Jewelry: Discussions

Does anyone else find international buyers slower to pay? I'm finding most of them take 3 - 5 days before I hear a word from them. I'm also more likely to have to send a reminder invoice. I realize payment may be slower because of the time difference, but I can't see that causing a five day delay.

Sherry

Calling all jewelry neighborhood sellers - post your RICH, RED RUBY JEWELRY here for easy viewing by Valentine's shoppers.

As for me, I've just finished two solid 14K Gold rings featuring gorgeous, generously-sized Madagascar rubies. They're on sale for 10% off my direct-from-the-artist prices - AND - I'm including *FREE* USPS Priority Mail shipping this week. Click on the item numbers below for details. I personally select and test each gemstone I use to create my jewelry so you can purchase from me with confidence.

Ok, I'm headed back to my workbench where I'm working on two more genuine Ruby & 14K Gold rings for your shopping pleasure. :D

Alison Julien Fine Artisan Jewelry - Always Original.

Cheers,
JR
Designer - Metalsmith - Owner

There is still time to get a great gift for your valentine!

Free Priority Mail shipping gets it to you if you shop by Wednesday!

shop now for some great deals!

dalec22

I am posting this from today's AuctionBytes newsletter. JR.


Survey Shows Small Sellers Taking Brunt of eBay Fee Changes
By Ina Steiner
AuctionBytes.com
February 08, 2010

AuctionBytes conducted a survey to determine how eBay sellers were affected by upcoming changes to fees - the overall survey results were published in yesterday's AuctionBytes Update newsletter. The survey asked sellers how eBay's new fee structure, coming March 30, 2010, would impact them and what, if any, action they would take as a result of the changes.

We examined differences in how sellers answered the survey based on a number of criteria: seller status, annual sales, and by certain categories, and sure enough, yielded some interesting results, published below.

Overview
Lowest-volume sellers were more likely to report that the new fee structure would result in higher monthly fees, and they were most skeptical that their sell-through rate will improve - except for one tier: no seller with GMV of between $500,001 - $1,000,000 believed that their sell-through rate would go up as a result of eBay eliminating Store Inventory format.

Top Rated sellers were slightly more optimistic than non-TRS sellers about the impact of the new fee structure, perhaps because eBay gives Top Rated sellers discounts and better exposure in search. When eBay eliminates Stores Inventory format, core search will be flooded with fixed-price listings, making exposure in search even more important to sellers.

eBay is moving further toward category-based pricing with its new fee structure. While the majority of sellers who took the survey believed their fees would go up (76%), a greater percentage of sellers in the Media category believed their monthly fees would increase, while a lower percentage of sellers in the Clothing, Shoes & Accessories, Consumer Electronics, and Computers & Networking categories believed their fees would increase.

The survey shows that the majority of sellers who took the survey believe their fees will go up, but it also shows the complexity of the new fee structure and clearly shows that some sellers will be impacted more negatively than other sellers.

Breaking It Down by Seller Status: Top Rated Sellers
Survey respondents were almost equally split into Top Rated sellers (50.8%) and non-Top Rated sellers (49.2%). Top Rated sellers were slightly more optimistic than non-TRS sellers about the impact of fees: 11.9% of TRS sellers said it would be less expensive for them to sell as an eBay Store subscriber compared to only 5.9% of non-TRS sellers; 17.8% of TRS sellers said their sell through rate would improve as a result of the elimination of the Stores inventory format compared to 10.3% of non-TRS sellers.

Twice as many non-TRS sellers said they planned to stop selling on eBay (20%), and 24.6% of TRS sellers said they planned to upgrade their eBay Store compared to 10.4% of non-TRS sellers. TRS sellers also planned to list more items on eBay than non-TRS sellers (16.2% compared to 8.9%).

Breaking It Down by GMV
We broke down annual GMV into five groupings (gross merchandise volume - the value of all items sold over the last 12 months); note that the respondents were heavily weighted into lower GMV:

Up to $50,000 - 77.7%

Between $50,001 - $100,000 - 10.1%

Between $100,001 - $500,000 - 6.7%

Between $500,001 - $1,000,000 - 1.3%

Over $1,000,000 - 4.1%

Breaking It Down by Category
eBay will impose different fee structures on certain categories, so we broke down the results into three category areas: Media; Clothing Shoes & Accessories; and Consumer Electronics and Computers & Networking.

Interestingly, the survey revealed that a higher number of sellers in the Media category reported that under the new eBay.com fee structure, their monthly eBay fees would increase - 83.3% - which is higher than the other categories and higher than the total population (75.8%). Sellers in the Consumer Electronics, Computers & Networking categories had the least number reporting a fee increase, but still over half, at 61.9%.

For the complete article and accompanying charts showing data collected, go to

http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y10/m02/i08/s01

February Babies - AMETHYST

People born in February are lucky enough to have Amethyst as their designated gemstone.

It's difficult to imagine anyone not appreciating one of the many colors of Amethyst - both

manly and feminine.

Amethyst is a color variation of Quartz that comes in many different shade and many

localities around the world.

Amethyst is found in small quantities from many locations - Georgia, N.C., S.C., VA., etc.

here in the southeastern USA. Vast quantities of amethyst for gemstone material are mined

in Brazil, Africa and Russia.

Amethyst colors range from the very delicate pale lilac-lavendar to a range of traditional

purples and a deeper concord grape color with reddish flashes ('siberian amethyst'). 'Green

Amethyst' or Prasiolite is a lovely pale or water green color that is extremely attractive

in jewelry. And we should mention natural Ametrine - gemstones that have purple amthyst

with citrine (and sometimes clear quartz) in the same gemstone.

Most amethyst is relatively inexpensive to purchase, even in large sizes. The more rare

natural ametrine and top quality Siberian Amethyst are worth every extra dollar of expense

to have one of these gorgeous gemstones in your jewelry or faceted gemston collection.

No gemstone should be worn where it could be scratched, chipped, etc. But Amethyst,

Prasiolite, Ametrine, Citrine and Chocolate or Smoky Quartz make excellent every day jewelry

for rings, earrings, pendants, bracelets and necklaces.

Amethyst can make a great engagement ring, right-hand ring, cross, earrings and more in

inexpensive silver or gold, with diamonds or other gemstones.

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See some of the Amethyst, Prasiolite and Ametrine jewelry offered by eBay sellers here.

If you have a question about amethyst, the many members of the Jewelry Neighborhood can

probably help answer it.

If you have a favorite amethyst, piece of amethyst jewelry or amethyst story, share it here

for all to read, see and enjoy.

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Paul

Whether you have particpated before, or you are new to the Jewelry Board, all are welcome to participate in our FREE ITEM GIVEAWAY!

Its pretty simple....we give away FREE ITEMS! NO STRINGS, NO PURCHASE NECESSARY.....NO KIDDIING! It's just our way of getting more Ebayers to check the Jewelry "hood" more often.

TODAYS FREE ITEM IS: A 5MM (APRX 1/3 CRT) HEART SHAPED NATURAL OPAL(great for jewelry making)!

There is no real game to play or questions to answer, just be one of the FIRST FIVE individuals to just go into our Ebay store (click on our "red store" icon above) and look for the auction listing entitled "TODAYS TOTALLY FREE ITEM"...and CLAIM the FREE GEM that comes with FREE SHIPPING)....its that easy. PLEASE ONLY TAKE a quantity of "1"...so there is one for the other winners.

THE FREE GEMS GO F-A-S-T! SO DONT WAIT!

******
AND WHEN YOUR DONE(not required)......come back to this thread and check out these cool gemstone parcels (the two links below):

#1. BLUE RIBBON FINE GEMS DIAMONDS & GOLD WHOLESALE 3XFREE! **BUY BY THE CARAT!** Best Loose Gem Mix for Jewelry on Ebay!

#2. MIXED SHAPES SMALL NATURAL OPAL PARCELS LOTS **PARCEL PRICED!** BUY 1 PARCEL GET 1 FREE!

#3. MIXED MULTICOLOR DIAMOND PARCELS LOTS **PARCEL PRICED!** Need a small parcel of different color diamonds for a jewelry project? Right here & nice!

Buy what ever quantity you want....WHILE THEY LAST!

Thanks!

Valentine's Day purchases are just warming up. Wise shoppers will purchase now for the best selection AND pricing. Items bought this week should have plenty of time to arrive before Sunday, 2/14

'WHO Has A SALE', seems appropriate as a 'community post' for Sellers offering a current SALE of items, ranging from 5% or More in Discount and other options available through eBay's Markdown Manager.

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Buyers - Look for these posts to see what Sellers have Special Pricing or Store Discounts Right Now!


Sellers - Post your SALE and/or selected SALE ITEMS here Each Week - discounts of 5% or More off your Store and Fixed Price items. And Sales offering Free Shipping, for example.


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Seems like a good idea for everyone!

Paul