Why it's less expensive to buy direct from my website

Hi guys. I want to keep this post brief but as informative as possible. The question has been posed on forums around the internet many times why sellers markup their items so much on sites like eBay, Etsy, Amazon, etc. compared to their own websites. I don’t know if that question has ever been answered by a company before. So here I go…

I’m sure many of you have listed and sold items on venues like eBay. Not as a business, but just to unload some stuff here and there. In that case, the fee structure is fairy simple and straightforward. You pay a nominal fee to list and 10% of the final price in fees, and then you either pay for shipping or charge your buyer for it. However, when you run a business on these sites, the fees really begin to add up. Businesses must subscribe to monthly fees for having a “storefront”, a “shop”, or whatever the site calls it. In addition, in today’s marketplace the emphasis on “free shipping” is so great that these venues basically tell you that your items will play second fiddle and won’t be seen unless you offer it. Of course, that comes at great expense to a seller (and most work it into the price of the product). On top of that, there are advertising and marketing fees. Basically, you must spend a rather large percentage of your item’s selling price to get it out there, to get a sponsored listing, and get it seen. If that weren’t enough, you also must pay for their payment processing fees! Add in supplies and office expenses and you’re talking a huge chunk of profit going to a 3rd party. But a private website operates so much leaner…

I’m completely transparent with my fees here. I pay a monthly fee to host the website and a monthly fee for a shopping platform. I also pay a small percentage of the selling price to our payment processor, Stripe (or Paypal, if you pay that way). It’s so much easier to manage costs that way. I don’t really advertise the website; I include a business card with each order placed elsewhere leading repeat shoppers here. I charge a small fee for shipping instead of working it into the price—this way you are not punished for buying multiple items. It’s a better deal for me and a much better deal for the customer, especially if you’re buying more than one item. This is really how it is for every seller and company out there. We can control costs in house but once we rely too much on 3rd party venues it seems like the fees never end.

I hope this provided some value to someone (buyer or seller alike). We do love doing business on Etsy and eBay and we’ve had great success and experiences there. The bottom line is that it’s just a bit more costly to sell there than to sell here.

—Brando

When it comes from China, and it's a buck with free shipping...

It’s junk. A lot of people (a scary number, in fact) simply don’t understand the jewelry market or the precious metals markets and how they are invariably related when it comes to the price we can manufacture a piece of jewelry and by extension, the ultimate retail price charged to consumers.

Gold, sterling silver, and platinum are precious metals and are traded on the worldwide commodities market. That being said, nobody has access to “cheap” precious metals—everybody pays the exact same price anywhere in the world. There is a common misconception that China or Hong Kong has discount precious metals and can therefore manufacture beautiful precious metal jewelry for pennies on the dollar. That is false! I repeat, no nation has a competitive advantage when it comes to the price they must pay for precious metals! In fact, the only competitive advantage China has on the rest of the world is the price of their labor, and the fact that they often use very cheap and often toxic materials to assemble their products.

So, what can you get for a buck? Jewelry-wise, nothing. The pieces you see all over the internet are silver plated tin. The stones, if there are any, are glass. It really doesn’t even rise to the level of fashion jewelry if you ask me, since it definitely won’t last longer than a few hours before the plating chips off or the glass pops out!

How can they offer free shipping when the item only costs a dollar? Well, up until very recently, not only did China subsidize postage for Chinese sellers shipping to the United States, but the United States postal service further gave Chinese sellers millions in subsidies to ship to the United States. Basically, those sellers aren’t paying a dime in postage.

If it’s too good to be true, it isn’t true. If you’re somehow paying less than melt value for your new jewelry, stop to think about how very unlikely that is. Quality pieces do not need to cost and arm and a leg that many brick and mortar jewelers charge, but be very careful when shopping at the bottom of the barrel. To some extent, you do get what you pay for.