HEADS-UP "NEW" gemstone listing guidelines

[flipping_treasures]

Just received this in my email.  Thought I would pass it on.

Dear flipping_treasures,

Starting May 25, 2022, we’re making changes to our Jewelry policy. Our updated listing guidelines will create a more consistent and reliable experience for Jewelry buyers, help them find the items they’re looking for quickly and easily, improve conversion, and reduce issues resulting from unclear or inaccurate item descriptions.
 
New Jewelry listing guidelines effective May 25, 2022

• Fine Jewelry. To list your item in the Fine Jewelry category, the Base Metal must be made from fine materials and the Main Stone must be a fine, natural stone. Secondary stones can include either fine or fashion materials.
  • Simulated gemstones are considered fashion jewelry.  We will move items with simulated main stones from fine jewelry into fashion jewelry in October
• Diamonds. If you list a stone that is not an actual diamond, the term “diamond” cannot be included in the listing. You should instead describe your item using the actual material, such as moissanite, cubic zirconia, glass, etc.
• Treated gemstones. If you list a natural stone that has been treated (e.g., dyed to enhance the color), you must state that the gemstone is “treated” in your listing title. You may not describe the stone as “enhanced.”
• Lab-created gemstones. If you list a lab-created stone, you must clearly state that the stone is “lab-created” in your listing title, and not “man-made,” “lab-grown,” or other similar terms. “Lab-created” must immediately precede the stone name in your title (e.g., “lab-created diamond”).

Note: Starting May 25, 2022, active listings that do not comply with the new guidelines may be ended. Those Items will appear into your unsold folder and will need to be relisted to align with updated policy guidelines.

You can help buyers find the items they’re looking for and make sure they receive orders that match your item description by listing them clearly and correctly. Learn more about Fine and Fashion Jewelry best selling practices.

As always, thank you for selling on eBay.

The eBay Selling Team

[dream*peddler]

I sell fine jewelry for a pawn shop 3 days a week, and I sell my own stuff the rest of the time.  I'm beyond frustrated with the new listing format.  At work we sell a lot of real gold set with CZ's, so now it will have to be listed under Fashion jewelry?  Is ebay trying to go out of business? 

The popping in and out of windows, redundantly the hitting the "Save" and then "Done" buttons, the complete mash-up of item specifics, losing my place after a window closes...  Talk about counterintuitive!  No smooth listing format here.  Great for wasting time, though 😫.  It's the worst listing layout EVER!

[1940fc]

"Note: Starting May 25, 2022, active listings that do not comply with the new guidelines may be ended. Those Items will appear into your unsold folder and will need to be relisted to align with updated policy guidelines."

Ya wanna bet the China sellers won`t be touched by it at all

[barbiesattic54]

The "Fool" your questioning is Ebay

[barbiesattic54]

I doubt that vermeil jewelry is considered fine

[treasureislandpearls]

well, since the 'base metal' is sterling usually, I think it would be.  

[mycheaperstuff]

I myself don't see anything wrong with laissez faire and buyer beware. 

No matter what is written, only the honest are affected.

Scammers keep scamming, to eBay's enrichment.

[jeff-second-chance-silver]

These new changes will only destroy sells even more then the last changes did back in October. Now they are splitting fashion jewelry and fine jewelry based on stone and NOT the metal which would be to obvious. This will only lead to more unneeded confusion amongst buyers. Its also obvious ebay does not consult with your average jeweler when making changes. Our sales were consistent for years and improved every single year at a steady pace. Mid October they died and have been a mess since. Fine jewelry is Gold Silver Platinum and Palladium no matter what kind of stone is in it. Fashion jewelry is garbage throw away junk. Now an 18k Yellow gold ring with a Cubic zirconia or even just a colored accent has to be listed as fashion jewelry. ZERO SENSE. The metal dictates the category. Ask any women or man. They ripped of top rated sellers by combining groups back in October and now this. They ripped them off because instead of there being 4 different sub categories for top rated sellers to be bumped up in there is now 1 and people get buried so there is no more bump. The exact time our sales and every other person i had contact with who sells has said. Ebay was awesome at one time but now they seem to be purposely screw things up.    

[jeff-second-chance-silver]

They 100% destroyed jewelry. Started back in October 2021

[dream*peddler]

Ebay's guidelines on stones are a hot mess.  They don't even mention synthetic, which is different than lab created.  Synthetic stones have the same chemical properties as natural stones.  A lot of those rings from the 30's and 40's contain synthetic gems that mimic their natural counterparts.   People who use Presidiums often mistake synthetic for natural because the Presidium can't distinguish between the two.   You have to use your experience and knowledge to understand that if a stone is large, flawless, vividly colored and set in 10k, it's probably a synthetic although it could be natural.

This is also what's happening with the "lab diamonds."    I blame the FTC for allowing lab diamonds to be designated diamonds and dropping the word, "natural" from their definition.  Since then, the market has been flooded with lab diamonds from India, and they don't have to specify they are lab grown, because in the FTC's eyes "a diamond is a diamond no matter whether it is grown in a lab or comes out of the ground."  This has muddied the diamond waters, and unless you have one of the new testers, you won't be able to distinguish a lab grown stone from a natural diamond.   The question is, should the "diamonds" coming from India be preceded with "lab grown," or will the FTC cover their derrieres and allow them to continue taking advantage of this semantics loophole?"  Their attempt to prevent deception has only resulted in much more deception than ever before.

Here is what the FTC said in 2018:

"The Federal Trade Commission recently amended its Jewelry Guides to help prevent deception in jewelry marketing. With new guidance for the jewelry industry, its wide-ranging ruling is a welcome relief to the man-made diamond industry and a migraine-sized headache for the mined-diamond industry. At the end of the day, it’s consumers who will benefit most from the new ruling.

The FTC based its decision in favor of scientific facts, not the mined-diamond industry lobby, giving consumers real information on which to make informed diamond purchasing decisions.

The ruling is simplicity itself. A diamond is a diamond no matter whether it is grown in a lab or comes out of the ground.

A diamond is pure crystalized carbon

The most sweeping change in the FTC’s ruling is removing the previously specified “natural” origin from the definition of a diamond. The old FTC definition stated a diamond was “a natural mineral consisting essentially of pure carbon crystalized in the isometric system.” Now the word “natural” has been erased."

[paulibeverlyhills]

Yes, it is overwhelming. I have been  in the jewelry business for decades, & I am still confused by some of the policies or mostly by things that have been omitted, that leave me with questions for which  I am unable to get  answers. In reality, from a consumer's point of view, if all sellers comply with the new rules , eBay will be the safest place to buy ANY jewelry, because, as you stated the stores do not provide much information. Bottom line, people buy what their eye sees as beauty, and many do not care whatsoever about the details. As a proactive jewelry maven, it blows my mind at the indifference. I am happy to comply with guidelines, & always strive to be candid & forthcoming in my descriptive listings, but that said,  I recoil when I see the work we must do to comply properly, as opposed to  the sellers who say .925 silver plated in their listings. We both know that is not real--it is either .925 sterling silver or NOT. Plated and .925 together do NOT work & are totally misleading to buyers, but those sellers are still listing that way & selling in volume as most buyers are clueless--not a level competitive playing field, so hope that eBay makes it one with all the new rules. Happy Selling!!!!

[dream*peddler]

@paulibeverlyhills check this out.  I was testing some 925 stamped jewelry the other day and the pieces immediately stuck to a magnet.  The pieces looked good as did the stamps.

I saw this ad yesterday.  Look very closely at the paper hang tag and the stamps on the bracelet.  Do you see the dot between the two "O's" at the bottom?  I couldn't believe that Danecraft, of all companies, has come out with a line called "Pure 100," which is only 10% silver.  You can read about it on their site.  Once that tag is detached from the bracelet, the 925 stamp becomes very misleading.

[dadsfloridatreasure]

Small sellers are nothing but a problem and a liability for eBay these days, and changes like this are only going to support the large corporations and companies that already have all this data worked out and force sellers like us out.

[don-franciscos-sister]

Just curious here…

If I have a 10, 14, 18 karat gold piece of jewelry that happens to have CZ stones (versus diamonds), is there any reason that I cannot just sell the setting itself, with the notation in the description that it presently has “place holder” cz stones?  OR, should I just pull the CZs altogether? 

[don-franciscos-sister]

I SO agree with this!  I sell every month at a major regional antique show.  If I have not had a piece individually assessed by a gemologist — but only by my Pesidium — I always tell potential buyers that I cannot be sure about “natural” versus “synthetic.” 

[don-franciscos-sister]

**bleep**???????  😳