Why Is Jewelry Gated On Amazon?
Jewelry is gated on Amazon, meaning you cannot decide to start selling your jewelry on the platform one day.
Federal regulations guide the process, but beyond that, Amazon has very strict requirements that you must meet before you can start selling jewelry on Amazon.
The question is, why does Amazon make it so difficult to sell jewelry? Why do you have to get approval to sell Jewelry on Amazon?
We will get to that in a minute, but first, let’s look at some of the items Amazon considers jewelry and how you might be able to list these items for sale.
Ungating Costume Jewelry
Costume Jewelry, also known as fashion jewelry, is jewelry pieces that are not made from precious metals and do not contain precious or semi-precious gemstones or pearls.
If the jewelry is made from base metal, it is considered a fashion jewelry piece, even if it has a coating of precious metals.
Jewelry pieces with composite-shell pearls or imitation pearls are also considered fashion pieces. Fashion jewelry items are usually cheaper than fine jewelry pieces.
However, do not think that because these jewelry pieces are not considered fine or precious, that Amazon will make it easy for you to sell them. There are strict restrictions placed on selling items in this category.
For one, only professional sellers can sell fashion costume pieces. But this isn’t the only requirement. Other requirements include:
- You are not allowed to sell used jewelry pieces. All Jewelry pieces must be new and unused at the time of purchase.
- Amazon will also not let you list fashion jewelry pieces as fine jewelry.
- Even if the products are new, they must be authentic and have a warranty.
- The jewelry products must meet Amazon Jewelry Quality Assurance Standards and any other regulations set by the FTC. These standards and regulations ensure that both Amazon and the seller comply with all necessary Federal laws.
- If your product is from a major brand, then you will need the manufacturer’s UPC to ensure that the product is from the manufacturer and not a counterfeit.
Ungating Fine Jewelry
Fine Jewelry pieces are made from precious metals such as gold and platinum. If your product has one component made from these precious metals, Amazon will consider them as fine jewelry.
Jewelry pieces made with an underlying precious metal and coated with another precious metal are also considered fine jewelry.
If the jewelry pieces are set with precious or semi-precious stones, Amazon will also recognize them as fine jewelry.
If you decide to sell fine jewelry on Amazon, you must meet all the requirements for fashion jewelry pieces.
These requirements include all the general and seller requirements and any compliance and quality standards set by the FTC.
But there is more because Amazon does not allow just anyone to sell fine Jewelry pieces on the platform.
You have to seek and get approval, and meeting all the requirements does not guarantee that Amazon will approve you as a vendor.
Also, you should know that Amazon will not allow you to sell a jewelry piece for more than $300,000, although this shouldn’t be a problem.
Ungating Antique Jewelry
Do you have antique jewelry pieces that you want to sell? And you think Amazon might be a good place to sell them. Well, this might not be an extremely good idea.
You see, Amazon only allows for the sale of jewelry pieces if they are new and unused.
It does not accept the sale of pre-owned antique or vintage jewelry.
So, if you are listing antique jewelry pieces, you need to prove that they have not been used before.
This might be difficult to do, considering how old jewelry has to be before it is considered antique.
Antique jewelry can be fine or fashion pieces; therefore, even after proving that the product is unused, sellers still have to meet the requirements placed upon the category of jewelry they are selling.
If you think you can meet these demands, you can apply to list and sell your antique Jewelry on Amazon.
Ungating Fine Gems
Amazon also allows for the sale of loose fine gems and precious stones. Amazon has a growing list of what they consider fine gems. If you have any of these gems, you might have the chance to list them on Amazon.
However, there are conditions. First of all, not all fine gems can be sold on Amazon.
Certain gems are prohibited because of certain conditions such as:
- You cannot sell irradiated gemstones. Gemstone irradiation is often done to improve the optical quality of the stone.
- Amazon will not let you list Diamonds that do not meet the standards of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme.
- Altered stones like glass-filled rubies and clarity-enhanced white diamonds are also prohibited on the Amazon platform.
If the stones you want to sell don’t fall under these categories, you might have a chance to sell them on Amazon.
However, remember that these stones are considered jewelry, so you have to meet the seller and general requirements placed on them by Amazon. You also have to comply with standards set by the FTC and any other Federal laws.
Ungating Gold And Silver
While gold and silver are generally considered fine metals, Amazon only recognizes metals from the Gold and Platinum families as fine metals.
This means that if a product is made from silver, it would not be considered a fine metal except if it is combined with a recognized fine metal and is plated with precious metal.
If you have gold or silver jewelry pieces, you can list them to be sold as jewelry on Amazon. However, they must meet the FTC’s Guides for the Jewelry, Precious Metals, and Pewter industry.
They also have to be stamped in compliance with any applicable laws. If your jewelry pieces comply with these regulations and meet all the requirements set by Amazon, you will be able to list and sell them on the platform.
Why Is The Jewelry Category Gated On Amazon?
Finally, let’s answer this question. The reason why Amazon gates the Jewelry category should be clear already. If you have gone through the requirements, you will notice that they focus on protecting the buyer.
Amazon is a customer-centric platform, so it will go out of its way to protect buyers’ interests.
Jewelry pieces are usually not cheap, so buyers would not want to pay for something that might end up hurting them.
But this is beneficial to the sellers too.
If the buyers trust that they can buy great products from Amazon, they will be willing to buy more which means more sales for the seller.
Conclusion
The jewelry category on Amazon is gated, with strict restrictions on these products.
Amazon has its reason for doing this, so it is left for the sellers to find their way around these restrictions.
Fortunately, with this article, you should be able to list your jewelry and precious stones and sell them on Amazon.
