What Should I Do if My Handmade Jewelry isn't Selling?
Hopefully, you'll never encounter the problem of low sales on your handmade jewelry. But chances are you will at some point. This may happen due to subtle changes in the prevailing fashion trends as well as competition from other jewelers and importers. Trends in jewelry tend to have a finite life cycle requiring you to make subtle adaptations to your jewelry line.What should you do if you suddenly find that your jewelry isn't selling as well as it has been? It may be time to take a fresh look at your products. To do this, take out your jewelry pieces and place them on their display. Let's look at each item with fresh eyes:
1. Is each piece well made with attention to detail? Could you be skimping on quality in order to produce more handmade jewelry quickly? Sometimes over time we unknowingly become sloppy with our worksmanship due to the demands of production. Make sure the loops on your earrings are attractively rounded, necklaces are have no apparent slack showing, crimps are attractively closed and secure etc. People DO notice these subtleties.
2. Are your pieces easy to wear? Are they comfortable and practical? There are many women who won't wear large or heavy earrings because they find them too cumbersome and uncomfortable for their busy lifestyle. Are the clasps on your necklaces of high quality and easy to manipulate? With the aging of the population, more women are experiencing symptoms of arthritis which makes it difficult to open some clasps. Make sure yours are easy to work with.
3. Are your handmade jewelry items truly unique or are you facing competition from the mass retailers? People buy from you because they want something special and different. Make sure they can't find it more inexpensively elsewhere in your area. I usually pay a visit at least once a month to the larger department store jewelry departments as well as the smaller boutiques in my area to find out what's available. Don't hesitate to question the sales clerk as to what's selling and what's languishing on the shelves. This is valuable information for your handmade jewelry design business.
4. Is your handmade jewelry line consistent with the current color trends? It may be difficult to sell bright colors when the prevailing color mood favors darks and neutrals. Visit your local department stores and scan fashion catalogs to find out what colors are currently in demand. A free online site that can help to keep you abreast of both fashion and color trends is
http://www.infomat.com/trends/index.html
5. Are you selling your handmade jewelry to the right market? You can have the most beautiful jewelry in the world but if you're trying to sell it to the wrong market, you'll never find success. Try to get an idea of the demographics of the customer who purchases your jewelry. How old is she? Does she work outside the home? Is she fashion conscious? Is she affluent? The more you know about your target market, the more closely you can adapt your line to their needs.
6. Are you presenting your handmade jewelry in the best possible way? Take a fresh look at your jewelry display cards. Are they consistent with your jewelry theme? How about your show display? Does it need an update? Subtle changes in these areas can often trigger sales.
Also, ask yourself these questions when you're considering modifying your handmade jewelry pieces:
1. Could I make it bigger or smaller?
2. Could I change the color?
3. Could I try a new material? For example, make it in gold filled instead of sterling?
4. Could I make it longer or shorter? If you're making choker length necklaces, would a longer length sell better? Earring length can also greatly affect sales. The longer earrings are, the more impractical they become. Longer may sell well to a highly fashion conscious target audience, but be considered impractical by the average customer. Again, it's important to understand the demographics of your customer.
5. Would I sell more if changed the price? Don't think that the only way to increase sales is to LOWER the price. Sometimes raising the price can stimulate sales. People tend to be skeptical of the quality of lower priced items. A higher price means increased value in some people's minds. Just make sure the price is consistent with your presentation and the demographics of your customer.
6. Could I add value to my pieces? One trick that I learned early on is that people love sets and will be more likely to purchase a set necklace, bracelet, and earrings as opposed to buying an isolated piece. This also works to your advantage since it results in higher sales. Try making a matching pair of earrings to go with a slow selling necklace and see what happens. You may be surprised!
I guess that will cover it for today. I've got lots more handmade jewelry marketing tips on the horizon. I want to make 2007 your best year ever for jewelry sales!
Kristie
Hopefully, you'll never encounter the problem of low sales on your handmade jewelry. But chances are you will at some point. This may happen due to subtle changes in the prevailing fashion trends as well as competition from other jewelers and importers. Trends in jewelry tend to have a finite life cycle requiring you to make subtle adaptations to your jewelry line.What should you do if you suddenly find that your jewelry isn't selling as well as it has been? It may be time to take a fresh look at your products. To do this, take out your jewelry pieces and place them on their display. Let's look at each item with fresh eyes:
1. Is each piece well made with attention to detail? Could you be skimping on quality in order to produce more handmade jewelry quickly? Sometimes over time we unknowingly become sloppy with our worksmanship due to the demands of production. Make sure the loops on your earrings are attractively rounded, necklaces are have no apparent slack showing, crimps are attractively closed and secure etc. People DO notice these subtleties.
2. Are your pieces easy to wear? Are they comfortable and practical? There are many women who won't wear large or heavy earrings because they find them too cumbersome and uncomfortable for their busy lifestyle. Are the clasps on your necklaces of high quality and easy to manipulate? With the aging of the population, more women are experiencing symptoms of arthritis which makes it difficult to open some clasps. Make sure yours are easy to work with.
3. Are your handmade jewelry items truly unique or are you facing competition from the mass retailers? People buy from you because they want something special and different. Make sure they can't find it more inexpensively elsewhere in your area. I usually pay a visit at least once a month to the larger department store jewelry departments as well as the smaller boutiques in my area to find out what's available. Don't hesitate to question the sales clerk as to what's selling and what's languishing on the shelves. This is valuable information for your handmade jewelry design business.
4. Is your handmade jewelry line consistent with the current color trends? It may be difficult to sell bright colors when the prevailing color mood favors darks and neutrals. Visit your local department stores and scan fashion catalogs to find out what colors are currently in demand. A free online site that can help to keep you abreast of both fashion and color trends is
http://www.infomat.com/trends/index.html
5. Are you selling your handmade jewelry to the right market? You can have the most beautiful jewelry in the world but if you're trying to sell it to the wrong market, you'll never find success. Try to get an idea of the demographics of the customer who purchases your jewelry. How old is she? Does she work outside the home? Is she fashion conscious? Is she affluent? The more you know about your target market, the more closely you can adapt your line to their needs.
6. Are you presenting your handmade jewelry in the best possible way? Take a fresh look at your jewelry display cards. Are they consistent with your jewelry theme? How about your show display? Does it need an update? Subtle changes in these areas can often trigger sales.
Also, ask yourself these questions when you're considering modifying your handmade jewelry pieces:
1. Could I make it bigger or smaller?
2. Could I change the color?
3. Could I try a new material? For example, make it in gold filled instead of sterling?
4. Could I make it longer or shorter? If you're making choker length necklaces, would a longer length sell better? Earring length can also greatly affect sales. The longer earrings are, the more impractical they become. Longer may sell well to a highly fashion conscious target audience, but be considered impractical by the average customer. Again, it's important to understand the demographics of your customer.
5. Would I sell more if changed the price? Don't think that the only way to increase sales is to LOWER the price. Sometimes raising the price can stimulate sales. People tend to be skeptical of the quality of lower priced items. A higher price means increased value in some people's minds. Just make sure the price is consistent with your presentation and the demographics of your customer.
6. Could I add value to my pieces? One trick that I learned early on is that people love sets and will be more likely to purchase a set necklace, bracelet, and earrings as opposed to buying an isolated piece. This also works to your advantage since it results in higher sales. Try making a matching pair of earrings to go with a slow selling necklace and see what happens. You may be surprised!
I guess that will cover it for today. I've got lots more handmade jewelry marketing tips on the horizon. I want to make 2007 your best year ever for jewelry sales!
Kristie
posted by Your friends at Beads Indeed | 6:00 AM
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