When buying jewellery online, it is easy to be overwhelmed by the different designs, prices, and variety of pieces. Especially, it is common for people to feel unsure about spending money on brands without knowing if they are legitimate and trustworthy.
So what precautions can you take to safely buy jewellery online?
Research before you shop
Once you have found a shop you like, make use of social media and search engines to research the shop.
Some things to consider when conducting you research:
- How long has the shop be around?
- Does the brand provide an ‘about us’ section which includes a background story that seems legitimate?
- Does the brands values align with your own?
- Where is the brand based? What is the domain of their website? Looking at the domain of a website show where the brand mainly conducts their business.
- Does the website give the impression of being reputable and reliable?
- What is the process to contact the store? Is there a form for you to fill in easily?
- What is the price range? Jewellery which are too cheap are often a red flag as it may indicate the jewellery is not made from quality materials.
- Do the products look consistent? Does the brand look like it has a branding story they keep to?
- How detailed are the product listings?
- Does the business have a social media presence and does it look legitimate rather than having loads of fake followers?
If in doubt, utilise Trustpilot and Scam Advisor to search a website. Bear in mind, some websites may not appear if they have recently been created but it doesn’t necessarily mean they are not legitimate sites.
Look for online reviews
Look at what past customers have said about the brand. Check whether past customers were happy or not. Especially utilise the shop’s website itself to see if there are verified reviews for their jewellery. Verified reviews show people have purchased from them before and give an honest review of their jewellery and services.
Keep noted, not every happy customer may leave a review, but in contrast, dissatisfied customers are more likely to. A few dissatisfied customers does not necessarily mean the brand is bad but if there are a number of dissatisfied customers who have written legitimate sounding reviews about the same problem, then you should definitely take those into account when making your decision.
Check the material used to make the jewellery
You should ALWAYS check the materials the products are made of and where the products are made.
Keep in mind, just because the product contains the word ‘silver’ or ‘gold’, does not necessarily mean the product is made from or contains real gold or silver. It could just be referring to the external colour of the jewellery.
If an online store does not provide clear and detailed information about the materials used to make each pieces, then it is good to be wary because why wouldn’t a legitimate business include the materials?
Check the pricing of the jewellery
Jewellery which are priced too cheaply are a big warning sign. Especially if they have been advertised to include precious metals and gemstones as this is very unlikely.
Low prices can also indicate the products are made in sweatshop factories which have disastrous working conditions and pay for the workers.
Too high of pricing does not necessarily mean the products are the best quality. High process may just indicate a big brand name with high overhead costs. However, pieces made from genuine solid gold or platinum with high quality gemstones will always be expensive.
Also be aware that small jewellery businesses need to charge enough to cover their costs, pay themselves liveable wages and to create jewellery without resorting to unethical labour practices.
In essence, you should always be aware of the quality your budget can justify. Aim at getting what you pay for in terms of the uniqueness of the design, quality of materials and level of craftsmanship.
Check and understand the sizing of jewellery pieces
When you have found an item you like online, it is best practice to have a solid understanding of the size of the jewellery. If you don’t do this, you may be disappointed when you receive something which is different in size to what you imagined.
Even if a lot of care has been taken when taking product photography, it can be difficult to express the scale and size due to camera angle, quality and photo location. Make sure the shop you are buying from outlines the sizes of each piece so you can be confident in what you are purchasing.
Look for a warranty or guarantee
Avoid buying from online retailers who do not offer a fair warranty or guarantee for their products. Even if the jewellery you purchase arrives in perfect shape, you may later discover a manufacturing fault or design flaw.
We strive for every customer to be confident about purchasing from our store so KORYANGS offers a 1-year warranty on all our products. We want you to have peace of mind if your item has faults due to the manufacture. For more information on what is covered in our warranty, you can check it out below:
Check and understand the returns and exchange policy
You should ALWAYS read and understand the returns and exchange policy of the online store you are purchasing from.
At KORYANGS, we have a 30-day return policy, meaning you have 30 days after receiving your item to request a return. For a more detailed information on what is covered, check out our refund policy.
Check the shipping policies
Shipping policies vary from one shop to another so it is always good to have a clear understanding of what is offered from the store you wish to buy from.
Things to look out for are:
- What is the cost of shipping
- Do they offer free shipping?
- Is first-class shipping offered? Are there any specific cut off times you need to keep in mind?
- What is the turnaround time before your order is shipped out? How long will it take from being shipped to arriving?
In particular, if you are shopping for a special occasion or a gift needed by a specific date, you should have a clear idea as to whether your order will arrive on time and what you might be able to do to speed up delivery if needed, including any additional costs which might be incurred for express delivery.
At KORYANGS, we provide free standard UK delivery for all orders. Our turnaround time is 48 hours and once shipped, you item should arrive between 3-5 working days. For first-class shipping, if you order before 12pm, your order should arrive within 1-2 working days. You can read our detailed shipping and delivery policy here.
Review store security and business credentials
As a safety measure, it is good to check that the website you are browsing is secure and the business is legitimate before purchasing from them. To do this you can look at the address bar of your browser to see if the site has a secure connection. Additionally, a secure site is most likely to start with ‘https’ instead of ‘http’.
Another indicator is if a store is PCI Compliant which is ‘a security standard for organisations that handle credit and debit card information’. At KORAYNGS, we utilise the platform ‘Shopify’ for our online store. And as a standard, every Shopify store is PCI Compliant.
For a UK business, they should have a registered company number clearly stated in their site. For KORYANGS, you can find all our registered and legal details here.
Finally, a legitimate business should always have their terms of service and privacy policies available for you to see. For KORYANGS, you will find these pages linked at the bottom of our site on every page.