When browsing through online jewelry stores, do you ever ask yourself where these businesses source its merchandise from? Most likely, a large number of them are dropshipping their products. If you’re interested in selling jewelry online, here’s what dropshipping is, and how you can set up a jewelry dropshipping business.

What is dropshipping?

Dropshipping is a business model that splits the duties of sales and order fulfillment between two different companies. One company maintains a storefront—usually an online ecommerce store—that showcases products, interacts with customers, and processes online sales transactions. The other serves as a supplier and fulfillment manager, keeping items in stock and shipping them out to customers when those customers place an order. 

As an ecommerce store owner, you can set up a dropship program that lets you sell quality products without needing to stock them in a physical location. Your dropshipping partner does that for you.

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How does dropshipping work in the jewelry industry?

Jewelry dropshippers operate an online jewelry store that they independently curate. They choose different styles of jewelry to sell—anything from fashion jewelry to costume jewelry, men’s jewelry or women’s jewelry—or they hone in on a single style. They then partner with a jewelry supplier (or multiple suppliers) who can source and ship jewelry pieces when a customer orders them. 

The ecommerce store charges retail prices to their customers and then pays their suppliers a lower price for the jewelry products and any associated fees. The supplier ships the product to the customer. Meanwhile, the dropshipper pockets the difference in prices charged. Shopify has an in-depth guide on how to start dropshipping that goes into more detail about the process.

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3 advantages of dropshipping jewelry

Low startup costs
The ability to offer many different products
Wider acceptance of buying jewelry online

Many ecommerce merchants find that a dropshipping store is the easiest way to get into the jewelry business for the following three reasons:

Low startup costs. Unlike in a traditional retail jewelry model, dropshippers do not have to buy a lot of stock from wholesale jewelry suppliers. They only pay suppliers when jewelry items are sold, and they don’t worry about the storage or security of fine jewelry. This lowers several key barriers to entry.

The ability to offer many different products. As a dropshipper, you can enter contracts with many fulfillment companies and sell different products. You can have one supplier for your rose gold jewelry, another for your sterling silver jewelry, and yet another for your crystal necklaces. This allows you to reach a broad market of customers from the same online storefront.

Wider acceptance of buying jewelry online. These days, customers spend well north of $8 billion in the US on online jewelry purchases each year. They may expect generous return policies that let them send back items they don’t like. Still, this shifting attitude lets you compete directly with traditional retailers who might have more resources.

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Challenges of dropshipping jewelry

Finding reliable suppliers. It can be difficult for jewelry dropshippers to find reliable suppliers who ship desirable products in quality packaging at reasonable factory prices. When you do find such suppliers, they may charge membership fees or require minimum order sizes.

Highly competitive landscape. The other challenge for online jewelry store owners is competition. As wholesale dropshipping has expanded, many entrepreneurs have set up jewelry ecommerce stores, selling everything from gemstone keychains to gold earrings. To stand out from the competition, you must find a niche, whether that’s impeccable selection, fast shipping times, or unbeatable prices.

How to start dropshipping jewelry

Many ecommerce entrepreneurs use a Shopify store to start a dropshipping business because of the platform’s built-in order fulfillment tools, its ability to generate compelling landing pages and product feeds, and the many Shopify Apps that connect you to dropshipping suppliers. To set up a store, start with Shopify’s online store builder.

Next, you’ll need to find reliable suppliers who can fulfill your jewelry store’s dropship orders. The online jewelry niche covers many items, from fashion accessories like earrings to practical items like keychains, so you may need to partner with multiple suppliers. Some of the best jewelry dropshippers have backup suppliers they can pivot to if their top option can’t fulfill an order.

Once you’ve found the right partners and launched your ecommerce website, you’ll curate the jewelry items you want to sell online, creating a collection that reflects your brand. You’ll then need to market your online store, emphasizing the traits that make you stand out from the pack. This may involve a combination of search engine optimization (SEO), Google ads, social media marketing, email marketing, and more. The goal is to drive traffic to your online jewelry store, where your pricing and selection can convert curious visitors into paying customers.

6 top jewelry dropshipping suppliers

Sprocket
Richard Cannon Jewelry
Alibaba and AliExpress
Worldwide Brands
Pierce Body
Brands Gateway

The most successful jewelry dropshippers have reliable fulfillment partners who can source the best items, offer fast shipping times, and charge reasonable rates. Many dropshippers import products from overseas, which keeps costs low. Others source their jewelry items domestically.

Here are some dropshipping suppliers with a background in fulfilling jewelry orders:

1. Sprocket

Found in the Shopify App Store, Sprocket makes it easy to select quality products to sell on your Shopify ecommerce site. It has a worldwide network of suppliers in locations that include the US, Europe, Australia, and Brazil. Sprocket is not a jewelry-exclusive platform, but many online stores use it specifically to dropship jewelry items.

2. Richard Cannon Jewelry

Richard Cannon Jewelry, or RC Jewelry, has a dropshipping program in addition to its main retail arm. It costs $29.99 per month to be a dropshipping affiliate, but there are no minimum order thresholds. The company specializes in fine jewelry, including items made with gold, silver, and diamonds.

3. Alibaba and AliExpress

Alibaba and AliExpress both have robust dropshipping operations. While they’re part of the same company, they cater to slightly different audiences. Alibaba focuses mostly on business-to-business (B2B) transactions, like retailers who want to order large quantities of a product to sell under a private label or white label. AliExpress is more oriented toward individual purchasers and smaller orders, which may be more helpful when you’re just getting started. Consider installing the DSers Shopify app to help you get started with AliExpress dropshipping.

4. Worldwide Brands

Worldwide Brands is another general-purpose dropshipping platform, covering not just jewelry but many other products as well. Established in 1999, it sets high standards for its dropshipping manufacturers. Many of the Worldwide Brands vendors require large orders with bulk payment upfront, so while the platform is synonymous with quality, it may pose financial hurdles for some.

5. Pierce Body

Pierce Body focuses on the specific niche of piercing-related jewelry, like earrings, nose rings, navel rings, and studs. You can purchase these items at wholesale rates with a $200 order minimum.

6. Brands Gateway

Estonia-based Brands Gateway focuses on high fashion but offers many items for jewelry dropshippers, including cufflinks, brooches, and bracelets. Some of its partners include big-name brands like Gucci and Swarovski. You can integrate Brands Gateway with your Shopify store for rates starting at $149 per month when billed annually.

Dropshipping jewelry FAQ

How do I choose a reliable dropshipping supplier for jewelry?

You can choose a reliable supplier from a curated list like Shopify’s 13 best dropshipping suppliers, or you can contact a fellow jewelry dropshipper to get a referral. It particularly helps to know whether a supplier charges subscription fees or requires minimum order sizes. Ask to see the supplier’s standard dropshipping contract and compare them directly with their competitors.

What are some of the most popular jewelry items to dropship?

Some of the most popular jewelry items to dropship include necklaces, earrings, rings, and bracelets. You can also opt to dropship more niche products like cufflinks and money clips, products for which you may face fewer competitors.

How do I market my jewelry dropshipping business and attract customers?

To create a healthy ecommerce marketing plan, consider a combination of Google ads, social media marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), email marketing, and influencer marketing. Try some tactics on these channels to see what works and what doesn’t.

How do I manage inventory and keep track of sales in a jewelry dropshipping business?

As a dropshipper, you may not have to manage any inventory at all—your fulfillment partner handles that—but you’ll still want an all-in-one solution for tracking your orders. Shopify is specifically designed to help you set up a storefront, manage inventory, and track sales. Consider getting started with Shopify’s online store builder to see what the platform can offer.