Jewelry: Making and Selling on eBay Part 1

The Global Overview-

EBay holds fond memories for me as a Jewelry Designer.  I bought a vast quantity of items for jewelry making  from a variety of sellers on  eBay.  It only made sense to me back then, that in addition to buying my components on eBay, I could  sell lots of jewelry on eBay.  That was true early on, and all was well with my eBay experience selling jewelry. As time went on, and my expertise in jewelry making improved, I found myself creating even more beautiful jewelry using the more expensive jewelry components that were selling on eBay.  Not only did I find Swarovski crystals, I found “Vintage” Swarovski Crystals (I know there wasn’t a “Swarovski” crystal in those days).  In addition, I developed a taste for  Sterling silver beads, Hill tribe Silver beads, gemstones, glass beads, and on and on…

And then, my love affair with Lampwork glass beads began, and everything I made had to have a Lampwork glass bead in them.  Who would have known that they even existed?  My customers to this day love them in the jewelry designs they purchase from me,  but they have no idea what they really are, or how they are made.   That’s a huge subject, and a whole other post or two.

It was a great time in our country, we were patriotic and we were industrious, and  all sorts of talent emerged on eBay that you could purchase and use in jewelry making and designing.   What was really exciting for me, is that it was a global venture, I could buy beads from Hong Kong, Bali, Germany…and so on, and we were all connected by eBay, it was soooo amazing.  Of course, as you consume more goods, the price of those goods also increases.  Yet, you could still make a little money when all was said and done.

In the last 2-3 years, much changed on eBay.  You saw the major chain stores also selling on eBay, and it quickly became a place to look for the cheapest prices, or the most expensive prices for the rare items, like concert tickets.  With the state of our economy in the U.S. it seems to have changed the look inside of  eBay.  Many of the suppliers I once purchased from, are no longer there, or thier prices are much more expensive.  Many of the fellow Jewelry Makers have moved on to other venues.  The ones who remain on eBay, are the ones who have a solid customer base, and are known for their excellent workmanship.   Prior to writing this post I checked out the current inventory on eBay for “handcrafted artisan jewelry”.   If you make cheap jewelry, and want to sell it for under $25.00, and really more like under $15.00 you may be successful!

You too can do the same sort of research if you are interested in selling your jewelry designs on eBay. What I did, is I looked under “handcrafted artisan jewelry”, then sorted the items by “highest price” first, and then about 8 pages into that, I began to see the real handcrafted items, not cheap jewelry, but true artisan designed jewelry.  When you do finally come across an artisan jewelry  designer, click on their feedback number, this will give you the number feedback they’ve gotten, it usually correlates with the sales (but not necessarily).  Look at the prices the items sold for, look at the total number of feedback received in a 6 month period of time, view pictures of the items sold.  That will give you an idea if  jewelry is selling on eBay, and the prices they are selling for.  However, there is much more to it than that!

Till next time,

Mariska

Ebay: Buying and Selling Handmade Jewelry and its Components

When I made the decision to sell my handmade jewelry, my first thought was to sell online via ebay.  It only made sense to me.  I had found a wealth of jewelry making items on ebay.  In addition I was very pleased with the fact that I could swoop up deals for the various jewelry components I needed.  As time went on, suddenly there seemed to be a glut of new people buying and selling on ebay, and many of the jewelry findings I needed,  soon rapidly climbed in price.

Business was not my first occupation,  however it didn’t take long to figure the simple  addition and subtraction.  If the price for the individual jewelry components increased, so does  the final cost of the  jewelry design.  What may have started out as a good profit margin for selling jewelry, became narrower,  unless your customer knew the value of the components used.  Complicate this whole process, with the ebay testosterone experience (no offense gents, us women have testosterone too).  C’mon now, you know exactly what I’m talking about if you’ve tried to buy anything on an ebay auction.  I bought some of the MOST UNUSUAL  beads and findings, without really thinking the whole process through. it all started out when I was snooping around on ebay and found the perfect bead….(testosterone rising)…. I placed my bid,  saw that I was “high bidder”, oh happy day!

But then, literally within seconds, someone topped my bid (testosterone really peaking)… Not wanting to be outdone, I placed an even higher bid, and sure enough I soon found myself outbid again! (Testosterone overload kicks in), this is the point you will do, and pay, whatever it takes to win that bid! Winning is now what it’s all about, you barely remember the bead….  In fact, this is how bad it actually got for my testosterone experience…I  actually purchased a timer that allowed me to set up the whole bid process, and then click on the final bid entry, 2 seconds before the item would end, I outbeat ebays own custom bidding system!  Great idea!!!! It worked!!

And then my Paypal account shrank at a very rapid rate.

That whole testosterone experience dimmed as I received some of my products, and realized I had really overpaid for those items!  What’s even more troublesome is that I began to believe that what I purchased, must’ve been photo’d under a microscope.  I certainly couldn’t see the details on the product, that I saw in the sellers store photo, they looked so big in the picture, or at least normal size, whatever that is????  This is not at all to diminish the awesome talent of the ebay glass artists who create handmade Lampwork glass beads, love those artisans!

example of small bead I bought

Next post I’ll talk about my results on ebay for selling.

You'd love it, if you could see it!

The Local Jewelry Making Supply Bead Stores

I knew I had the jewelry making “bug” when I entered the store.  Two hours later I emerged with Swarovski crystals, Czech beads, Porcelain beads, and many other jewelry making materials…

I started off making jewelry on elastic bead stringing material.   While some of those jewelry pieces are still intact from those days, I soon realized if I wanted anything I created of value to last in my jewellery making designs;  I needed a different stringing material.

Many of the products I chose in those early days, included metals that were essentially base metals.  Having allergies to anything other than Sterling silver and Gold, I determined that I should change to higher quality materials.  I had obtained my resale license, which allowed me to purchase supplies without paying taxes, nonetheless, it all my became very expensive.

The quandary I felt, (kind of like choosing green products that are more expensive)  is that my local jewelry supply store needed to make a profit too,  and I wanted to support them, however that cut into my profits as well.  Since it really wasn’t all about selling jewelry, I finally came to the compromise.  I found on-line wholesalers, that the bulk of my jewelry making supplies were purchased, and I visited my local jewelry making bead supply store on a less frequent basis.  Then the price of gas made that visit, even less frequent!

One great thing about going to your local jewelry making supply store, is that you can see colors, sizes, of the beads you are interested in, and also see how they really look in different lighting.

When I found the numerous beading supplies I use  at “Michael’s”, I believe the stock market price soared!  Truly, it’s like a kid in a candy store, you can get one in every color and size!

I must admit, I do miss my local Jewelry Making supply store, there’s something so impersonal about buying on the Internet.  There was one benefit…I imagined that I was traveling to Bali to buy my Balinese Sterling silver beads, even tho’ the only evidence was on the postage, stamped on the bag of Bali Silver beads in my mailbox.

Till next time,

Bali bead

Mariska

Chronicles of a Handmade Jewelry Maker & Designer’s Business

I think I can still remember the initial excitement and joy of making a beautiful piece of jewelry, that lead to the plan….
” I think I’ll start my own Handmade Jewelry Business”
…oh those simple days when I really still had a life!
In life, we all have to go through our processes, don’t we?
Yes, we hear the advice, the horror stories of starting a business, and in between those moments, we bask in the visions of someone famous wearing your own jewelry creation….right?
And if those visions, outweigh the horror stories….we continue on a monumental endeavor to create a business, one that soon defines who you really are, and what you are really made of.
For me, that was April 2nd, 2004, and life as I knew it, mad a radical left turn.
Am I happy, oh you betcha!
Has it been easy…NOT!
I hope to chronicle my very long process, in the hopes you can see where I dallied, procrastinated, didn’t have the right tools…and learn from my mistakes, as well as share in my victories.
I’d love to year your own stories as well.
Till next time,
Mariska

PS, see below for my first Jewelry Design, what you may or may not see, in my infancy I photo’d the jewelry on the back of a piece of piano sheet music!?! Definitely not recommended! Thank God for photo editing software.

Hooked on Jewelry Designing!

Celebrating Life & Jewelry

Today I went to my aunt’s funeral, as always these moments are bittersweet.  It is wonderful to see such a crowd of loved ones, who all shared in the same love, and memories of that one, who touched so very many lives.

It is not uncommon to remember your loved one, and the jewelry they once wore. At times, those treasured pieces bring you 1 step closer to that remembrance of your loved one, knowing they  once wore it while, you both spent time together.

I remember when my grandmother passed, my first thought, beyond my love for her, was of her jewelry box, and her high heel shoes, and the moments of joy they both brought.

I never knew my biological mother, who died from childbirth. All I knew of her fit into a shoe box:  her wallet, and all her jewelry, and that was all I had of my mother.  It was a different experience, than the one I had of my grandmother’s jewelry.  I created in my mind, a picture of who my mother was, based on her jewelry.  Somehow it did not link me to my mother, the same way my grandmother’s belongings had.  I’m not trying to say  the experience of seeing my mother’s jewelry was without emotion, but somehow, memories, and those objects that link us to those memories are the sweet savor, and celebration, of  having once lived, and loved together.

So, I celebrate my love and memories of you dear, sweet Gloria, and I know your children and grandchildren will be reminded of you,

Flowers for Gloria Necklace

in the many treasures you’ve left behind.

Here’s to your favorite colors, especially purple!

Mariska

Jewelry Blog Launched!

Welcome! This blog is all things: Jewelry!  I’m creating this blog  to provide information on making jewelry,  finding jewelry supplies,  and sharing my latest Handmade Artisan Jewelry Designs.  I’d love to have your feedback, and for you to share your finds.

Speaking of Jewelry, here’s my latest, dedicated to my aunt Gloria who recently graduated to Heaven.

FLOWERS FOR GLORIA Necklace:

Flowers for Gloria Necklace

Mariska