Quick answer
Sell jewelry on a marketplace such as Etsy, Amazon Handmade, eBay or TikTok Shop to reach shoppers already on those sites, or on your own store on Shopify or Big Cartel to keep more of each sale. On an example $45 sterling silver ring, marketplace fees run from $2.70 on TikTok Shop to $7.15 on eBay, while card fees on your own store come to $1.61. Wherever you sell, the FTC's Jewelry Guides say when words like sterling and gold are misleading.
Nation, an AI store builder, publishes this page. It is pre-launch, with a waitlist on withnation.ai, so it is not in the fee comparison. See where Nation fits.
Where to sell jewelry online and in person
Jewelry sells in four kinds of places: handmade marketplaces, general marketplaces, social shops and your own store, plus craft fairs and markets in person. Marketplaces bring shoppers who are already searching and take a share of each sale. Your own store keeps more of the sale but brings no shoppers, so you find buyers through social media, email and search.
Where to sell handmade jewelry
Two marketplaces are built around handmade work. Etsy's Creativity Standards count hand-assembled pieces as made by the seller, and give a jewelry example: using jewelry-making tools to attach charms to a necklace chain. Amazon Handmade takes products that are hand-altered, hand-designed, handcrafted, repurposed, or upcycled, lists jewelry in its Jewelry & Watches category, and needs an application before you can sell.
Personalized pieces have their own photo rule on Etsy: for monogrammed or engraved items, your first image must show a finished, customized item. If a production partner casts or plates your designs, Etsy says sellers must disclose that an item is made by a production partner.
What each place takes from a $45 ring
Example: one $45 sterling silver ring, paid by card in US dollars, with free shipping. Each amount uses the platform's own published rates for a US seller.
- Shopify $1.61 plus $39 a month on the Basic plan Card 2.9% + 30¢ $1.61
- Big Cartel $1.61 free plan up to 5 products Card 2.9% + $0.30 $1.61
- TikTok Shop $2.70 no setup fee; the referral fee covers all TikTok Shop fees except shipping and tax Referral 6% $2.70
- Etsy baseline $4.73 no subscription fee on Etsy Standard Listing $0.20, Transaction 6.5% $2.93, Processing 3% + $0.25 $1.60
- Amazon Handmade $6.75 plan $39.99 a month, then waived once approved Referral 15% $6.75
- eBay $7.15 no eBay Store assumed Final value 15% (jewelry) $6.75, Per order $0.40
Assumes a $45 ring, free shipping, no sales tax, a standard US card, no ads and no currency conversion. eBay uses its jewelry rate with no Store and assumes the listing is within its 250 free listings a month. TikTok Shop uses its standard referral fee; a lower 5% rate applies only to some jewelry sub-categories, such as gold and diamond, and not to silver.
Rules for describing jewelry metals
The FTC's Jewelry Guides cover claims about jewelry made in labeling, advertising, promotional materials, and all other forms of marketing. They apply to businesses at every level of the trade (including but not limited to manufacturers, suppliers, and retailers), so they cover makers and resellers alike, on a marketplace, on their own store or at a market table. The FTC may take action under the FTC Act if a marketer or other industry member makes a claim inconsistent with the guides. Rules vary by state and city, and this page is general information, not legal or tax advice.
If you do not know the metal content of a finding or chain you bought, ask the supplier for it in writing before you use a metal word in a listing.
Children's jewelry, lead and shipping times
Federal rules on children's products and on shipping times also apply to jewelry sold online, and states can add their own, as California does for cadmium. Rules vary by state and city, and this is general information, not legal advice.
- Children's jewelry. The CPSC explains that the law defines a children's product as a consumer product designed or intended primarily for children 12 years of age or younger, and that jewelry for children is sized, themed, and marketed for children. Children's products must not contain more than 100 ppm lead in an accessible component, and they need a written Children's Product Certificate (CPC) based on test results from a third-party, CPSC-accepted laboratory.
- Exempt metals. The CPSC says certain materials are exempt from testing for total lead content. Its rules count sterling silver (at least 925/1000) as under the lead limit, provided that no lead or lead-containing metal is intentionally added, but not solder or base metals in electroplate, clad, or fill applications. Firms are still expected to certify compliance with the total lead content requirement in a Children’s Product Certificate (CPC).
- Adult jewelry. The CPSC notes that the level of attraction alone does not transform a piece of general use, adult jewelry into children's jewelry, so a piece is judged by how it is sized, themed and marketed.
- California. Children's jewelry sold in California is limited to 0.03% (300 ppm) cadmium by weight. The state says the rule covers manufacturers, retailers and suppliers in California, including people who make and sell their own jewelry.
- Shipping times. Under the FTC's mail order rule, if your listing gives no shipping time you need a reasonable basis to ship within 30 days. If you cannot ship on time, you must seek the customer’s consent to the delayed shipment.
How to sell jewelry online, step by step
These steps cover how to sell handmade jewelry online and how to sell pieces you resell. The difference is which marketplaces accept you.
Decide what you sell
Write down whether each piece is made by you, assembled by you from bought parts, or bought ready-made. Pieces you make fit Etsy and Amazon Handmade, and Etsy also counts hand-assembled pieces as made by you. Ready-made pieces you resell fit eBay, TikTok Shop and your own store.
Check every metal word
Use sterling, gold, gold-plated, gold filled and vermeil only in the way the FTC Jewelry Guides describe. Keep the supplier's metal details for each finding and chain you use.
Photograph each piece
Shoot on a plain background in daylight, with one photo on a hand, ear or neck to show scale and one close-up of the clasp. On Etsy, for engraved pieces, your first image must show a finished, customized item.
Price with the fees in
Add up materials, your time and packaging, then add the platform's fee on the sale. The fee table above shows how much that fee changes from one place to the next.
Start in one place, then add a second
List a small range in one marketplace or one store first. Once pieces sell, add a second place: your own store for repeat buyers, or a marketplace if you started with a store.
State a shipping time and ship with tracking
Put a processing and shipping time on every listing and ship in padded packaging with tracking. If you cannot ship on time, ask the buyer to agree to the delay, as the FTC's mail order rule above requires.
Example: a handmade jewelry shop on two channels
Example, not a real shop: a maker hand-stamps sterling silver rings at $45 and sells charm necklaces she assembles from bought chains and charms. There are no sales figures here; the example shows a setup and its costs, not results.
She opens an Etsy shop for search traffic, paying $0.20 per listing; a listing expires after 4 months, so at each expiry she decides which pieces to renew. She opens a Big Cartel store on the free plan with her most-asked-for pieces and links it from Instagram. At weekend markets she takes cards on a Square reader.
Where Nation fits
Nation
Category: an AI store builder
Nation says one description of what you make builds the store, then agents handle orders, customers and delivery and run ads, content and social posts, with you approving the work. Because pricing is not announced yet, it is not in the fee comparison on this page.
Limits today
- Status: pre-launch, with a waitlist on withnation.ai.
- Pricing and fees: not announced yet.
- Shopper marketplace: no shopper marketplace has been announced.
- Track record: no independent reviews or public stores yet.
Nation publishes this page. Nation is not in the fee comparison until signup is public and pricing is published.
Describe what you makeQuestions about where to sell jewelry
Where is the best place to sell jewelry online?
The best place to sell jewelry online depends on what you make and who finds it. Handmade pieces fit Etsy or Amazon Handmade, which bring shoppers searching for handmade work. Resold and vintage pieces fit eBay. Your own store on Shopify or Big Cartel charges $1.61 in card fees on a $45 ring, plus $39 a month for Shopify Basic, but you bring the buyers.
How do I sell jewelry online?
To sell jewelry online, choose one place to start, photograph each piece on a plain background with a scale shot, and describe the metal the way the FTC's Jewelry Guides describe it. Sterling, for example, means at least 925/1,000ths pure silver. Price each piece with the platform's fee included, state a shipping time on every listing, and ship with tracking.
Where can I sell handmade jewelry besides Etsy?
Handmade jewelry can sell on Amazon Handmade, which has a Jewelry & Watches category and needs an application before you can sell. It can also sell on eBay, on TikTok Shop, on your own store on Shopify or Big Cartel, and at craft fairs and markets. Each one has different fees and a different source of buyers.
How much does Etsy take from a jewelry sale?
On an example $45 jewelry sale paid by card with free shipping, Etsy's listing, transaction and processing fees come to $4.73. That covers a listing fee of $0.20 per listing, the 6.5% transaction fee and 3% + $0.25 for processing. Orders from Etsy's Offsite Ads pay a further 15% in smaller shops; shops under $10,000 in sales over the past 365 days can opt out.
Do I need to test jewelry for lead?
Jewelry made for children must have no more than 100 ppm lead in an accessible component and needs a written Children's Product Certificate (CPC) based on test results from a third-party, CPSC-accepted laboratory. The CPSC says certain materials are exempt from testing for total lead content, and its rules list sterling silver (at least 925/1000) among them. This is general information, not legal advice, and rules vary by state.
Can I call my jewelry sterling silver or gold?
You can call jewelry sterling silver if it is at least 925/1,000ths pure silver, under the FTC's Jewelry Guides. For gold that is not fine (24 karat) gold, the guides expect that a correct designation of the karat fineness of the alloy immediately precedes the word “Gold”. Plated pieces should be described as plated. The guides apply to every kind of marketing, wherever you sell.