We’ve Given Our Website a Makeover!

This event has been in the making for almost 8 years, with dozens of interruptions. But this August, we finally managed to open the “new” shop at www.cecileraleydesigns.com and it includes all of our Etsy inventory, plus a bit more…including this rather special AGL certified paraiba tourmaline!

Aside from a visual overhaul, there are other new features to the site.

1. We installed product filters so you can search for gems by color, shape and size. The jewelry can be sorted by collection, metal and type. And when you do searches, you will no longer be sent to other people’s shops (thanks Etsy…)!
   
2. Sales tax will be collected for New Jersey only, not for any of the other states. Only marketplaces like Amazon, Etsy and eBay have to collect sales tax for all states. As a small business, that is not required for us. This is a significant saving for our clients!
3. Prices are now up to date for our custom jewelry, at least for the time being, and as long as gold fluctuations are within a tolerable margin, we will keep it that way, as updating prices is a lot of work!
   
4. We will be listing product that is not on Etsy. In particular, our high-end inventory, most of which has been available upon request only, will now be available for sale. We didn’t want to list this type of merchandise on Etsy because we didn’t feel that Etsy provided the right audience. More on that below…

Finally, for us things are easier because we can now see your shopping cart and give you advice or make adjustments when asked, which is not something Etsy allows.

And what about the Etsy Shop?

For now, we have decided to stay on Etsy, even though we must admit that it was Etsy’s policies that encouraged us to upgrade our site! Aside from the high cost of maintaining an Etsy site, Etsy management runs interference with listings: we cannot list anything made of gold with Russian demantoids as the bots read us as selling “Russian Gold” despite the fact that we do not (it actually makes no sense whatsoever as jewelers buy gold from refineries and we do not know where any particular refinery sources gold). As a result, we receive the occasional “violation of policy” notice and certain listings get removed. On our own site, we do not face these types of errors.

But a larger issue for us has been negative client interaction on Etsy. We realize that potential buyers are not at fault for this because of the types of sellers Etsy allows on the site: if sellers can cheat by selling you “genuine” high value gems for just a few dollars, then why can’t Etsy buyers call them cheaters?

We can understand why clients are wary of making high value purchases on Etsy. It has devolved from a unique marketplace selling hand made goods to an imitation of Amazon, thus attracting a range of sellers who are not as scrupulous as we are…We are providing a more “legitimate” alternative to help our customers feel safer and to distance ourselves from the many suspect sellers on Etsy.

I know several designers and jewelers who have both an Etsy site and a personal website, and they all report the same thing: outside of Etsy, buyers (and probably also sellers) behave differently. They expect more high-end product and curated inventory, they assume you are selling what you say you are, and they tend to be fairly knowledgeable, reading descriptions and policies more frequently.

Although we are still in our early stages, we welcome any purchases, as well as feedback regarding what works for you and what doesn’t.

To sweeten the pie, here is a 15% off coupon that will be valid until November 15^th, when the holiday sales start! Just use the code 15off at checkout😊