Forget about all the company claims about how good of a deal you are getting. Even 80% off their “normal” price may be expensive. A good buyer completely ignores the sales pitch and relies upon their knowledge and comparison shopping to determine what is a good or fair price.

There are many factors that can affect price. Unless you are buying a brand name piece, apples to apples, comparison shopping for identical items produced by two different manufactures is virtually impossible.

Even with two seemingly identical items, some of the things you need to consider are:

With precious metals, some companies cut corners and use under karated gold. You may think you are getting 14kt, but wind up with 12kt. This problem happens quite a bit with weight based jewelry such as chains.

This is self-explanatory. A lighter weight setting costs less to produce. The Home Shopping Network “type” of operations are notorious for cutting corners to lower their cost. With television you can't closely examine a piece and many pieces are very lightweight settings. For instance, rings may have very thin bands in back. This helps lower the cost, but will only lead to repair problems down the road. The return rate on jewelry sold on these televison shows can be as high as 40%.

The quality of the link construction, the quality of the clasp, the type of setting, the materials used, all affect the quality and price. It is important to pay attention to the details.

Claiming “factory direct” or “direct importer.”

When a company advertises “factory direct” or “direct importer” - the wording makes you think you will get a better price, but this is not necessarily true. Check their pricing to make sure you are getting the best prices, don't simply assume that you are. Many manufacturers do not sell directly to the retailer or end user, preferring to sell to a large wholesaler or distributor that will handle sales of their product. These wholesalers also get huge volume discounts, and they (the good ones) will pass the savings on to their customers. If you were to buy directly from the manufacturer, you would not get the benefit of these discounts. Also, if a company claims to be selling directly from the factory, but also sells retail or in small quantities, you will not be paying true wholesale prices. The best prices will be when purchased in larger quantities. Of course, if you are looking for small quantities, it is beneficial to pay a little more in unit prices and no have to buy more product than you require.

The bottom line is that all companies have to make a profit to remain in business, and in marketing their product they can make up any pricing structure they want, but the end result is an acceptable profit margin. The marketing ploys used in wholesale are the same ones often used in retail - either mark prices at an everyday low price and don't have sales or have a much higher markup and have discounts. The end price is the same, but the purchaser can be led to believe they're getting a better deal. Don't fall for this trap without comparison shopping.

This is not to suggest that you cannot get a good deal, it means that rather than accepting a company's claims, it is a worthwhile investment of time to compare products and prices. Many companies will also offer great pricing and quantity discounts for true wholesale quantities - the more you buy, the better your unit prices will be.