A major challenge in selling your jewelry online is building trust with potential customers, since they don't get to meet you face-to-face.

One way to build customers' confidence in you is to share true stories about your jewelry and your business.

I came across an excellent trust-building story at Fine Jewelry by JR Dunn Jewelers.

It expresses the company's trustworthiness and standards while establishing its history:

"The House of Gems was robbed during the first year (1969) and every piece of jewelry was taken, including customers' repairs. Ann Marie and Jim R. Dunn went from door to door informing clients and reassuring them that their prized possessions would be replaced. The Dunns paid for the stolen jewelry out of their own pockets to preserve their reputation for integrity and trust."

From this story, potential customers can be reassured that JR Dunn has been selling jewelry for at least 40 years.

But they also see the trustworthiness and high level of customer care they can expect from this business.

Think of stories you can share about your own jewelry or jewelry business - and put them on your jewelry blog, website, or other marketing literature!

A few weeks ago we talked about bartering your jewelry for goods and services - and what Kari Anderson got in exchange for her pearls.

In a comment after that post, Cindy Burns related how she's traded with other artists at shows.

I love bartering with other artists too!  I have a lovely collection of items I use and enjoy every day, thanks to trading my jewelry for them.

I've bartered for stained glass, pottery, jewelry, prints, paintings, notecards, wine bottle stoppers, glassware, woodwork, and more.

And because I know the artists, these pieces are even more special to me.

This month I worked on a custom wire jewelry order for my pottery artist friend Tari Federer.

She had a river rock, a tumbled stone, and a crystal that are very significant to her.  She asked me to turn them into pendants for her, and to create leather cords in two different lengths for these pendants.

Although I ran out of time to photograph the pendants before I delivered them to Tari, I took pictures of her incredible pottery for which I traded my wirework:

This rustic, rectangular serving plate (measuring 10" x 14") has a slightly concave center, making it a sort of shallow bowl.  Tari pressed pine needles into it, which left an almost fossil-type of imprint:

She pressed sprigs of rosemary into the matching oval platter (measuring 6.5" x 16"):

Sage green is my favorite color, and I have a set of dishes called Lotus Grove that work beautifully with these two platters.

I couldn't be happier with our jewelry-for-pottery barter, and Tari feels the same way!

What do you do with your jewelry pieces that just aren't selling?

Here's how Jennifer of Goldsong gives her slow-moving pieces a jumpstart:

"If you have some items or an item that is not selling, consider 'showcasing' this item, by wearing it or displaying it on a prop during your show.

I have sold many pieces that would not move this way!"

Carolina Gonzalez of My Little Magick Shop says,

"Making promos has proved to me to be a wonderfully effective way to grow a home-based business.

They let people sample the real quality of your work, actually they let them know why you stand above the rest!

Go through that part in your craft inventory you never dare to use. That lace that is just too beautiful and you have been saving project after project. Those lampwork beads. That ribbon.

Anything that transmits luxury to you will transmit it to your customers.

Make a special packaging, add that extra touch, and your promos will stand by itself and become a future sale!"

Learn more about how Carolina makes magical promotional items for her business (and see lovely photos of the promos she creates!) in her article Making Promos - the Importance of Giving for Your Business.

As Carolina says, promos are “good karma insurance” for your business – there is nothing more true than "prosperity cannot be reached without generosity".

Here's a neat tip from JoAnne of DL Creations:

Selling older pieces of jewelry is easy, and these pieces are well received.

I have one display box labeled "Estate Jewelry".

When people ask, I explain that I buy estate jewelry from individuals and auctions, clean it, repair as needed, and resell it.

Some of my customers Read more

Over the years I've found that my jewelry business and my son's school can work nicely together in a lot of ways.

Jewelry artist Linda Blackbourn of A-Z Jewelry Design shares three especially cool ways her jewelry business and her children's school benefit each other:

How Your Jewelry Business Can Help Your Kids' School

I was particularly impressed with the third idea Linda mentions in her article.

I'm sure the kids absolutely love this one!

There's always something you can add to your jewelry customers' purchases as a "little extra" that's worth your effort, time and money to provide.

In this new article:

Customer Service: Going the Extra Mile

Cindy Cherrington shares simple ways to provide great customer service and show that you care about more than just making a jewelry sale.

The article includes images of Cindy's stunning and unusual dichroic glass products.

Visit Cindy's website, CC Creations.

Peggy Li's jewelry is a Hollywood favorite.

Her work has been featured in films including Superbad, TV shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Gray's Anatomy, magazines such as Teen Vogue and Oprah's O, and more.

Peggy has garnered all of her jewelry business publicity by herself, using a six-step approach that starts with targeting TV and press that fit with her design style.

She shares all six steps in Read more

Don't miss this new article, The Key to Developing a Successful Online Jewelry Collection, where fashion jewelry veteran Mark Sanders of Levita shares one of the most important strategies involved in developing your jewelry lines.

I've found that Christmas and New Year's parties can be great venues for making casual jewelry sales.

Of course, you don't make a sales presentation or do anything obvious!

Simply wear some of your most eye-catching or unique pieces, and be ready with a short, interesting blurb you can say about your jewelry business when people compliment your jewelry.

I'm always amazed at how many people are willing to buy something from me right there on the spot at a social event.

To be prepared to make these impulse sales, see Read more