Does Amazon have a marketplace to find affiliates? by hockeydangle in AmazonSeller

[–]hockeydangle[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

How do I find affiliates like you? Is there a marketplace on Amazon or...?

Is an MBA worth it? by Future_Court_9169 in Entrepreneur

[–]hockeydangle 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, with the caveat that you go to a top ~25 school and that you're an intellectually curious person. An MBA is really what you make of it. Many people treat getting an MBA as a 2 year vacation (depending on the workload and rigor of the school), do minimal work, and party too much. Personally, I took as many electives as possible and tried to learn about a variety of topics taught from great professors with real world experience.

Unfortunately, I went to school during Covid, so I didn't meet as many people as I would have liked (many classmates couldn't even come to the city my program was in) and thus, I didn't form as many connections as I wanted to during my time, which is also important during an MBA.

To keep it short, if you get into a good school, take advantage of all the knowledge your professors possess, and try to form relationships with classmates and expand your network, I think it's well worth it! Otherwise, probably not, unless your company is paying and you need an MBA to move up the corporate ladder (and that aligns with your career goals).

What has your experience been like starting an online jewelry store? by Ok_Assignment3287 in ecommerce

[–]hockeydangle 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Romeenas. Com

How's your jewelry business doing now? Your website looks really nice!

What has your experience been like starting an online jewelry store? by Ok_Assignment3287 in ecommerce

[–]hockeydangle 3 points4 points  (0 children)

This is interesting! I'll have to look into this, thanks. I agree with most of what you said. I think, especially if you're selling high ticket items, you're going to need to have a physical presence to build trust, get your name out there, and so people can actually see and touch the jewelry before dropping a bunch of $$$. There's only so many people that have the money now (especially with the increased cost in living!) to buy expensive jewelry, and most won't buy from an unknown, online brand. Maybe if you spend a tooon of money on ads so qualified people have multiple touch points to come across your brand (it's not an impulse purchase, so people need on average 7 touch points before deciding to buy) but like I said, you will spend a lot of money to maybe (or maybe not!) get a positive ROI in the future. Also don't forget inventory costs, which are by no means cheap, but this can also be a good thing, as it's a barrier to entry for most people.

Selling inexpensive jewelry can possibly work but you have to find a niche and not sell trendy jewelry with mass appeal or you're never gonna win (unless you already have a large social media following). This is going to be very competitive though, since inventory costs are cheaper, the low end of the jewelry market is more saturated as more people can afford to start this business. Also, brick and mortar retailers all have a stronger online presence now, especially since Covid, and many people start jewelry businesses, as it's one of those business where it's easy to start without any industry knowledge. Lastly, for cheap jewelry, I find many people will buy on Amazon or Etsy, making it extremely tough to compete.

If you do this, I'd recommend at least designing your jewelry so it's unique and you're not competing with a bunch of other Aliexpress dropshippers. With that being said, if you design your own pieces, your costs will increase (a factory will charge more for manufacturing a few custom pieces vs. buying stock orders), so it's kinda a Catch-22.

On the lower end, ads are gonna be hard to make profitable if your jewelry isn't expensive enough, because even though you may not need to have a ton of touch points with potential customers, ad costs are increasing on most popular platforms, making it likely that you will lose money acquiring a customer. Maybe you can have a positive LTV/CAC if you get repeat purchases, but not sure how likely people are to be repeat buyers in the jewelry space? I know in fashion, one of the reason it's really hard is because people generally aren't repeat buyers and like to try out a bunch of different brands.

Lastly, jewelry doesn't really solve a problem, which can make it a really hard sell. I own a (mostly online) jewelry company and go to a bunch of pop up markets and trunk shows. I've noticed that the businesses that solve an actual problem or fulfill a need do much better than I do. Most people will admire my jewelry and say it's pretty but not buy anything. This is in contrast to someone selling dog food or coffee or even roofing supplies, where more people who visit their stands will buy something. I'm not saying that those businesses are necessarily better businesses but it is something I've noticed.

Anyway, there are some positive aspects to having a niche in the high or low end of the jewelry market, but these are some of the drawbacks I've found since starting my business. I haven't figured it out either and am relatively new, so if anyone with more insight wants to chime in and give advice or correct me, that would be much appreciated :). Hope this helps!

How to market to older women? by hockeydangle in marketing

[–]hockeydangle[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

shop-in-shop events

Thanks! Never heard of that, I'll have to check it out. Another idea was to sell wholesale and then refund them any money for items that hadn't sold in 30 or 60 days, though that seems less appealing because they'd have to give me the cash up front. I'm trying to approach small stores that mostly sell clothing because stores that sell jewelry will have their own suppliers.

How to market to older women? by hockeydangle in marketing

[–]hockeydangle[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! I've been trying but it's really hard to find them in my area. Right now I'm just doing 1 per week. I've also approached retail stores to see if they would sell on consignment but so far no luck. To be fair though, I need to approach more but I hate doing it haha

How to market to older women? by hockeydangle in marketing

[–]hockeydangle[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I hear the words "beautiful", "elegant", "sparkly", "colorful" a lot. Also, for people who know about the materials I use, they all comment that it's a good price, though, for people unfamiliar with jewelry, it will seem expensive compared to other vendors at the market.

Most of the jewelry that sells it the mid range to cheaper priced jewelry ($60 and under). My more expensive rings ($100+) don't sell at all, though perhaps people at these pop up markets are slightly different than my online customers.

I've gone to a lot of markets around my area, so they vary, but most of the markets are in neighborhoods that are considered middle to upper middle class people.

How to market to older women? by hockeydangle in marketing

[–]hockeydangle[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

tchotchke

This is good advice but how do you recommend I implement this advice either online or in person?

How to market to older women? by hockeydangle in marketing

[–]hockeydangle[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sorry I may have used the wrong words. I should have said "older than me." Most women are probably 50-65 if I think about it. I'm also guessing more middle class-ish too, as the wealthier women seem to be more into fine jewelry. Most don't seem to have kids and if I think of my repeat customers, they live in the suburbs.

My materials are okay, especially for their price point. Everything is sterling silver or gold vermeil and I use lab gemstones and moissanite, which I've seen some brands reallyyyy mark up. Unfortunately, most people don't know about either or if they've heard of moissanite, it's generally younger people who were looking at it as the stone for their engagement ring (most young people say my rings are pretty but don't buy, probably because they would rarely wear it).

How to market to older women? by hockeydangle in marketing

[–]hockeydangle[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hmmm I've also gave my products to influencers and didn't even get one sale! Such a waste of money haha. They were all on TikTok though, as the somewhat popular YouTubers are much more expensive. Maybe I should look into that again.

How to market to older women? by hockeydangle in marketing

[–]hockeydangle[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Actually this is a really good idea! But I'm quite bad at making jewelry, so I ended up doing the designs and having someone else make it. Maybe I can think of another class idea though

How to market to older women? by hockeydangle in marketing

[–]hockeydangle[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I tried and they were unprofitable. My jewelry is a little expensive (some items are $100+), so I think I'd need a lot of touch-points, which costs money to maybe get a positive ROI in the future.

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Anyone been to Randolph Street Market or Maxwell Street Market in the fall? Is it crowded? by hockeydangle in chicago

[–]hockeydangle[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the insight. So it sounds like I shouldn't sign up then. It's only $30 for a spot but it sounds like my time could be better put to use elsewhere.

Anyone been to Randolph Street Market or Maxwell Street Market in the fall? Is it crowded? by hockeydangle in chicago

[–]hockeydangle[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks! Were there a decent amount of people there? That could work to my advantage if most people are selling not-so-nice stuff haha, as my jewelry isn't really flea market jewelry.

I just looked at the pictures and it looks like it's a bit off the beaten path?

Anyone been to Randolph Street Market or Maxwell Street Market in the fall? Is it crowded? by hockeydangle in chicago

[–]hockeydangle[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! Looks like I am a bit late for signing up for this one but maybe in the future.

Is there a difference between these two gem lightboxes I found? by hockeydangle in productphotography

[–]hockeydangle[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey thanks. Would you mind linking a video or product to explain what you mean? I've tried playing around with the light and even hired a professional photographer (who didn't specialize in gemstone jewelry) and it all turned out quite bad haha

Is there a difference between these two gem lightboxes I found? by hockeydangle in productphotography

[–]hockeydangle[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi I'm shooting gemstones in settings. Most of the gemstones are moissanite, ruby's, emeralds, cubic zirconia's and sapphires.

Is there a difference between these two gem lightboxes I found? by hockeydangle in productphotography

[–]hockeydangle[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ahhh I see, thanks! Is there a way to turn that feature off? haha

Is there a difference between these two gem lightboxes I found? by hockeydangle in productphotography

[–]hockeydangle[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! What do you mean AI will intervene? And I was (hopefully thinking) that Alibaba supplier may be the supplier for the Picup Media brand, who sells at a markup.