If you’ve been selling jewellery for any length of time, you will have noticed increases in silver prices across the board. This increase will have affected any jewellery with a sterling silver component: rings, pendants, chains, as well as bracelets. Changing suppliers or finding new wholesalers or importers will make little difference. Unlike Costume Jewellery, silver has a fixed price on world markets, so bargains are next to impossible to find.

Silver prices have increased 106% in the past two and a half years, and more significantly, a whopping 33% since mid December. The driving force behind these increases is not an upsurge in silver jewellery sales, but rather the alternate uses for silver such as in electrical conductors, photographic film and disinfectants. The emerging markets of China, India, Russia and Eastern Europe are key players in these industries, which show no signs of slowing down.

What does this mean for Sterling Silver Jewellery?

Unfortunately, it means that prices are rising, and that they will continue to rise. Manufacturers are paying more for the silver they use, and those costs are passed along the chain to importers, wholesalers, retailers, and the end customer.

We always list the weight in grams of each Sterling Silver item we sell, and try to price each item as reasonably as possible. Despite the recent price increases, we’re still very competitively priced, and are fully confident you won’t find our lines at such low prices elsewhere.

Going forward, we will endeavour to keep our sterling silver prices as low as possible.

Some of you may have noticed the new sterling silver lines that began appearing over the past few days. This is the result of Bob’s recent restocking trip, and we hope to have the majority of the new stock live by the end of the week.

It takes a little time to properly photograph each item, and transfer all the information to the website. This is being carried out right now, in between processing and shipping orders.

We have new items available in every one of our sterling silver categories, including Baltic Amber, Mother of Pearl, Plain Silver, and CZs. Our stock of silver snake chains is now back up to date, with batches of 16 and 20 inch chains ready for sale, and of course, our ever popular 18 inch chains.

All of our new bracelets are now live on the website. At latest count, we have 70 individual lines, in a variety of styles, all at very competitive prices. As with our necklaces and sets, we’re fairly confident you won’t have seen these designs before.

When it comes to fashion jewellery, quality bracelets are probably the single item retailers have the greatest difficulty sourcing. Though all wholesale jewellery companies sell bracelets, they tend to be in limited ranges, and these ranges are often the same (or close enough) across companies. For this very reason, we make a special effort when it comes to bracelets.

We have large quantities of each bracelet, but still expect to sell most of them over the next couple of months. As fashions change so quickly when it comes to costume jewellery, we are unlikely to restock sold out lines - preferring to introduce new items - so if any of the designs interest you, don’t leave it too late!

A small number of customers who placed orders over the past 6 weeks may have experienced difficulties on delivery. This was due to changes in the way Ireland’s mail carrier shipped to the UK, which in some cases involved use of a third part (Fedex), in place of Royal Mail.

We found that the small number of problems that occurred were traced back to Fedex, and have taken steps to ensure it does not happen again.

Effective immediately, all shipments will be dispatched using DHL. We expect delivery times to be about 1 day shorter than previously, and far more reliable. We are currently working on integrating DHLs order tracking system with our own systems, and when that is complete, hope to include the DHL tracking number in all dispatch emails. This will make it easier for customers to track the progress of their packages.

As a result of these new shipping arrangements, we have changed the way we charge for postage. We are now able to charge a single, flat rate for deliveries, rather than varying costs dependent on weight. From now on, all deliveries to the UK and Ireland will be charged at £9.95 (excl. VAT). For other destinations, please see the Deliveries link on the shopping basket page.

Customers who buy a lot of Costume or Fashion Jewellery will notice a decrease in delivery costs by a few pounds per order, whereas customers who regularly buy small amounts of sterling silver jewellery may notice a slight increase.

Free delivery still applies to orders above £225 for UK and Irish customers.

Our regular customers will no doubt be aware that our Sterling Silver collection has been running a little low of late. Every day we are selling out of individual lines, and our collection of snake chains is down to only a single variety - the 18″ chains.

This situation will be rectified shortly. We expect to have a new collection available starting the second week in July. As always, we will have a number of new lines, as well as a return of some of our most popular items. This will include the heavy Sterling Silver Bangles that have recently sold out, varying lengths of snake chains, and a range of boxes of CZ earrings.

Bob will be jetting off to meet with suppliers at the beginning of July, and we anticipate the first of the new stock going live a few days after his return. Unlike previous restocking trips, we will not be shutting down for the duration, so you won’t need to adjust your buying habits to accommodate us.

We will be concentrating on Sterling Silver this trip, as our fashion jewellery lines are quite full and up to date.

Our new range of Fashion Jewellery necklaces and necklace and earring sets is now live on our website. We’re very pleased with the new pieces, all of which have come from new suppliers. Unlike our previous collections, these were made specifically for us by manufacturers, which means your customers and competitors are unlikely to have seen them before.

We try to keep our range as contemporary as possible, which is why we endeavour to update with new lines every few months. Unlike our sterling silver jewellery, we never purchase the same lines of Fashion Jewellery again. Once we’ve sold out of a particular item, it’s sold out for good.

For the first time, we are now listing Fashion Rings. This is a trial for us, as we have no idea how they will sell on the high street. Initially, we have approximately 40 lines of individual rings. All are adjustable, which means they come as ‘one size fits all‘. Prices are as low as £0.80-£0.90 (excl. VAT).

They seem to be selling well so far, but it’s early days yet. Any feedback on these rings, and on how they go down with your customers, would be most welcome.

We’re very pleased to announce that our new Shopping Basket went live this morning. Hopefully, this will make everyone’s job just that little bit easier. There’ll be no more writing down item numbers, emailing us the details, and waiting for us to send you back a PayPal invoice. From now on, you can browse through the catalogue, add what ever you wish to your basket as you go, and pay when you are ready.

The shopping basket will speed up the order process and allow us to get the goods to you much more quickly. A few points worth noting:

• We still use PayPal to accept all payments. However, you do not need to have a PayPal account. If you choose, you can simply enter your credit or debit card details in place of a PayPal ID. After entering your name and address information, you will be automatically directed to PayPal, where you can pay your invoice.
• Anyone who has problems using PayPal (for example: some corporate credit cards block PayPal payments) should contact us for details on how to pay by Bank Transfer. You can still use the shopping basket, but we need to direct you to an alternate payment page.
• All pages on our site that ask for personal information (name and address, for example) are encrypted, so there is no danger that this information will fall into the wrong hands.
• Postage and delivery costs are calculated as you add items to your basket, and are based on weight. The difference in postage costs between countries is low, and for this reason we have chosen to charge the same, regardless of destination. There is a special discount for UK and Irish buyers where the total purchase amount is above £250. Details can be found by clicking on the Delivery link on the shopping basket page.
• The shopping basket will not allow you to buy any item that has run out of stock. For example, if you order 10 of a particular necklace and we only have 8 remaining, the shopping basket will tell you and allow you to change the amount.

Now that the site changes are complete, we will be putting up a range of new stock from our restocking trip a couple of weeks ago. All the new stock will appear at the front of any catalogue page.

One final change we made to the site is the addition of a FAQ page. This page answers many of the more commonly asked questions, and should keep you informed a lot quicker than we can by email. If you have any questions not answered here, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

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?

eBay is a Mecca for small jewellery retailers. The modest size and relatively light weight of most pieces of jewellery make it perfect for online selling and shipment through the mail. Wholesalers have been quick to realise this, using eBay as a means of reaching new customers who have bypassed the bricks and mortar warehouses.

The added security of a customer focused site such as eBay, coupled with easy payment options like PayPal, make it an ideal and simple method of sourcing stock from all over the world. But it’s not all sunshine and roses. Like any business, there are pitfalls to trap the unwary, and less than honest characters waiting to prey on newcomers.

Over the past year, we’ve had a strong eBay presence ourselves, though in recent months, all of our focus has shifted to more direct online sales via this website. We learned through trial and error what works and what doesn’t; what to watch out for; and what signifies a great big red flag when it comes to buying wholesale jewellery from anonymous, faceless, eBay sellers. Here a few of those things to watch out for:

1. Refunds
Does the seller offer a full refund in the event you are unhappy with your goods or they fail to arrive? Professional business people take responsibility for their businesses, and for the happiness of their customers. They WANT you to be happy so you’ll come back and spend more money, and so that you’ll tell all your friends to do the same. If an eBay seller has a no refund policy, or attempts to pass the buck for undelivered packages to the Royal Mail, stay away from them.

When a CD fails to arrive from Amazon, they send you another, no questions asked. If you buy something in a high street shop and find it damaged when you get home, they replace it. There is no reason for eBay sellers to behave any differently. You should treat a negative refund policy as the first indication that this seller should be avoided.

2. Items similar to those pictured
When your goods arrive, you have every right to expect them to be EXACTLY the goods that were pictured in the eBay auction or shop. If you bought a pair of red shoes to go with your red dress, you’d be understandably upset if the seller sent you a pair of blue hiking boots. Wholesale jewellery should be no different.

Read the item description carefully, and make sure that tucked away in a forgotten corner there is not a line such as “The goods you receive will be similar to the goods pictured.” Many unscrupulous or lazy sellers do not photograph all their stock, and are not always aware of stock levels for individual lines. This means that when you order a batch of 20 necklaces that looked attractive, you end up with 20 necklaces that don’t look quite so attractive when they arrive. And with a no refund policy as well as the fine print hidden in the corner, you’re pretty much stuck with them.

3. Private Listings
We’ve all seen them, and probably wondered what their purpose was. With private listings, you never get to see who the other bidders are on an item you are bidding on. eBay simply tells you: “private listing - bidders’ identities protected.” Now, I can see a reason for this if you are bidding on embarrassing sex toys, or books with titles such as “How to get a girlfriend when you’re a 40 year old virgin“, but for wholesale jewellery, private listings are simply ridiculous, and a huge indicator that something unpleasant might be going on.

eBay’s transparency is one of its greatest strengths. You can see what other buyers have to say about a seller, what else they’ve sold, and who else is bidding on the rings or pendants you want. This means that if Shill Bidding is taking place, you can probably work it out based on monitoring a seller’s auctions and bidder IDs.

Shill bidding is when the seller or someone linked to the seller bids on their own auctions to push the price up. A good indication that shill bidding is happening is when a single bidder bids on many auctions from the same seller, always pushing the price up to a respectable amount, but NEVER winning. With private listings, you have no way of spotting shill bidding.

So, when you see wholesale batches of jewellery being sold under a private auction, ask yourself why? And stay away.

4. Packaging
When buying batches of jewellery made from sterling silver, baltic amber, or CZs, it’s important that each item is packaged individually. If not, the silver and stones can easily scratch or damage each other during transit. The Royal Mail are not noted for their careful handling of packages, so make sure before you buy that you know how the seller intends to pack the items, otherwise you could be in for a nasty surprise when they drop through your letter box.

We’ve fallen prey to all of the above, as do many eBay buyers without ever realising. Remember, eBay sellers are running businesses, and in many cases these businesses are just as profitable as their high street equivalents. There is no reason for you to be treated any differently by an ebay seller, than you would expect to be treated by a high street shop. Your sale is not complete until your goods have arrived and you are completely happy with them. You should accept no less.

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.