There's Too Much Generic-Looking Jewelry Out There

by Patricia R.

I have bought handcrafted jewelry at craft fairs and in stores. I have chosen it because it's unique and expresses the personality of the recipient more than mass-produced jewelry can.

I have purchased handcrafted jewelry as a gift and also for myself.

I've gone back to the same artist in a local store because I liked the quality of her jewelry and her prices were reasonable. Also, her jewelry is very unique compared to a lot of other choices out there, and it's very beautiful.

Most of my handcrafted jewelry shopping experiences have been pleasant. I think stores are better than craft fairs.

My complaints about vendors at craft fairs are:

• not engaging the customer (in other words, sitting there doing something else while customer is browsing


• poor or disorganized displays


• and lack of professional looking packaging (i.e., some sort of tag identifying the name of the company or artist, bags or boxes for purchases, etc.).

Unfortunately, I think there is a lot of really generic-looking jewelry being passed off at craft fairs, so if you make an effort to have high quality and professional products, display, and packaging, you will stand out and customers will appreciate it.

I think for prices you need to do a lot of research and find out what the average prices are.

If your product is really nice, you can price slightly higher, but no one is going to pay a really high price for ordinary-looking jewelry. You have to be offering something unique and exceptional to ask for higher prices.

Also, make sure your jewelry is intricate enough so people don't say, "I can make that myself." They won't buy it if it looks really simple and like it came from a kit.