The online world is convenient enough to buy anything. But should we consider to buy jewelry online?
The Internet has revolutionized our way of shopping. It is just a matter of a few clicks and the item will be delivered to your doorstep. People are shifting towards online shopping more often due to certain benefits.
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In 2019 the online jewelry market was estimated worth $229 billion and will tend to grow up to $290 billion by 2025.
The enormous growth of this industry and the reputable online outlets has decreased the need for traditional brick-to-mortar store visits. The unparalleled convenience, easy comparability, flexible prices, and online friends advice are a few of the benefits that online purchase offers.
Still, the traditional shopper might not prefer buying jewelry online. One should be aware of the conditions whether to buy jewelry online or not:
Why buy jewelry online primarily?
Online shopping can be a cost-effective trade on jewelry and expensive stones. Usually, online stores have an extensive stock and sell at a lower price than the traditional market. However, it is necessary to be cautious while buying jewelry online to protect your financial information.
Here are points that advocate online jewelry purchase:
1. Buying Convenience
How many miles away does your favorite jewelry store is located? Usually, such outlets are located in busy cities and the consumer has to drive for hours to reach there. Buying jewelry online is surely a convenience.
You can easily order your desired piece of jewelry while taking a sip of coffee. Even if your vendor is thousands of miles away, you can still get your order without visiting the shop. The online vendors have customer support in place that works 24/7, hence no need to wait for long.
2. Appealing Lower Price
The price tag is another factor that draws the consumer’s attention to an online jewelry purchase. Online stores offer way less price compared to traditional outlets.
How?
As previously mentioned, they have a huge collection of jewelry that comes from wholesale only. Originally the dropshipping method is followed online where a store lists the product and sells without having an actual stock.
These stores buy inventory only when an order is placed. This way the cost is reduced due to no inventory space occupied.
However, this does not affect the quality of the jewelry sold. As the items sold online come straight from the manufacturer and cut out the middleman, resulting in the lower price. The traditional stores can’t offer this luxury since they have already faced higher manufacturing prices and need to cover up their actual cost and adequate profit margin.
3. Stress-free Buying Experience
Have you ever done window shopping at a diamond outlet? If so, you must be aware of the convincing salesperson that will try their best to sell at such stores.
It is quite disturbing having some persuasively trying to sell something that you are not willing to buy. Sometimes they even try to enforce their decision to just get their commission in place.
Fortunately, online stores do not come up with such inconvenience. The online stores are highly customer-driven and have very convenient customer support. They are available online at all costs and willing to answer any jewelry-related queries.
Even you can select multiple options and put them in your cart to check out later. Nobody will be asking you to buy them as soon as possible.
4. Huge Variety to Buy
Mostly, traditional jewelry stores have limited options to select from. Being short at the space they are only capable of storing such a quantity; Otherwise, they have to bear the extra cost of additional storage. This also increases the selling cost.
The physical shops have to pay for storage and security as well to protect the expensive jewels. For instance, it’ll be too risky to top up the whole store for diamond jewelers. Plus it’ll be a grave danger to put all the jewelry in one place.
On the other hand, online stores can enlist as many products as they want as they don’t need to have a storage space to keep them all. The dropshipping business model helps the online jewelers to connect with manufacturers directly. The manufacturers directly fulfill the orders and the jeweler needs not to worry about inventory.
How to buy jewelry online?
Now that you have an insight into the online jewelry market, the following highlights will help you buy jewelry online the right way.
Do the Research First
Try to know the item you want to purchase. Online vendors have a variety of jewelry including earrings, bracelets, necklaces, rings, made of specific metals or stones. Take the advantage of the variety and find out what suits you best.
Have a good insight into the quality grades available for your choice of jewelry. You have to do some homework about the gold standards, diamond quality factors, or the fine jewelry and gemstones before investing.
Also, beware of all the sizes available before going to buy. This will help in determining whether the selected piece is available in a specific size or not.
Moreover, figure out your size whether it is a ring, necklace, or bracelet, etc.
For bracelets, if you don’t know your wrist size then use a measuring tape and add up to 1-inch to the resulting size for comfort fit. Similarly, find out the ring size as well. Take help from the standard size charts available online to have an idea.
Find out the Legitimate Dealer
There are enormous online jewelry websites and stores but not all of them are loyal and trustworthy. Just like the legitimate vendors, scammers are also experts in whatever they do. They’ll replicate the original dealers and make you miserable for your wrong decision.
To prevent that happening, follow the given facts:
Check for the high-quality photography that makes the website highly professional.
If confused, find a well-known brand website and compare it with the target store.
Check out the history of a website exploring the “About Us” page.
Check for the professional well-formatted text and grammar.
Explore the company address on google maps and call their customer service as well.
Ask for the Jewelry Certificates
Most of the expensive jewelry comes with the tested certificates or the authentication documents to prove its quality. These certificates are issued by unbiased gemologists from the most trustworthy laboratories.
It is a crucial part of the online buying system to know if you are buying a genuine product or not.
The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) is the foremost independent third-party institute that provides diamonds and jewelry certificates.
Ask your vendor for these authority certificates and make a wise and secure purchase. These certificates work like an insurance policy. For instance, getting a brand new car without an insurance policy would make you so miserable upon any unfortunate incident.
If your seller isn’t providing any of the standard certificates, don’t risk your investment at all.
Check for Warranty Compliance
Occasionally, people did not receive what they had not ordered. Sometimes, it might be a mistake, or chances are that they have been scammed. Make sure to buy online from a legitimate vendor or manufacturer that provides quality assurance for their product.
This is where the warranty offers its role. Find out if the piece of jewelry that you want to buy comes with a warranty from the manufacturer. This warranty should cover any deficiency and repairs like loose gemstones for at least a year.
Many online jewelers offer lifetime warranties for minor default cleaning and polishing. However, some of them will offer a limited time and you have to pay extra for the extensions. If an online jeweler does not offer any of these warranties, then you’ll be on an edge for any repair out of your control.
Check for Payment Methods and Return Policies
Before checking out, make sure to have a look at the different payment and shipping options. A website or store having multiple payment options like debit and credit cards, PayPal, or even EMI’s is much trustworthy.
Having integrated these payment methods on their website ensures that they are well aware of the market diversity and consider the convenience of their consumer.
Also, look for the return policies. In case you have to return the product due to damaged or wrong delivery, it should be hassle-free. Consider the return durations and limitations to avoid inconvenience after purchasing jewelry online.
Conclusion
Buying jewelry online could be overwhelming due to the alluring designs and variety. But if it’s an expensive investment, you must think twice before making the decision. Do your proper research online or visit an expert to have an insight into the jewelry standards.
Find out the right legitimate online dealers, ask them for the standard jewelry certificates, warranty, etc to make the right decision. Despite the benefits of the online buying system, there are possibilities of a scam as well. Use the above information to avoid that and make a secure investment for yourself or your special ones.
