1. WHAT IS 925 STERLING SILVER?
   
2. IS YOUR SILVER STAMPED "925"? IS IT STERLING PURITY? IS IT PLATED? IS IT REAL?
   
3. HOW DO I CARE FOR STERLING SILVER?
   
4. WHAT IS YOUR GUARANTEE ON WHOLESALE SILVER JEWELRY PRODUCTS?
   
5. HOW MUCH DOES SILVER JEWELRY RETAIL FOR? IS THERE A SUGGESTED RETAIL PRICE?
   
6. WHAT IS A RECOMMENDED STARTING ORDER SIZE?
   
7. WHICH ARE THE BEST WHOLESALE SILVER JEWELRY DESIGNS?
   
8. WHEN DO YOU GET NEW INVENTORY?
   
9. WHERE DO PEOPLE SELL YOUR WHOLESALE STERLING SILVER JEWELRY?
   
10. CAN I USE YOUR PHOTOGRAPHS?
    
11. HOW DO I PHOTOGRAPH JEWELRY FOR SALE?
    
12. WHERE CAN I BUY JEWELRY DISPLAYS, TOOLS AND SUPPLIES?
    
13. DO YOU SELL OTHER WHOLESALE STERLING SILVER JEWELRY PRODUCTS?
    
14. DO YOU KNOW WHERE I CAN BUY OTHER WHOLESALE STERLING SILVER JEWELRY?
    
15. DO YOU HAVE SALES REPS? DO YOU ATTEND TRADE SHOWS?
    
16. HOW DO I PLACE AN ORDER?
    
17. DO YOU OFFER VOLUME SILVER CHAIN PRICING FOR JOBBERS AND DISTRIBUTORS?
    
18. HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN IN THE WHOLESALE SILVER JEWELRY SUPPLY BUSINESS?
    

1. WHAT IS 925 STERLING SILVER?

Pure bullion silver (.999 Fine) is too soft to make into jewelry, so an alloy is made by adding around 6-7% copper and a tiny amount of zinc . The resulting alloy is identified as .925 or "Sterling" silver. SilverSource Sterling Silver Wholesale Jewelry guarantees the solid Sterling purity of every wholesale sterling silver piece we sell, and we laboratory assay-test samples frequently from all our manufacturers to ensure consistent 925 sterling silver purity.

2. IS YOUR SILVER STAMPED "925"? IS IT STERLING PURITY? IS IT PLATED? IS IT REAL?

SilverSource has always guaranteed, in writing, the solid sterling silver purity of every single item we sell. We back this guarantee with consistent laboratory assay-testing of all our products, and our longstanding spotless reputation as the leading silver jewelry wholesaler in the trade. In fact, to the best of our knowledge SilverSource was the first wholesaler to make an absolute guarantee of purity, in writing, on every item we sell.

Other wholesalers have since tried to follow suit, usually with 'weasel-words' such as "Stamped 925 to assure quality" or similar text, but you should research any supplier beforehand, and purchase carefully. Anyone can stamp any piece of metal with any mark he chooses. US federal law already requires stamping of all precious metal jewelry items regardless; this minimum requirement is a given fact to which all wholesalers are already subject.

Everything in our inventory is stamped "925". This mark is the longstanding and internationally accepted mark signifying Sterling silver purity. There is one small caveat - the extremely rare possibility of an exception. Theoretically, if an ultra-lightweight ring were made only of very, very thin wire, there could conceivably be no room for a stamp without damaging the item itself. However, every item we currently stock, across all categories, is indeed stamped. Again, know that regardless of its stamp, the solid Sterling silver purity of everything SilverSource sells is absolutely guaranteed.

Rhodium. We do not plate our merchandise with the metal rhodium, as is common in the trade. Rhodium is an exceedingly bright and shiny, cold-looking metal which does not tarnish easily. It has an appearance and function similar to chrome on an automobile bumper. It will not acquire the same special warm patina as genuine sterling silver over time, and eventually wears off in an unsightly and uneven manner. Rhodium plating is widely used in the silver jewelry trade as an easy, cheap way to cut corners and bypass the necessary labor and expense of properly finishing and polishing the best quality wholesale sterling silver jewelry.

Everything we sell is unplated, and all items are made of solid sterling silver metal, except in such instances where being hollow is an integral part of the design such as, for example, hoop earrings made of sterling silver tubing. One little-known fact is that United States law allows for silver purity to range down to a low of .915 and still be labelled '925'. On almost all occasions, the purity of our merchandise usually assays significantly above .925, often around .931 or .933. Assay testing involves melting sample pieces of jewelry and subjecting them to sophisticated computer chromofluoroscopic analysis. We have been continually assay testing samples of our merchandise for well over a decade, and we stand behind the purity of everything we sell, backed by the spotless reputation and full resources of the SilverSource brand. You may confidently present anything of ours to your retail buyers as the genuine article, backed by our absolute guarantee.

In rare instances, purity can assay lower than 925 (but still well within the federal Sterling standard) on localized specific solder points in hand-forged (as opposed to cast) jewelry. Precious metal solder is a slightly different alloy in order to give it a lower melting point than the main body of the jewelry. In this way, working a piece of fine silver jewelry with a torch will join surfaces but leave the rest of the work intact. If an item has a great many solder points, it can slightly decrease purity overall, but we have found this to be an exceptionally rare occurence.

3. HOW DO I CARE FOR STERLING SILVER?

Sterling silver is a metal that is meant to be worn. Left on top of a night stand, silver will tarnish. One way to prevent silver from tarnishing between displays or wearings is to keep the jewelry in cloth pouches or Zip-closure plastic bags. A silver cloth is the best way to remove tarnish from jewelry. Over time, liquid cleaners tend to yellow the metal (although buffing will bring back the original shine). Light mechanical buffing with a soft polish-treated cloth usually works best.

4. WHAT IS YOUR GUARANTEE ON WHOLESALE SILVER JEWELRY PRODUCTS?

All of our items are guaranteed to be 925 Sterling Silver purity and free of defects. We regularly assay-test products for purity and we stand fully behind our merchandise.

We are not, however, responsible for damage due to wear and tear, oxidation (tarnish), customer neglect or mishandling.

5. HOW MUCH DOES SILVER JEWELRY RETAIL FOR? IS THERE A SUGGESTED RETAIL PRICE?

Sterling silver wholesale is hyper-popular and easy to sell. We advise retailers to simply lay all their sterling silver jewelry wholesale stock in front of them and 'meditate' on it until a reasonable pricing structure comes to mind. Give it a try and see how it goes. If not, adjust your prices again by trial and error.

Your minimum markup on sterling silver jewelry wholesale is usually 3 times your cost (a.k.a.: "triple-keystone"). Often you can get significantly more--it all depends on your market--but the wonderful thing about sterling silver wholesale is the huge gap between the public's perceived value and your actual sterling silver jewelry wholesale cost. After all, you're selling real precious metal. Shoppers find keystone-priced silver chains from SilverSource hard to resist, indeed.

6. WHAT IS A RECOMMENDED STARTING ORDER SIZE?

Essentially, the more you have on display the more you'll sell. It's also advisable to have backstock for refills as your inventory sells out. Displaying only one tray of jewelry probably won't entice many flea market shoppers to stop at your table; they're attracted by abundance. How much you choose to start with is a decision you'll need to make, and hard to advise. $300 would be an OK start, although $500 is more generous for a decent display. On the other hand, plenty of our buyers have started successful silver jewelry businesses with only a $100 minimum order. They then sold the jewelry online or to to family, friends or co-workers on a face-to-face basis. With each reorder, they then build larger inventory.

7. WHICH ARE THE BEST WHOLESALE SILVER JEWELRY DESIGNS?

In all honesty, pretty much every item onsite is a market-tested bestseller. SilverSource has been in business for well over a decade, having started out as a retail seller buying from other wholesalers, then manufacturing/importing directly out of frustration with their offerings. There are literally thousands upon thousands of jewelry designs out there, and SilverSource only stocks a selection of the best. Only these carefully chosen and retail-tested designs are the ones which are proven to really move. Anything which sells slowly we can closeout to a short list of price-obsessed bulk closeout buyers, or even just melt down when the price of raw silver bullion gets high enough. The result is that any slow movers are meticulously whisked offsite, and everything presented for sale is tested and prime.

We suggest you simply click around onsite and go shopping. Every merchant displays a selection of wares which represents her personal hunches and taste, to create an harmonious total offering, the overall feel of a shop. That said, try to think outside your own perspective too, and also consider what others might like, say, for example, a young girl who might like cute symbolic designs such as suns, hearts or flowers. Some women go for big stones and flash, others for small, tasteful gems in intricate settings. Everyone has different tastes. Just choose what you like, click around and let your own aesthetic sense be your guide. We strongly believe, and our reorder statistics and feedback confirm, that your sales results will prove out the wisdom of your choices.

8. WHEN DO YOU GET NEW INVENTORY?

New styles tend to arrive on fairly unpredictable schedules. We buy from a wide range of manufacturers in many different countries. New designs are always in development. Then we test a limited size range of each. If they're good we then manufacture larger quantities, which can take months to cast, forge, assemble, polish, package and then transport through foreign and US Customs. The results of this process are always streaming in at odd times.

Our online catalog has everything that's in stock at any given moment, and is updated daily. Eventually, we plan to send out notifications of new arrivals to everyone who opts in to receive them. Until that functionality is completed, the best bet is to check our site for new items from time to time, ideally on a weekly basis.

9. WHERE DO PEOPLE SELL YOUR WHOLESALE STERLING SILVER JEWELRY?

Many of our buyers have retail shops or silver jewelry kiosks in shopping malls. Some sell at swap meets, flea markets, festivals and fairs. Others sell to friends and family at jewelry parties, or to colleagues at work. Some sell on the Internet, on their own websites and on auction sites such as eBay. Some silver jewelry sellers arrange a jewelry show at lunch time in their workplace cafeteria or break room.

College campuses are another great venue to sell silver jewelry, and college students are the ideal demographic for the product. Often you can arrange a tent and tables setup a daily fee, through the college bookstore or as a sorority fundraiser (if they look at you like you've just landed from outer space when you ask about the idea, persist. You've found virgin territory). The best times to sell are during the first few weeks of a semester. The most lucative schools have higher enrollments (verifiable via college admissions guides found in any library).

10. CAN I USE YOUR PHOTOGRAPHS?

SilverSource's standard policy is to not allow use of our copyrighted wholesale jewelry photographs, graphics or text.

We invested a lot of time and money creating these images and developing the unique look associated with our jewelry supply company and its registered trademark. All images have been digitally watermarked using Digimarc Digital Watermarking Technology and any unauthorized use is reported back via Digimarc's Image Spider.

Once you have purchased SilverSource merchandise, you may take your own photographs and use them in any way you wish, provided that you will only be using those photographs to sell SilverSource Wholesale Jewelry merchandise - and selling it in a way that does not compromise the good reputation of our company or otherwise devalue the SilverSource brand name.

11. HOW DO I PHOTOGRAPH JEWELRY FOR SALE?

They key is to use a decent digital camera with a Macro function or Macro lens, so you can get very close to your subject. The good news is that digital cameras have recently become quite inexpensive. You'll need strong lighting (full outdoor sun is great) and ideally, a photo retouching/graphics program such as PhotoShop. Because you're selling retail and probably won't need a standardized background such as SilverSource uses, you're free to shoot against any interesting, create backdrop you can find - leaves, flowers, rocks, your housecat - or anything else which shows off the product.

macro photography tips

12. WHERE CAN I BUY JEWELRY DISPLAYS, TOOLS AND SUPPLIES?

We recommend the following dealers to our wholesale sterling silver jewelry customers (click here):
Fetpak

Noble

13. DO YOU SELL OTHER WHOLESALE STERLING SILVER JEWELRY PRODUCTS?

In addition to wholesale sterling silver chains, we specialize in sterling silver rings and earrings via our sister site, http://www.silversource.com. We also plan to offer charms and pendants soon.

14. DO YOU KNOW WHERE I CAN BUY OTHER WHOLESALE STERLING SILVER JEWELRY?

A thousand sincere apologies, but...Nope! If a sterling silver jewelry wholesale product is not currently in our catalog we cannot help you locate the item.

15. DO YOU HAVE SALES REPS? DO YOU ATTEND TRADE SHOWS?

All our sales are direct to buyers without representatives or commissions. We let the quality and beauty of our silver jewelry sell itself. Everything we offer is available onsite, and we have found little need for aggressive sales hype delivered via intrusive pitchmen and women, nor do we find it necessary to tout our quality products via parasitic middlemen. This eliminates a significant layer of cost to you, our dear buyer.

16. HOW DO I PLACE AN ORDER?

You don't need a tax ID number to order. Just go to SilverSource.com, then simply click the photographs of the items which interest you. Choose your preferred sizes and quantities, and add them to your shopping cart. When you're ready to complete your order, click the "Checkout" link. From there you'll enter your shipping and billing info. It's really that simple.

17. DO YOU OFFER VOLUME SILVER CHAIN PRICING FOR JOBBERS AND DISTRIBUTORS?

Yes, quantity counts.

We can offer extremely low prices on larger volume bulk jewelry purchases - unbeatable bargains on premium quality wholesale jewelry, as well as sterling silver wholesale closeouts and overstocks. We're always working to supply our customers maximum value for their money. Because our profit markup is tight, and item availability varies widely depending on manufacturer, raw silver bullion costs, market availability, foreign exchange and import duty rates, we need to crunch the numbers and let you know what's possible at the time of ordering. Discounts beyond the percentages onsite are usually applicable to orders which both: total US$1000 or more and also contain 10 or more pieces of each design within the order.

We can also offer very competitive pricing by gram weight for larger wholesale silver chain orders. We're always ready to make a deal. Contact us.

18. HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN IN THE WHOLESALE SILVER JEWELRY SUPPLY BUSINESS?

SilverSource® started as a retail company in August, 1994, and then became a bulk jewelry supply silver wholesale-only business in December, 1998. We've been growing ever since -THANKS to you, our loyal wholesale silver jewelry customers!