Why is my jewelry not selling?

[bellacleojewelry]

I know it's a saturated market, handmade jewelry. But what else am I doing wrong? 🙂 

[keraz-0]

I am not a jewelry seller. I know nothing about it really. But, I have looked at a few of your listings, and have an opinion that I will share.

The thing that I see that would prevent me from buying your jewelry is your disclaimer.

Disclaimer: As the person who constructed and designed this piece, I will caution you to treat it with care, do not bend it back and forth unnecessarily. Handle it gently and you will have many years of wear, it is very well made, but also somewhat fragile, and sterling silver is soft so it's also very malleable. If you are too rough with it, you could break it.

If I am a buyer and see that disclaimer, then  I am going to assume that the piece of jewelry is of shoddy construction,and move on to another seller.

I would feel that as a buyer, you the seller, are accusing me the of being careless. Maybe it could be written in a less accusatory way to get your point across to a potential buyer.

Like I said, I know nothing about what you are selling, and maybe that disclaimer is necessary. Just one mans opinion.

[dhbookds]

One person's opinion...........the pictures are very artistic with the items draped over various stones.....  but, to me the stones fight with the items for attention.  I never get the "feel" of what the items would look like "on"...

Though you give measurements and show with a dime, I still don't get that mental image of the item of how great that item would look on ME. 

I would try displaying on a mannequin.

I would also lose the varied colored fonts in the description......  to me/again, just my opinion/ it's cheap, unprofessional looking. 

Your items are lovely........ 

[forward-motion]

I don't know that answer, however, the answer is in the sold items. Search your items, go to sold. What are they doing that you are not doing to get the sale? Figure that out, and you have your answer. 

[linus.hux72fe · Accepted solution]

Good morning,

Your jewelry is lovely.  I buy a lot of jewelry and I would have to agree with some of the comments above.  

I tend to buy jewelry on black backgrounds so I can focus on the beauty of the piece.  A necklace on a black scarf, a ring on a mannequin hand is enough.  I love this seller who displays her jewelry on what looks like clouds (really this brushed fibre if you want a white background.)

You have so much color fighting for attention throughout the pictures and description that I found it hard to focus.  

With natural stones I am a sucker for the listings that tell me about the stone, native to xxx place, used by xxx people, once thought to have xxx properties, collected in xxxx, pattern derived from xxx people to represent xxx, hand crafted in my studio overlooking xxxx.

Also titles need focused description to better differentiate from all the rest.  

Just my opinions but your jewelry is beautiful and I wish you much success!

[m60driver]

Photographing jewelry is an art that I have never been able to master.  You also have yet to master that art.  Some of your photos have unnecessary shadows.  Other have cluttered backgrounds.  Alas, I have come to the conclusion that jewelry is one of the few items that does require a higher end digital camera and proper lighting.  YouTube may be your friend for finding more detailed suggestions for improving your photos.

[jayjaspersgarage]

That's an open ended question.  Given where you are located I would hope you have tested the massive outdoor Flea for in person feedback.

I agree that at least try a black velvet background and get a model wrist-hand and a neck hanger.

Your disclaimer is glaringly worrisome.  You must have a strong aversion to an occasional return or complaint.

[terrycece62]

I am a jewelry lover and tend to buy alot of jewelry here 

 I search listing almost daily.

I used to sell mainly jewelry here on eBay as well.

You have interesting jewelry the major flaws with your listings have already been addressed -

pictures 

use plain sold color backgrounds that focus on your item not the gorgeous rock formation you are displaying with it. You are selling the pendent not the display item

Your I'm so great claim:

It is terrific you have a positive view of yourself and stating in your listings your jewelry making skills and creativity does not prove to me as the potential buyer that you do.

But your jewelry creation photos and buyer comments are a glowing testament to your talents you currently state in your listings

I would urge you to consider rewriting your listing description.

[creativecrisis]

Lots of helpful suggestions here. In addition you may want to rewrite your listing titles. Most of the listings I looked at have descriptors at the beginning of the title and the name of the actual item at the end. For example, "pink tourmaline Grade AA rhodolite garnet handmade beaded bracelet copper 8" ... wouldn't "bracelet" be the primary search term for this item? I'd make "handmade beaded bracelet" the first three words of the title, and see whether this improves search placement.

I sell in a couple of saturated categories myself and have been using promoted listings (set at a minimal ad rate) to improve impressions and sales. If you have a store, running sales and promotions can help too.

[simply-the-best-for-you]

JMO, the disclaimer doesn't bother me, as I treat my jewelery with care & I like the artsy photos on rocks, though I can certainly understand why many want to see the items on a plain background.  BUT, some of your photos need work.   All those shadows are a problem, distracting & confusing & some of the photos seem overexposed making the colors look fakey (the Labradorite for example). 

You have beautiful pieces, but you need to photograph them better.  One of my pet peeves when I buy jewelry is inaccurate color representation.  

Aside from that, yes, the category is saturated.  

[dirk12955]

Tagging on:      When I've offered jewelry on eBAy,   I've had my wife or daughter wear it while photographing what I had to offer.     There's no need to put my wife or daughter on display,    Just their ear or their wrist.

As a jewelry seller for many years I believe people want to see "How it looks"  when worn.

A woman looking at a pair of earrings in my shop would always want a mirror,  then hold the earring up to their ear while checking themselves out.    Always. 

I always kept a pretty girl behind the jewelry counter to show the boys how a bracelet or necklace would 

look while she was wearing it.

You have nice items.   Your pictures don't do justice to what you are offering.

If I want a piece of jewelry to match my girlfriends BLUE eyes, will all your blue stones come up in search?    Your titles should read to match the way people search.     Do I need to know this bracelet is made with copper wire?    That can go under item specifics.    

Can you think of any terms for your title that would compliment the "Handmade" usage?   How about the word designer?     For that matter,    How about the word Jewelry?     Designer Jewelry.    Maybe the word craft would draw some views.   Again,   How do people search?    Also,   Maybe include the word birthstone.   At least in your item specifics.     

[bill.purvis2012]

I sell jewelry.  Your items are lovely, priced well and have good photos.  I think you need to change up your listing titles.  Buyers search for certain key words.  When you have a sterling silver item, you need to add 925. People are lazy and will use 925.  The best thing you offer is being overlooked and not mentioned in the title--artisan made. handmade. Yes, designer. People need to know it is an artisan piece.  Use the word.  Adding color helps. Blue, green, black, etc.  

[simply-the-best-for-you]

Personally, I do NOT want to see jewelry that I may be buying on a human model.   Esp not those extreme close-ups, where I can see every hair, pimple, blackhead, gross dirty fingernails or split broken nails, etc.  Yes, we all have some of those things, but I don't want to see them when I'm trying to look at beautiful jewelry.  Also, some people can get creeped out seeing 'their' items being worn by another.  I once had a customer that didn't like that I photographed outdoors, b/c "a bug could fly onto it" & in clothing you can find many listings where a person is wearing an outfit they barely fit in.  While that appeals to some, as a clothing seller, I know just as many are repulsed by it & refuse to by b/c of the 'model'.  

I think you're better off sticking to a form or mannequin.  Not that it can't be artfully done on a human, it can, but you may still turn off some buyers.   BTW, I got my black 'velvet' necklace form for $2.  You can get a pretty decent one (mine's cheap) for under $15.

[muttlymob]

Some thoughts based on a handful of your listings that I looked at.

In one, a bracelet is described as 8 inches diameter.  I did not look to see if this error was carried over in other listings, or if it's a 1-off.  Diameter is the distance across a circle.  That bracelet is 8 inches long, not across.

You describe some of your jewelry as fragile, (already addressed by multiple posters in its own right) then describe your shipping method as wrapped in paper inside a bubble envelope.  Anything that needs to be handled gently should not be mailed unprotected in a bubble envelope.  Please rethink your shipping methods.

[bellacleojewelry]

Thanks so much! I took a look at your tltles and already changed some of mine. 🙂 Happy New Year, and thanks for your time, and for being so pleasant and respectful with your response. Clearly your listings are working, and your business is successful!  Much appreciated!!