If you’re looking to transition to a new work from home career in the era of Covid-19, you might want to look into selling jewelry online. Buying and selling jewelry online can be a big, lucrative business that is surprisingly easy to crack into!
Why Jewelry?
While there are many products that you could sell online, jewelry is a great choice since it is so diverse. Jewelry is worn by men and women across any age or demographic. You can appeal to virtually everyone! Jewelry sellers can choose to specialize in rings, necklaces, bracelets or earrings, or offer them all. You also have a range of materials to choose from, like gold, platinum, diamond, gemstones, beads, crystals, and shells. You can find a niche easily and offer unique items to the market.
Where to Start
Fashion is an ever-evolving market with new trends and fads continually emerging. You will need to do a lot of research into jewelry and stay on top of the changing fashions to keep your customers satisfied. You can follow jewelry blogs, keep an eye on what high-end designers are doing, and use Google Alerts to see the up-to-date trends in the world of jewelry.
Once you have an idea of your jewelry niche and where to focus on it, you can start working towards getting your store up and running. You can start looking at the different options to source your jewelry.
You can sell handmade items, purchase from wholesalers, or do a combination of the two. For example, you might make your own unique charms but use a silver jewelry wholesale company to source the chains.
After you have the items, you should work on your price point. A good formula is to sell your items for four times the cost. For example, if it costs you $10 in materials for a necklace, you should price it around $40 to still make a profit.
When it comes to shipping, you have multiple options. The shipping cost can be factored into your price, added on top of the price for the customer to pay, or you can use a dropshipping service that will take shipping costs out of your profit. Whatever solution you come up with, keep it in mind when setting the price. Customers can sometimes be turned off ordering an item if the shipping costs are too high, regardless of how affordable the item itself is.
Set Up Your Online Store
When it comes to building your online store, you have just as many options. Etsy is a popular e-commerce platform specializing in handcrafted goods. It’s perfect for jewelry because the customer base is already built-in — in 2014, there were 20 million active buyers on Etsy. The downside is that there are many jewelers already on the platform, and you’ll have to work hard to stand out. You could also try listing your jewelry on Amazon Handmade, the retail giant’s take on Etsy. Keep in mind, these platforms do take a cut of your profits.
Another option is to build a website on platforms like Squarespace or Shopify. This will give you more creativity and freedom to design your site and create the perfect online experience for your shopper, but it won’t come with built-in customers like the other platforms. You will have to work to market your website and find your customers. If you choose to go this route, you might benefit from working with professional web designers who can create a functional site that reflects your brand and is easy for customers to use.
Start Selling
Once you’ve sourced your product and set up your online store, it’s time to get to business. You can start selling and shipping all from the comfort of your own home!
