Business Overview:

Diamonds might be a girl’s best friend, but baubles can bring in the big bucks so consider learning how to start an online vintage costume jewelry business. You can execute this online business idea so easily with the Internet that you may need to spend just a few hours a day on the computer to earn a sound profit. If you’re wondering how to start an online jewelry business, you’re in the right place. The first thing you will want to do is purchase some vintage costume jewelry or sort through the collection you may already own and determine what is marketable and what needs tweaking to make it saleable. If you need to purchase jewelry, you can find some great deals from local pawn shops, thrift stores, and garage sales. You might even decide to run an advertisement in a local paper that lets people know you’re in the market to buy costume jewelry. If you don’t quite know what to look for in buying costume jewelry, consider the following: Do you like the piece enough to wear it? If you do, chances are others will too. Is it in good condition? You don’t want to invest in pieces that will cost you more to repair than you will earn from selling them. Does the piece look like what’s being sought after? Don’t forget, jewelry is fashion and trends come and go. Keep your ear to the ground and your eye on stores and magazines to see what the celebrities are wearing. These tips can help you build a solid costume jewelry collection and start this business idea off on the right foot. Then you will have to decide whether you sell your wares on an existing site (think eBay or Etsy) or if you want to get your own website up and running. At the beginning especially, it might be easier to stick with these well-known selling sites to ensure your shipping and payments go smoothly. That said, if you sell great vintage costume jewelry and you provide solid service to your customers, you will quickly be able turn a profit and your business will be on its way.

A Day in the Life of an online vintage costume jewelry business owner:

This article brought to you by Business Ideas! If you enjoyed this article, make sure to subscribe to the Business Ideas Newsletter to get ideas sent straight to your email inbox.Your day as an online jewelry business owner will begin with a check on your collection. You will want to decide what you want to buy to add to your collection and to see if any new leads for good pieces have come your way. Then you will want to monitor your sales to see if you need to fill any orders or answer any customer questions. You will want to keep a daily check on your site to make sure it is slick, easy-to-use, and has great pictures of your merchandise—after all, the key to strong sales online is providing multiple awesome pictures of what you’re selling. You’ll wrap up your workday by deciding if you need to or want to market yourself in any new ways.

About Your Customers:

The customers of an online vintage costume jewelry business will be vast and varied. Of course you’ll have your fair share of women seeking the most unique or conversation-worthy piece of jewelry, but you can also have customers seeking gifts for loved ones or shopping online for the first time.

What You Need to Start:

• A vintage jewelry collection
• A computer with an Internet connection
• A digital camera
• An account with a site such as eBay
• An account to make transactions such as PayPal

The Good:

• You can love what you sell and make a profit selling it.
• You can work from the comfort of your home.
• Initial investment costs can be very low, especially if you already own some costume jewelry.

The Bad:

• Learning how to sell online and keeping track of your online inventory can be time-consuming for a novice.
• Understanding how to price your merchandise might take some practice.

Resources:

• Fashion Jewelry Trade Association
• Wikipedia on Costume Jewelry
• YouTube on Evaluating Costume Jewelry

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