Online jewellery store

Hellotree

Hi all,
I am an unemployed aspiring entrepreneur. I am in the middle of developing a survey about the viability of creating an online jewellery store.

It would be a small business, I would import jewellery from china, having done research into what is fashionable (what appears to sell) and sell it through my website, facebook, twitter etsy etc. I would plan to create an impressive looking website for my small business.

I have some dependents so I would like to know if I could have a comfortable lifestyle doing this as a feasible job.

Opinions?

jimmii

Could you? Yes. Is it likely? No.

The problem with a business like this is that it's easy to get into so lots of people do it and then most people really only make pocket money from it. If you can do it better than the existing people there is always an opportunity but it would definitely take time to grow your following and feedback on sites so that it was at the point where you became a go to person for this sort of thing.

Hellotree

Thank you Jimmii. It is good to get a realistic perspective on it.

In what ways do you think I could improve my chances of succeeding?

Are there areas, other than jewellery, that might be better?

ironclaw

I sold usb sticks from down the back of college lectures, many moons ago. Mainly by dropshipping. I made some drinking money, nothing more.

You'll never be able to compete with China on price. Not a hope. And anyone buying online will search online, likely finding the same piece on eBay or another outlet, for less money that yourself. You'll also probably attract the attention of customs on large orders, so not only will you need to factor your cost of shipping from China to here, you'll need to add abit to cover fees and make it worth your while. Then, you'll need to sell it. Jewellery, at least for me, is something I need to hold. I want put it on my wrist or whatnot. I'm sure there is market online, but any client I've worked with has a physical store. They sell online at a cheaper rate to boost online sales, but most people will have seen it in the shop window or walked in to try it on. Which leads me to your sales avenue, you'll need people to be able to touch and try your product, so you'll need to get to markets and knick knack outlets, all of which costs money. You could sell online, but you'd need a very successful niche and some serious advertising. Think 500 to 1000EUR per month, provided you were operating in a laser focused market segment with existing players. At least to gain traction, you'll need that. If its super niche and in demand, you might get away with organic marketing but I doubt it, nearly all bases are covered between eBay, Etsy and Pintrest.

Lastly, China quality is dreadful. It won't be silk or silver or gold, and will be poor quality jade. The pic you see will rarely be the item you get. Great for costume jewellery, not a valentines gift. You'll need to factor this in and price accordingly.

If you wanted a weekend job at markets to make a little extra money, its perfect and as / if it grows, you could make a tidy sum. But its not as easy as buying 200EUR worth of AliExpresses finest and flogging on online, you won't gain traction.

Hellotree

Thank you Ironclaw, I appreciate the input

Silverbling

You need to work 70 plus hour weeks, have incredible customer service when they need you to answer questions (mainly nights and weekends when the kids are in bed)

Be careful buying from China, over €22 you are liable for import duty of 23% plus duty on the shipping fee, if you do buy from there you need a reputable manufacturer who will make you items in bulk and send you the test reports.

The UK have hiked their prices up, An Post have hiked their prices up, boxes are not cheap, add in marketing budget, carriage charges, hosting costs, developer charges if you can not build and maintain it yourself.

To run an online jewellery store you really need to have a passion for it, understand analytics, market it properly and genuinely like your customers not just be in it for the money.

But I love it, even the head banging off the pc moments, the really lovely emails from my customers make my day.

Is it enough to support a family on? the answer is no you will need to do something else too

Hellotree

great, thank you