Whether you want to start a new business or add a revenue stream to what you’re already doing, wholesale jewelry distribution offers an attractive choice, literally and aesthetically. You’ll be selling a product that’s always popular, whether it’s fine gold, diamonds or funky fashion pieces, to other businesses or customers who share your love of beauty. You can also work from home because you’ll need relatively little overhead or storage space.
Decide whether you want to operate as a business-to-business (B2B) or business-to-consumer (B2C) distributor. In the former case, you will be buying jewelry at wholesale prices and then selling it to jewelry retailers. The price you sell your wares for will be below retail pricing, but higher than your purchase price. If you have money for initial investments and a means for product storage, this is a good choice because you can buy in bulk, which gives you the highest margins to play with. You also have fewer customers to deal with than a retail business, and they’re all professionals, so your customer service needs are limited. In B2C efforts, you’ll be purchasing jewelry wholesale and selling it to the end user, either through a store, at home parties, on a website, or using a third-party resource such as eBay. If you’re selling entirely online, you can use a drop-shipping service, which means you’ll never have to see or touch the products.
Figure out what kind of marketing makes most sense for you. With B2B, the quickest way to secure customers may be to call up wholesale jewellery retailers and offer your products at an attractive price. Another option would be to attend applicable trade shows. With B2C, your success on a site such as eBay will be determined by your pricing, descriptions, and ability to use the keywords your potential customers are searching for. However, if you’re relying on your own website, you might need to take out paid advertising.
Create a list of resources and a basic business plan once you’ve made your decision about the best business model for you. With jewelry distribution, you can also do a combination of B2B and B2C. Offer a substantial discount to your B2B customers who purchase a certain number of pieces, and sell them at full price to retail consumers who only want to buy one item at a time. Because jewelry manufacturers and resources change often, it’s best to start with a Google search. For drop-shippers, search for “wholesale jewelry dropshippers” along with keywords such as “silver” or “fine.” Some options that come up are drop-shipper Jewelry Orders, manufacturer J. Goodin, and large scale supplier Plum Island Silver, all of which offer drop-shipping services. The last two will also sell to you directly as a wholesaler. If you like taking possession of your inventory, do a search for “become a jewelry distributor,” again focusing on the type of jewelry. In addition to the last two companies above, you’ll find other providers such as Paradiso Jewelry, Bico Pacific, Brook Curtis and Cheap Wholesale Jewelry. A comprehensive listing of various jewelry wholesalers and dropshippers is also available at the online directory Wholesale Central.
