How to sell wholesale jewelry online: A beginner's guide

The jewelry industry is worth a billion dollars! In 2021, more than 29 million people¹ purchased jewelry online daily. With stats like this, it’s okay to conclude that the jewelry business is very lucrative and competitive. Also, because jewelry is a consumer product, it’s clear that you won’t run out of buyers.

Ready to start selling wholesale jewelry? This expert guide provides everything to get you on track.

What is a wholesale jewelry business?

The earliest jewelry discovery can be traced to 25,000 years ago, when a fishbowl necklace was found in a Monaco cave. Years later, jewelry is still an accessory that works as a fashion piece, design, gift, interior decor, and status symbol. Simply put, almost everyone adores jewelry, and now is a great time to start your own online jewelry business. With more people becoming fashion conscious, it’s evident that the jewelry business will always have a demand.

Like other wholesale businesses, wholesale jewelry involves purchasing jewelry from suppliers and selling it at wholesale prices. In other words, running a wholesale jewelry business means buying and selling jewelry products at a lesser price compared to retail prices. Meanwhile, wholesale business doesn’t necessarily mean buying in multiple quantities but at a lesser price than retail.

Why should you sell wholesale jewelry online?

Jewelry is a very diverse fashion accessory that appeals to women and men. As a wholesale jewelry seller, you can offer necklaces, wristwatches, belly rings, earrings, anklets, etc. Also, you can have these products in different designs, shapes, and in various materials like diamonds, pearls, steel, beads, ruby, just to name a few. For a consumer product as diverse as this, it’s clear that there is always something unique to offer customers. Here are some reasons you should consider wholesale jewelry online:

1. More sales: Due to the advent of technology plus the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been a shift in the way people shop. People now prefer to shop online, and the internet is a thriving marketplace to sell anything, including jewelry. With this in mind, creating an online jewelry store is an efficient way to help people find their next favorite gem. You have the opportunity to reach more customers anywhere in the world without the expenses of building a brick-and-mortar store.
2. Lucrative: The worldwide jewelry industry is expected to increase to $292 billion² by 2025. Jewelry pieces are adorned worldwide and selling them is pretty lucrative.
3. Easy Shipping: Compared to other products like electronics or kitchenware, jewelry products are small and easy to ship or package.
4. Diverse: You can select a wide range of options for your online store regarding jewelry. As a wholesale jewelry business owner, you can decide to specialize in gemstones, gold, diamond, beads, or even everything. Also, you can choose to focus on jewelry types like anklets, rings, wristwatches, and so on. Or you can create a large store with different jewelry products.

8 steps to start wholesale jewelry online

Starting a business requires different steps and strategies to position your brand well. Here are some steps to help you start a successful online jewelry business.

Step 1: Research and find your jewelry niche

The first step to starting a wholesale jewelry business is researching and deciding what jewelry pieces to sell. Finding your jewelry niche helps with many things, including defining your target audience, getting a supplier, and deciding what type of jewelry to sell. It’s essential to figure out the latest trends and gather inspiration from other jewelry sellers to find your niche.

Having a niche helps your brand better and streamlines your vendor and target audience. Some nice jewelry niches to get started with include fine jewelry, handmade jewelry, costume jewelry, body jewelry, and so on. You can also start with one type of jewelry and later expand into another niche. Some tips for conducting effective research before starting your business include:

• Looking at Google trends and fashionistas styles to know trending topics and products in the industry
• Going on social media and forums to see the latest jewelry trends and run surveys on products people love
• Analyzing competitors’ blogs and websites to see what your competitors are doing right now and how you can differentiate your brand.

Step 2: Create a business plan

Starting a business means having a plan to follow. This begins by creating a business plan which contains your business goals, target audience, marketing strategies, financial strategies, team, resources, and so on. To create a detailed business plan, you should:

• Provide a summary: A summary of your business explains what your business is about in simple terms. What do you do, what do you sell, what’s the company’s purpose, your niche, and your funding options? These are some of the questions your business plan should provide answers to.
• Write your business goals: Your business should have SMART long-term and short term in terms of sales, revenue, and brand building. Having goals provides a design for your business and makes it easy to track your performance.
• Define your target audience: Your products can’t appeal to everyone, and that’s normal. However, you need to identify the people your products will appeal to; those are your target audience. For example, if you sell diamonds and gold, your target audience would be people with a high-income level. The more you know about your audience, the easier to develop strategies that will work out effectively.

Step 3: Select your distribution platform

The internet is a big place and selling online means you can choose different channels to advertise your products. Do you want to set up an online store, leverage B2B e-commerce sites like Alibaba, or sell on social media? The platform you choose may depend on your business goals and preference.

Some popular channels to start an online business include:

• Selling on your website. You can use e-commerce website builders like WordPress and Squarespace to build your online store.
• Online marketplace. Instead of setting up an online store, you can pick an online marketplace like Alibaba to set up your store.
• Social media. Another popular option to start your jewelry line is social media. Platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter already have tools to help business owners set up a store on their platform.

Meanwhile, the beauty of selling online is that you can diversify. Depending on your preference and needs, you can sell on multiple platforms or stick to one platform.

Step 4: Find a jewelry supplier

Except if you are manufacturing the jewelry, you will need to figure out how to source your jewelry. Most wholesalers work with jewelry suppliers that can sell at wholesale prices. The 2 main options to source for your jewelry pieces are wholesale and dropshipping. Inventories and online resources help people find vendors based on their location and convenience.

Also, you can simply start by searching for jewelry suppliers on Google or online marketplaces like Alibaba, where suppliers list their items. In addition, you can find a supplier based on your niche. For example, if you specialize in costume jewelry, you should consider looking for a costume jewelry supplier. Also, ensure you go for a supplier that offers original and high-quality products. If you advertise silver and your customers end up with painted steel, it will affect your business.

Step 5: Set up your store

Now that you have decided on a niche, created a business plan, and connected with suppliers, you can start setting up your store. Sign up with an e-commerce platform, open social media accounts or build your website.

Meanwhile, it’s going to take more than just posting pictures to find your customers and rank on search engines. That’s why it’s crucial to optimize your online store to make it easier for people to find you and create a great user experience. Also, if you sell different products, you can sort your products into categories to make it easier for users to navigate.

Step 6: Price your jewelry right

Putting a price on your products can be quite a task, but it’s crucial. You don’t want to set a price too low that you run a loss; neither do you want a price too high that your potential customers run to your competitor. A good tip is to start by calculating how much you spend on each product, including the packaging and marketing costs. Then, decide how much you can sell the pieces without running into a loss.

Also, you will want to set up a payment method and decide if you are open to refunds and returns. It’s good to offer various payment options to provide a seamless user experience. Some popular payment methods are Paypal, credit card, and Afterpay. Many online marketplaces and eCommerce website builders let you integrate different payment gateways to your website.

Step 7: Showcase your products

Now that you have set up your store and decided on a price, it’s time to showcase your products for the world to see. Remember, jewelry is about looking good, and people will always go for jewelry sellers that showcase their products brilliantly. Customize your store to look captivating and attractive, post great images and give an accurate and engaging product description.

Step 8: Promote your online jewelry business

One thing about online businesses is that you need to market your products effectively to reach your target audience. Selling jewelry online doesn’t end at selecting a distribution channel and posting pictures. It’s also essential to build an effective online marketing strategy and follow it. For effective marketing, you need to think about:

• Target audience: Setting a target audience is essential to help make the most out of your marketing campaigns. The target audience is people that are likely to buy your products, their age group, location, and so on.
• Marketing strategies and channels: There are different marketing strategies and platforms to promote your product. The one you choose will depend on your target audience, budget, and preference. Popular marketing strategies include SEO, social media marketing, email marketing, telemarketing, paid ads, and other online options.

5 tips for selling wholesale jewelry online

Now that you know the steps to start an online store for wholesale jewelry, we are getting into valuable tips to help you grow your business and scale faster.

Tip 1: Don’t sell fake products

As a jewelry business owner, it’s best to sell high-quality products and avoid counterfeits. Popular jewelry companies like Tiffany and co, Gucci, and others all have counterfeits, and the last thing you want is to sell them to customers who think they are buying the original. Therefore, always buy from reliable suppliers and, if possible, only buy from those registered with Better Business Bureau (BBB)³.

Tip 2: Publish high-quality products

Poor pictures give the wrong impression, so you have to take professional-looking photos of your products as a fashion jewelry seller. Also, a statistic showed that more than half⁴ of online shoppers prefer to see a minimum of three different product photos from various angles before buying a product. It’s no surprise that popular brands like Pandora and Swarovski post impressive pictures of their products in a wide array of angles. This gives shoppers an idea of what they are paying for before they add to the cart and order.

Tip 3: Provide engaging product descriptions

With online stores, customers don’t get to see the physical product or face-to-face interaction with the seller to know what they are buying. All buyers get are pictures and words, so it’s important to write engaging descriptions that tell buyers the product’s features and give them reasons to buy it.

Tip 4: Post consistently

When it comes to online business, you need to be consistent with promoting your jewelry. This means sharing posts regularly on your website/blog, engaging with customers on social media, updating customers reviews, posting new products, etc.

Tip 5: Price right

What gives you an edge as a wholesale jewelry business is that you get to sell at wholesale prices, cheaper than retail prices. The jewelry business is very competitive, so giving a fair price gives you an edge.

Sell on Alibaba.com

Alibaba.com is an online marketplace that offers sellers the option to set up their online store, optimize it, and reach buyers from around the world. Now that you know how to sell wholesale jewelry online, you can leverage Alibaba.com to make setting up the store easier.

This eCommerce platform allows sellers to showcase their products, meet millions of buyers and take advantage of free marketing tools/resources to boost sales. Get started, log on to Alibaba.com, open a seller account and launch your jewelry line.