Searching for a wholesale jewelry store? This is how to efficiently purchase items of jewelry that are popular in the market.

公開日 : 2021.05.02

更新日：2021.06.10

online auction Japanese auction b2b auction Purchasing tips

ジュエリーの卸売を探している方に：市場で人気の高いジュエリーを効率的に仕入れるにはの画像

Are you searching for jewelry at wholesale?

Jewelry has always fascinated people with its beautiful shine. People want to own jewelry not just as ornaments but also as a real asset, which means that it will always be in demand. Many customers focus on resale value (the sale value of a previously purchased item), so high-end brand jewelry with a high resale value tends to be popular in the market.

Efficiently and inexpensively purchasing items that are very popular among customers is a serious challenge for buyers. Many buyers are therefore constantly searching for reliable wholesalers to stock up on valuable jewelry.

Further, with the spread of digital technologies, an increasing number of buyers around the world have been participating in online auctions as a new purchasing option.

This article provides tips for using both transactions with wholesalers and online auctions as means of efficiently purchasing valuable jewelry.

The difference between wholesale and auctions for jewelry

Buyers typically purchase jewelry through the following channels.

・Wholesale
・Auctions (real auctions & online auctions)
・Exhibitions
・e-Commerce sites
・Flea markets

Wholesale has played a central role in purchasing jewelry for many buyers, especially outside Japan. The number of jewelry wholesalers in Japan is relatively small, and at its core is auctions (before the COVID-19 pandemic, real auctions).

But since the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, auctions have become increasingly online, mainly in Japan, making it easier for people around the world to participate, and more and more buyers are using online auctions as one of their new sources of purchase.

Having many reliable purchasing routes is a major benefit for buyers. But when purchasing jewelry, how should buyers take advantage of wholesale and online auctions? Let us summarize the respective benefits of using each.

Benefits of using wholesale to purchase jewelry

In Japan, it is common for buyers to make appointments and visit wholesalers to negotiate and trade. In other countries, the most common sales method is for wholesalers to sell jewelry directly door-to-door, without appointments.

Using wholesale to purchase jewelry offers the following benefits to buyers.

Benefits of using wholesale to purchase jewelry (1): Purchases can be made quickly

Wholesale transactions typically take place directly through one-on-one price negotiations between wholesalers and buyers. For this reason, most transactions are completed within one day. Online auctions, however, require a certain amount of time because online auctions include a preview period and a bidding period. By comparison, wholesale allows jewelry to be purchased more quickly.

Benefits of using wholesale to purchase jewelry (2): Purchases can be made with limited resources

In the case of wholesale, buyers can purchase many pieces of jewelry at once through a single negotiation with a wholesaler. Because it allows buyers to purchase large volumes while minimizing labor, wholesale is useful for organizations and others who cannot afford to allocate a great amount of resources like buyers for jewelry purchases.

Benefits of using wholesale to purchase jewelry (3): Easy to purchase desired items in a reliable manner

Since wholesalers propose goods that meet the needs of buyers, it is often easy for buyers to have items from certain brands and in specific price ranges. When looking to purchase certain types of jewelry continuously, using wholesale is likely the best choice.

Although wholesale offers many such benefits, it also presents the following challenges for buyers.

・Limits on place and time

Since wholesale involves face-to-face transactions, buyers must set aside time for negotiations. And because locations are also limited, buyers tend to deal primarily with local wholesalers.

・Need for negotiating skill and experience

Since transaction prices are determined through negotiations with wholesalers, buyers must have an understanding of the market price for each piece of jewelry. Buyers must also have experience in the industry, including the skills to move negotiations in an advantageous direction.

・ Difficulty of buying a single item

When dealing with a wholesaler, buyers commonly purchase large quantities of jewelry at once. For this reason, buyers may have difficulty making small transactions, or purchasing a single item.

・Limits on items that can be viewed

In general, the number of items that can be checked is limited because the buyer makes purchases from among the jewelry that is presented (displayed) by the wholesaler.

Benefits of using online auctions to purchase jewelry

Next, let us take a look at the benefits that online auctions offer when purchasing jewelry.

In Japan, (physical) auctions of used designer goods have long been popular, and they used to be a major purchasing route for jewelry. Due to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, physical auctions are becoming increasingly online,allowing people around the world to participate. An increasing number of global buyers are now using online auctions as a new purchasing route.

Benefits of using online auctions to purchase jewelry (1): Purchases can be made regardless of time or place

Buyers can purchase jewelry by participating in online auctions at a time and place of their own convenience during the preview and bidding periods.* Because the time and location are not restricted, buyers can participate from anywhere in the world.

*In the case of Star Buyers Auction, the preview period lasts about one week and the bidding period lasts about six days.

Benefits of using online auctions to purchase jewelry (2): Market prices are easy to read

Online auctions set a starting price for each product, after which you can also check how the price changes as a result of bidding. Since bidding reflects the popularity among participants, the price tends to match the market value, and even people with little knowledge of market prices can easily participate.

Benefits of using online auctions to purchase jewelry (3): No need to negotiate

During online auctions, participants simply enter a value and click to complete their bid, so there is no need to negotiate prices with vendors. This also makes participation easy for those who are not confident negotiators.

Benefits of using online auctions to purchase jewelry (4): Desired items can be targeted with pinpoint accuracy

Participants in online auctions can bid on as little as one piece of jewelry, so can target the item they desire with pinpoint accuracy. This also makes it easy to respond flexibly to sudden changes in customer needs.

Benefits of using online auctions to purchase jewelry (5): Ability to view an abundance of items

Since participants can see every item on auction, they can compare and consider many different pieces of jewelry to enable a wider range of purchasing options.

Benefits of using wholesale and online auctions to purchase jewelry

As we have seen, wholesale and online auctions each have their own respective merits.

In the past, it was common outside Japan to purchase jewelry only through wholesalers, but recently, buyers are increasingly using online auctions as a new purchasing route, so that online auctions continue to expand increasingly as a reliable source of jewelry. The spread of online auctions will therefore present excellent opportunities for buyers who want to have as many suppliers as possible.

So, what kinds of jewelry are actually traded in different price ranges at online auctions? As an example, let us take a look at Star Buyers Auction, a leading Japanese online auction sites.

In August 2020, bidding on aPT 900 Paraiba tourmaline diamond ring started at 3,000,000 JPY and it was sold for 25,580,000 JPY. Many pieces of jewelry in high price ranges have been put up and won with a successful bid.

In fact, before the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, when physical auctions were also the norm in Japan, such high-priced jewelry was rarely available through online auctions. However, given the recent difficulty of real-life transactions, online auctions services have been enhanced since 2020. They now attract many items and participants, making online auctions more competitive.

Types of jewelry with a high resale value that you may want to purchase wholesale or in an online auction

So what kinds of brand jewelry are there with high resale value that tend to be popular in the market? According to the Japanese online auction giant Star Buyers Auction, the following two collections have been especially popular for many years, drawing bids from buyers all over the world.

Van Cleef & Arpels Alhambra Collection

The motif of the Alhambra collection is a four-leaf clover, which symbolizes good luck. It is the brand icon of Van Cleef & Arpels, which is especially popular in Asia. If the current model is a new one, the price may be higher than the list price at auction. Discontinued items are also valuable for their scarcity and are often traded at high prices.

While prices are changing constantly, in the case of Star Buyers Auction, they often trade in the following price ranges.

・ Vintage Alhambra shell necklace: 180,000–210,000 JPY

・ Sweet Alhambra shell bracelet: 60,000–90,000 JPY

・ Vintage Alhambra Diamond guilloché necklace (2020 Holiday Limited Edition): 330,000–360,000 JPY

(2)Cartier Love Collection (Bracelets)

Since its debut in 1970, this bracelet has enjoyed great popularity as a token of eternal love. Its design has captured the hearts of many, as has the story element: the bracelet came with a screw(key), which meant you needed your lover to help put it on and take it off.

The current type is an updated version, and wearers can fasten and unfasten it on their own, which has proved even more popular.

The price range is constantly changing, but at Star Buyers Auction, various types of love bracelets WG (white gold), YG (yellow gold), and PG (pink gold) can be traded in the price range of 300,000-400,000 JPY There are many.

Items like these that are popular among many customers tend to be in short supply even in the used market because of the high buyer demand. For more valuable purchasing, you need to increase the number of major purchasing routes and expand your purchasing opportunities.

We believe that the use of online auctions will be a great opportunity in addition to the traditional wholesale route.

How can buyers find an online auction at which to purchase jewelry?

So, what kinds of sites are there among the easy-to-use online auctions? Japan is increasingly transitioning to online auctions, which has led to the launch of many online auction sites. Of these, one of the sites that has gained popularity among many buyers is Star Buyers Auction, a leading online auction site in Japan.

Star Buyers Auction holds regular auctions of various genres twice a month separately for watches, bags, designer jewelry, jewelry, and apparel, among other items. B2B online auctions that boast an abundance of more than 25,000 items offered during every event are rare even in Japan.

Star Buyers Auction also provides extensive support in English, Chinese, French, and other languages, and many buyers from the United States, Europe, China, and Southeast Asia already participate.

Click here to complete your online application for an account. We hope that you include online auctions as one of your purchasing routes for realizing more reliable purchasing.