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.