers choose to bypass the hand-holding of these companies and source their stock themselves?

And it’s not only these poor profit margins that make buying direct from wholesalers a huge advantage. These ‘party packs‘ always seem to contain a few items that just can’t be sold. Now, this may be because the seller or party organiser is just not that good a salesperson, but it’s far more likely that whichever company put together the party pack in the first place made a poor buying decision and found itself with a number of difficult to sell lines. For which YOU pay the price.

The advantage of buying from wholesalers is that you choose exactly what to buy, and how many of each item to buy. You know your buyers better than we do, and better than any ‘Party Planning‘ company or organisation. People’s tastes in London and Cardiff are NOT always the same, and twenty-somethings do not buy the same styles as their mothers.

All our fashion jewellery and watches are sold and priced individually and you always see exactly what you are getting beforehand - the same goes for many other wholesalers. So if 25% profit margins sound as silly to you as they do to us, maybe it’s time you dropped the title ‘Consultant‘ and began to work for yourself.