Better to find a Jewellery manufacturer within UK or China?

[Harlie]

Hello, I am currently starting a online jewellery retail business and I am struggling to make a decision regarding how to choose a manufacturer. I am not sure whether it would be worth buying from a manufacturer in China or to do business with one from the UK? The jewellery I would like to create will be gold plated, vermeil or silver pieces with stones such as amethyst, moon stone, rose quartz and lava stone and I would only like to buy a maximum of 1000 pieces all together for my first order while I focus on gaining coverage and reaching out to potential customers. Is it also possible that someone can let me know the exact fees I should be aware of if I decided to buy from a manufacturer from China regarding shipping it over, import duty etc etc. Thank you all in advance.

 

[Mr D]

depends.

do you want to sell for example silver stamped '925 silver' in big letters that you buy at say 2 pounds a bracelet that weighs 90g /
or do you want to sell stuff that has a hallmark on it/

 

[Harlie]

depends.

do you want to sell for example silver stamped '925 silver' in big letters that you buy at say 2 pounds a bracelet that weighs 90g /
or do you want to sell stuff that has a hallmark on it/

Does gold plated vermeil need to be hallmarked?

 

[MOIC]

What research have you done so far, to compare buying costs from UK & China?

What is your overall budget for your first order?

In my opinion, for 1000pcs of jewellery with semi precious stones, it’s worth buying from China.

You will save at least 50%, after all your shipping and landed costs.

You can also create your own packaging with your brand.

If you need advice, feel free to ask.

Good luck!

 

[CHUKTC]

As previous people have stated do your homework and look at prices in UK and China. It will partly depend on the value of the 100 items - the higher the base value the more likely China will be the better option as shipping costs will be come a smaller percentage of costs.

Considering China: You can work out the duty by looking on the government's website (https://www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/trade-tariff/sections). For these sort of quantities the best way will to ship will be by air. People like DHL can give you some quote to get a rough idea to start with - once you place an order there are cheaper options available. Some sellers will offer DDP.

The main concern with buying in China is to get the right quality - this is particularly true for items such as jewellery. We deal in this particular market a lot and I always encourage customers to get samples first, or better still go to China and visit the jewellery wholesale markets. It's fun, you will learn a lot and will come away with the confidence you are buying the right products. If you need help or guidance to do that give me a shout.

To summarise the advantages of buying form China is cost, large choice and own brand packaging. The disadvantages is quality control, shipping, communication, works best for large quantities. With the right help these issues are all manageable and if the figures work out its worth doing.