How do you vet inventory for your jewelry store?
As you choose what kinds of merchandise to put on your shelves, there are several variables to consider — including how well an item fits your audience, how quickly you think you can sell it, and its level of quality.
The goal is to stock pieces your customers want to buy with quality you can confidently stand behind. To accomplish this, you need to do your homework before you place the order. In this blog, we’ll list five questions to ask before you purchase any shipment of jewelry.
Let’s dive in.
While jewelry suppliers can give you plenty of reasons to choose their products, only you can decide whether it’s the right choice for your buyers. Ask these five questions to ensure products are a good fit for your store.
Ask yourself this before talking to a supplier. Because there are many types of jewelry stores, you want to select pieces that are a match for your intended market.
Here are a few examples of different styles of jewelry stores:
Each of these types of jewelers caters to a unique market — which means any shipment of product you order should match your business’ chosen audience.
For example, let’s say you run a fashion jewelry store where your bestsellers are everyday, giftable pieces like stud pearl earrings and pendant necklaces. One day, a vendor pitches you a line of diamond tennis bracelets.
Even if these are high-quality products, they aren’t a good fit for your shoppers. This means they’re likely to sit for a while before they move, which ties up capital. As you browse items to add to your store, be sure to consider your customers, their budget, and their buying occasions.
Answering this question requires research. Consider an item’s cost, suggested retail price, and how you might set it differently depending on your business’ pricing strategy. As you plan for profit margin, you should also think about whether you’ll need to discount the piece.
Perhaps a simple gold chain necklace costs you $125. You set the price at $250, giving you a 50% margin. But the item sits for a while and you decide to discount it by 20% to $200, adjusting your profit to 37.5%.
Planning for potential discounts in advance helps you choose products that keep your business profitable.
Pro tip: As you consider the profit potential of inventory, think about how quickly it’s likely to turn over. A lower-margin product that moves rapidly might be a better choice than a high-margin item that sits.
Related Read: Pricing Jewelry: 9 Strategies To Boost Sales
Certifications of quality assure you and your customers of what a piece of jewelry is made of and that it’s passed inspection.
As you look at metals, pay attention to “karats,” which describe the purity of gold. Because it's a soft metal, manufacturers usually combine it with other metals for jewelry. 24-karat means 100% gold, with lower karat values indicating a lower purity level.
When inspecting the quality of gemstones, jewelers refer to the four C’s: cut, clarity, color, and carat. Spelled this way, “carat” signifies the weight of a gemstone. Make sure to learn which (if any) treatments the gemstone has been through, too.
Pro tip: Obtain documentation for high-end products. The greater the price of a piece, the more buyers want to see certification of specs. This makes it even more urgent for you to ask vendors for this information.
Maybe two suppliers both offer 1-carat lab-grown diamond earrings in 14k white gold. While one of them has grading documentation and clearly advertises specs, the other is vague in their advertising and certifications aren’t readily available.
In this scenario, the first option is a better bet. You can sell with confidence and present documents when needed.
Related Read: How To Appraise Jewelry: 11 Tips for Retailers
Ideally, vendors closely inspect inventory before shipping so they can catch defects early.
Here are a few key areas suppliers should inspect:
When a shipment goes through a thorough inspection process, you’re less likely to see defects out of the box. But because some will likely slip through the cracks, you should also ask about their policies regarding replacing defective products, including shipping.
Imagine you order silver hoop earrings with pavé cubic zirconia stones. If the supplier doesn’t check the stone setting and clasp tension before shipping them to you, customers may have issues with lost stones or hoops that don’t latch — leading to returns and damaged trust.
Some vendors offer special conditions to help you if inventory isn’t turning over.
Here are a few examples:
Knowing these policies before purchasing inventory from a vendor is helpful, especially when a product doesn’t have a proven track record of turning over quickly.
In practice, it might look like this: You offer a line of necklaces featuring initials. You find you’re running out of the letters “A,” “M,” and “S,” but you’ve barely moved any of the letters “Q” and “X.”
If the vendor offers an exchange or memo option, you can swap the unsold letters for replacement stock of the ones you’re out of.
Pro tip: Read the fine print on all supplier policies. They’re often conditional on the items being undamaged and unmodified while in your care, and may need to be in the original packaging. Pieces specially ordered with custom work are usually not accepted back.
Related Read: The Hidden Profit in Dead Stock: What To Do With Unsold Jewelry
Finding the best vendors and ideal pieces to stock can be a challenge. But by doing your research and asking the right questions, you can fill your shelves with jewelry your customers love.
Modern digital tools help you navigate the buying process. Jewel360 is a cloud-based point of sale (POS) system built specifically for jewelry stores and the high-value merchandise they sell.
It’s equipped with access to jewelry catalogs, allowing you to browse options, compare prices, and place orders right from the system. You can also manage certifications, allowing you to build trust with the quality of the pieces you offer.
Our all-in-one solution also gives you quick access to stock counts and sales reports, so you can see how long items have been sitting on the shelves. This helps you strategically manage discounts and returns, as well as plan future orders to maximize turnover.
With features designed for your industry, you can invest in inventory wisely and keep sales high. To see what Jewel360 can do for your business, schedule a demo today!