Finding a reliable wholesale Jewelry supplier who offers high-quality supplies at competitive prices is critical for a jewelry designer or a small jewelry business owner, especially if you have a dedicated clientele. Imagine having customers, yet you can't make enough jewelry to meet their needs, it's a place you don't want to be. The ultimate goal of small jewelry businesses is to avail more than their customers can buy. Therefore, having a reliable supply wholesaler is a strength that every designer would love to tap into.

Essentially, your supplies wholesaler is a fundamental stakeholder who provides your jewelry design business the “raw materials” that you need to make the adorable final products. Moreover, their products and pricing directly affect the quality of your jewelry line and the overall brand image.

We scoured the internet, reached out to jewelry designers, and based on our years of experience; in this insightful post, we share the golden tips on how to find reliable jewelry making supplies Wholesalers. To keep it authentic, we’ll also put in a word or two on every method’s pros and cons.

1.      Finding a Jewelry Supplies Wholesaler Online

The internet has effectively transformed the world into a global village. Today, finding a supplies wholesaler is as easy as launching a search on your browser, and in seconds, you’ll be chatting with a reputable supplier via a live chat pop up on their website.

As in other industries, jewelry supplies wholesalers are tapping into the power of the internet. With the passing of the day, more suppliers are establishing their presence online—making sales through their e-commerce stores and making deliveries via reliable shipping companies.

No matter where you are in the world, as long as you can access the internet, you only have to key in the right keywords into your browser, and voila! A quick Google search will give you a list of potential wholesalers you can contact. However, you need to get specific that best serve your unique needs. To get it right the first time, include brand names, product numbers, and models or do a WHOIS search for the owners' contact details.

Cons

•        There are scammers and businesses which may not belong to authentic wholesalers.

Tips for Finding Wholesalers Online

You need to make sure that you are dealing with a wholesaler. It is very likely that many "jewelry supplies wholesalers," even a one-person business operating from a basement, as long as he ranks high on Google, will show up claiming to be a renowned jewelry supplies wholesaler.  So, how do we distinguish a real wholesaler from a scammer?

•        Wholesalers provide their Minimum Order Quantity; There is a particular stock quantity that is considered the lowest that a wholesaler is willing to sell, and if you do not meet these requirements, the supplier will simply not trade with you.
•        Established wholesalers have websites that look rather old, usually like that from the 90s. Classic. Though this is always not the case.
•        Wholesalers would always want to know more about the business to avoid dealing with end customers.
•        Suppliers avoid publishing the cost of their goods to the public to protect their customers. If they are showing their prices online to everyone, most likely, they are retailers.
•        You may find many wholesalers who are not within your region. This may bring additional costs and risks.

Helpful Tip: Be sure to check for the location of the wholesaler and ensure that the location is convenient for you, be it local or overseas.

2.      Trade Shows

Attending trade shows is a powerful way to meet new people and get new ideas to help your business grow. These events provide the platform in which a jewelry retailer can connect with a distributor face to face and have meaningful conversations.  If you are wondering how to get started with the trade shows and fairs, worry no more! The Trade Show News Network has got you covered; it is an online directory that provides you with the trade shows details such as the date, state, country, and event name.

Pros

•        All business vendors are verified and well-established businesses.
•        Face-to-face conversations provide instant feedback. Furthermore, you get to work with partners with whom you can shake hands.

Heard of Nirav Modi and Paul Alfonso’s fraud case? Well, Modi is a well-established master jeweler.  He sold two fake diamond rings to his friend Alfonso for $200,000. Superstars well knew Modi for his jewelry, and Alfonso says most people he ran into knew Modi by name. Alfonso trusted him and later realized he had been duped when he went to have the rings appraised. When Alfonso started reading about Modi, he realized Modi was wanted for several instances of Fraud, including defrauding a bank! Therefore, I advise that you do due diligence before closing a deal with a jewelry wholesaler. Do not let their sweet words and new relationship affect your business decisions.

Another thing with trade fairs is that they give you access to a pool of wholesalers to choose from. An extensive network of wholesalers allows you to compare products and prices all at once. You can evaluate and find the best fit for your jewelry business. Ensure you have your business cards printed out just so you can share contacts with wholesalers and be sure to save the receipts and business cards from them too.

Cons

•        All trade shows are not accessible to everyone
•        There’s a chance that the show is not close to you or you do not live in a metropolitan city hence the need to travel to a different town which incurs more costs.

Helpful Tip: Visit the trade show website and browse through each vendor, making phone calls if need be. You can also ask for their samples; the cost of purchasing samples would be much less as compared to travel costs. It's worth trying.

•        You would need a valid business license or tax id to attend the wholesale trade show.

Helpful Tip: Register online; the registration can be done on the trade show website.  You will be able to get the sales tax permit on the day of the application. The wholesale number will allow your business to purchase goods for retail without sales tax charges.

•        It is taxing and time-consuming

Helpful Tip: Wear comfortable shoes as it involves a lot of walking, take breaks to rest your legs, and carry a notepad for organizing the gathered information.

3.      Overseas wholesaler

Earlier on, we mentioned the overseas wholesalers. These are distributors who are from different countries and supply internationally.

Pros

•        Lower pricing: Suppliers from countries such as China offers incredibly low prices for jewelry supplies, which may bring your small jewelry retailer lucrative profits.
•        They offer a variety of products, some of which are not locally available.

Cons

•        High likelihood of sourcing counterfeit goods of which return and exchange are difficult.

Helpful Tip: Request for samples to check the quality and safety of the products before you place a large quantity order.

•        Language barrier; most countries are diverse, and communicating in English may not be as easy.

Helpful Tip: Use simple English and avoid using technical terms to prevent cases of misunderstanding.

•        Time-consuming: The orders take longer before shipping can arrive, and the customs procedures may be overwhelming, and, in some cases, the goods can be trapped for a while.

Helpful Tip: If the order is urgent, consider local wholesalers who make delivery in a day or two.

•        Additional charges are accrued, such as international shipping and duty. Usually, jewelry products are shipped by a courier and then subject to tax. Therefore, you have the international courier cost (FedEx or DHL), courier charged customs processing fee and the customs duty.

Helpful Tip: Factor all these charges or costs into the cost of your supplies before making the final decision.

•        Large Minimum Order Quantity required by the supplier may not work well with most small retailers or may prove to be too risky for your business.

4.      Trade Organizations

You can find a reliable wholesaler who is verified and has an established business through trade organizations. This helps you avoid scammers and inexperienced vendors in the industry. The United States Jewelry Council (USJC) has several trade organizations in the U.S, such as the Manufacturing Jewelers and Suppliers of America (MJSA), America Gem Society (AGS), and the Diamond Manufacturers and Importers Association of America (DMIA), etc. These trade organizations publish vendors on their website as they have a comprehensive database of manufacturers and wholesalers whom they post on their website.

An example of the MJSA Buyer’s guide is provided below. All the certified vendors for jewelry findings are listed here. https://mjsa.org/sourcing_guides/mjsa_buyers_guide/findings

Parting Shot

Finding a reliable jewelry making supplies wholesaler for your business is not an easy task. Therefore, you need to proceed with caution and accord it the due diligence it deserves. This is because you are not just looking for a supplier but a business partner. It is essential that you consider the supplier's customer services and integrity as key factors and not fall into a trap due to the cheapest price options. We wish you luck in finding a reliable, reasonably priced supplier with excellent customer services.

We hope that you found this post helpful. If you have questions or need further clarification, feel free to get in touch with us.