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.