Clothing boutiques must provide options for a complete outfit. That means you give customers access to more than just fashion-forward pants and tops. You give them socks, scarves, shoes, handbags, and most importantly, jewelry.
While stocking the right fashion jewelry in your store is essential, finding the right pieces for the right price, season, theme, and trend can sometimes be challenging. To make your job easier, find a reliable wholesale fashion jewelry supplier.
What Is A Wholesale Fashion Jewelry Supplier?
Wholesale suppliers are your one-stop-shop for all things boutique-related, not just jewelry. They work directly with manufacturers and are given the 411 on the latest trends in clothing. With that insider information, they search and find the latest, greatest accessories to pair with new clothing lines.
They order massive amounts of the new items so they can sell them to you at a discount. They make it easy for you to shop and order on their website. They ship based on your recommendations.
Wholesale fashion jewelry suppliers pride themselves on their relationships with boutique owners. Their goal is to help you succeed. If you win, they win.
Sound too good to be true? It’s not. These suppliers do exist. Below are some tips to help you sort through and weed out unreliable suppliers.
Know Your Jewelry
Good advice to anyone buying jewelry, especially in bulk, is to learn everything you can about the jewelry you want to buy. The more you know, the better you can sell the jewelry to your customers.
Information you should know about jewelry is the designer, country of manufacturing, and anything unique to the item. For example, is it the only one like it on the planet? Is it made with gold found on a shipwreck?
Also, learn more about the materials used, how to clean them, repair them, and the body types they flatter. Educate yourself on the dimensions, precious stones, if any, and all the terminologies of the jewelry industry.
Know Your Jewelry Niche
The jewelry category is broad. It can include all metals, stones, resin, plastic, wood, and more. You need a jewelry niche, a sub-category. To help you narrow your niche, answer the following questions:
- Do you want unique artisan-made jewelry or mass-produced jewelry?
- Do you want to import jewelry or buy local?
- Do you want to sell fine jewelry or fashion jewelry?
- Which pieces of jewelry do you want to sell (earrings, rings, necklaces, etc.)?
- Does the jewelry match the theme of your clothing?
- What price range do you want to sell the jewelry?
You can add to this list of questions to help you narrow your niche even further.
Payment and Shipping
When choosing a reliable wholesale fashion jewelry supplier, you must know more about their payment and shipping methods. They may have the most beautiful cuff bracelets but only accept discover cards. Since you like to pay cash, you can’t acquire the items.
You also must know if they can meet your shipping deadlines and price points. Do they charge a flat rate or by the pound? Do they offer free shipping? More importantly, do the items arrive on or before deadlines?
Reviews Say A Lot
Before making a purchase, check out reviews online to see if anyone has commented on the wholesale supplier’s jewelry quality. Statements like “Broke during shipping,” “arrived damaged,” or “turned a different color after wearing it twice” are huge red flags. Pay attention to those red flags.
When looking at reviews, look for messages that are repeated. One person claiming a supplier doesn’t confirm it like four or five people making the same claim. If a company has fifty reviews, would you rather see one review that says, “They are reliable,” or 30 reviews? One review could be a fluke, an unusual circumstance that leads to unusual feedback.
If there are no online reviews, don’t be afraid to ask the company for references who you can email or call.
Return Policy
If there is a time when you change your mind, or the jewelry looks different in person, you may want to send it back to the wholesale fashion jewelry supplier. Do they allow returns? If so, what is the policy?
You must know the exact procedure that protects you when the jewelry arrives damaged, or you receive the wrong order. The terms of their return policy should be documented and easily accessible. You are a small boutique. You cannot afford to get stuck purchasing items you didn’t order.
Price Margins
You may want to check price margins earlier in your search. It may save you time in choosing a reliable wholesale fashion jewelry supplier. Your goal is to get the highest quality items for the lowest cost so you can make the best profit margins. Different formulas calculate gross, operating, and net profit margins.
The right wholesale supplier wants you to get the best profit margins and are likely willing to negotiate so you can both win financially. Be honest with your supplier. Tell them what you need and see what they can do to help.
Transparency
The best wholesale fashion jewelry supplier is eager to provide answers to your questions. They should be more than willing to share details, like their location, references, policies, and procedures. If a wholesale supplier is reluctant and withholds information, they may have a very good reason. They should tell you that reason, so you will understand why you aren’t getting answers.
If a wholesaler refuses to give basic information like location, hours, costs, and where they get their products, they are not the right supplier for your jewelry needs.
Conclusion
To recap, the perfect wholesale fashion jewelry supplier is out there. Taking steps like the ones above gives you standards on which to base your decision. Just like you will not settle for jewelry that is sub-par, don’t settle for a sub-par jewelry wholesale supplier.
Finding the right wholesaler can mean a long-term business relationship where you both succeed.
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