Jewlery expos / fairs focused on wholesale for a new company

I run a small jewelry business, we do custom work and have a production line in solid sterling silver and 14k gold.

We're looking to get into wholesale and and are looking for expos / shows - Willing to travel anywhere in the US.

A friend of mine does the Association of Professional Piercers show in Vegas and has a lot of success with his small line of body jewelry - I was wondering if anyone knows of any shows or expos that cater to smaller companies that are looking to get into the wholesale marketplace.

We can produce around 500-1000 pieces per month to give an idea of our scale

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u/thendsjustifythememe — 3 days ago

Ecomm mentorship / guidance

I run a small fine jewelry business with a focus on ecomm and we're struggling with marketing and funneling an audience to our site. Almost all of our sales are coming from organic / face-to-face networking.

Can anyone recommend good resources for strategizing or working with mentors that actually have experience in the online field? Every single interaction that I've had is some variation of the Hi, I'm --- can we agree on a 3‰ commission on every order I deliver for your website before the month end?" scam.

Specifically, I'm looking for advice on.

Ads - how to budget and the best way to create a marketing strategy for social media growth and pipeline to online sales

Website health and overall flow - what needs to be changed and what blindspots does my current webshop have that might be hindering sales

Product line and competitive analysis - All jewelry is a saturated market online, I know this, but are there any specific elements that could be adjusted to increase my odds of sales?

Growth - How to forecast and create marketing plans that are reasonable and actionable. I feel like all of the advice that I've ever received has been about blue sky dreaming about infinite growth.

--

Basically I've had a lot of interactions with bad actors, none of whom had started an ecomm company from the ground up and managed it well. Everyone in my inbox is a scam, and all my business coaches IRL haven't actually run businesses.

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u/thendsjustifythememe — 7 days ago

how to best navigate a flagged potential fraudulent order

I'm sure I can't be the first one to experience this, so looking for some advice on how to progress.

Received an order over the weekend for a higher-priced item (over $400) Shopify flagged it as high risk of a fraudulent order due to:

Shipping address and mailing address in two different countries - One in the US, the other in Inida

No CVC code on checkout - processed via Google Pay

No phone number.

I reached out to the customer to provide more info - They sent me an image of their debit card, with the first 12 numbers blocked out. I asked for a phone number to verify; they responded that they just moved to the US from another country and don't currently have a phone number.

I really don't want to get stuck with a chargeback situation - it feels like there are some big red flags here. Has anyone been through something similar?

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u/thendsjustifythememe — 10 days ago

[WTS] Whites boots Perry moc toe, Mens size 11 $225 shipped

$225 shipped to the CONUS

Whites boots Perry Moc toe, mens size 11. They fit large - more like a 11.5, or 12, depending on the width of your foot.

If there's a better sub to post these on, please let me know - Putting them out on Reddit before I move on to Poshmark.

Used a handful of times, barely broken in. I've got a narrow foot, and the volume never worked for me. Shipped with a pair of Dale's Leather 4mm insoles and the original Whites insoles

A great quality boot, just never worked for me despite trying to work with different insoles.

u/thendsjustifythememe — 24 days ago

Vermont 100 aid stations

Looked but didn't see this posted before - Trying to get some exact information about the Vermont 100 aid stations

I get the "unmanned" is a water-only station. But could someone who's run the race explain the difference between the Manned "A" and Energy "E" stations? Do the manned stations have food?

I'm trying to plan my drop bags now, and will be running without a crew so I'm trying to sort out how much I'll need to budget for in the case that food is sparse.

Thanks in advance

u/thendsjustifythememe — 2 months ago

Adidas Terrex Agravic SL

Adidas Terrex Agravic SL - First Run Review

About me

Run around 50/50 road and trail. Currently tapering for my second 100 miler in July. Average 70-90 miles per week during training - 50-60 per week off season. Enjoy road running, track workouts, and marathons as well as bigger mountain stuff and trail ultras. I averaged around a 9 min pace with 800ft of gain/loss for this 7.5 miles test run - which is uptempo for these conditions and the humididy.

I ran these shoes on a summer morning 70 degrees with 95% humidity. We’re in the real thick of it down in Western NC and this is a true test for this shoe as I’ve got at least a month of this type of weather left and my kit needs to be able to handle it

Terrain was a 7.5 mile loop of mixed gravel, MTB single track, and a little technical hiking trails. Basically a taste test of all the types of terrain that I’d need these shoes to work for me.

Sizing

I actually ordered 2 sizes, 11.5 and 12 mens. This was largely due to difficulties with every other Adidas running shoe that I’ve ever owned from them. Hopefully this review helps with those who have struggled with sizing issues for this brand. For reference I wear:

mens 11.5 in the OG Evo SL

mens 12 in the SL Woven.

mens 11.5 in the Prime X strung 2

mens 11.5 in the Boston 12

mens 12 in the Boston 13 (and this is so snug I rarely use them.)

I really love the ride of Adidas shoes but their sizing is a horror.

I’m solidly a size 12 in every other running shoe that I own so its always a gamble with Adidas.

I have a narrow to regular volume foot and the 11.5 in the Agravic SL fits well, maybe a little tight when downhilling super steep sections, but I haven’t run enough to really know yet.

Fit and feel

I was nervous, as usual, that I picked the wrong size with these. Should I have gone up to the 12? I think that ultimately sizing down was the right choice as there’s nothing I dislike more than a sloppy trail shoe. I didn’t get any hotspots or rubbing - except for maybe some very steep downhills that I bombed down to test out the feel (could feel my big toes moving forward to the end of the shoe - but my feet were wet so who knows). At this point in the run my socks were completely soaked so I’m confident that I made the right choice when there’s a reasonable amount of humidity. The laces and upper feel great, easy to lock down, and quick to get adjusted right. I’ve taken my Evo SL wovens out on some light trails and these were a world of difference. Very structured in all the right ways. I hit some really off camber stones and never felt like the shoe was moving or twisting.

Ride

Very pleasant. I’m a big fan of the lightstrike pro, should be obvious from the amount of money I’ve dumped into ill fitting Adidas shoes. I bought these because I’ve always wanted to try the Agravic Speed Ultra but just don’t have any real use case for them. Big stable platform with a noticeable rocker. That familiar firm but bouncy lightstrike. I’ve seen other reviews saying that the Agravic SL’s are boring but they felt really fun to me - Like a North Face Vectiv but more forgiving. They climbed well, decended well, and were fun on the short gaps of pavement that I had to run. I’ll say that the Agravic SL is better on road than the Evo SL is on trail in terms of ease of use and smoothness.

The shoe is very stable. This is big plus for me. My favorite fast trail shoe is the North Face Vectiv Pro 3 - I love that I don’t need to think about foot placement so much with a huge, locked down platform. The Agravic SL feels very similar. For MTB and runnable single track it’s my favorite type of feel and geometry. I feel like the SL will be forgiving at slower paces, unlike the North Face Vectiv Pro

Midsole felt great. I’m actually a huge fan of what Adidas is doing with the Evo line. Taking a homerun piece of high end shoe tech and applying it across the board makes for some really interesting iterations and I think this is one of the better versions

Outsole was actually great - again other reviews have said its too much lug, but things were really soft out on the trails due to recent rain and humidity and I actually needed the traction along some sloppy banked downhill turns. I like that these run a bit like a gravel shoe but with a real mountain shoe outsole.

Use case

Things get a little murky here. I’m hoping that these will be a swiss army knife shoe for the summer season. I need something to replace a pair of packed out Prodigio Pro’s. I feel like there’s big saturation in the market for non-technical, faster, shorter distance trail shoes - a category that I don’t really need as I have a workout shoe that works for me and I really need a versatile easy shoe and a trail tank - I don’t really race short distances so those more nimble, snappy trail shoes don’t have a place in my quiver.

Comparisons:

There’s a lot here so I’ll keep them short and to the point

North Face Vectiv Pro 3

Probably the closest comparison. Big platform, fun ride. Softer, more forgiving foam. The issue for me with the Vectiv Pro’s is that they are super unforgiving at slower paces. I end up kicking rocks when I get tired and don’t engage the rocker or plates

North Face Vectiv Enduris 4

Only run around 30 miles in these but close comparison as well. Both shoes have great lockdown. Enduris feels more workout / race oriented as the foam is a bit more firm. Outsole is far superior on the Agravic SL

La Spo Prodigio Pro

Never really loved these shoes. Feld unstable and slappy for the most part. The upper also didn’t work at all for me in the summer temps - held a lot of moisture. Agravic SL feels much more structured and stable underfoot. Haven’t run a workout or hard effort in the SL”s - the Prodigio Pro’s were nice at intensity when they were new

Norda 001A

Have owned the 001’s as well and these are my cooler weather trail tanks. Agravics have much more fun geometry and ride. Will be curious to see how the Agravics hold up over time as I love the durability with the Nordas. Agravic has a much more breathable upper

Nike ACG Zegama

Feel like maybe this is the compairson that is most applicable, as both shoes feature premium elements arranged in an affordable package. Zegama was a disaster for me. Hotspots all along the front of the foot. Sizing was off from my TTS 12, very hot upper, and heavy. Agravic SL is better in every way, from fit to ride. I feel like the Zegama is a shoe that’s purely for west coast carpet trails. The Agravic SL really feels like Adidas tried hard to take thier super shoe trail offering and make it accessible for a broad audience. I wish Nike would do the same.

Evo SL Woven

I do feel like these shoes have some of the same feel - in the sense the Evo SL is just really easy to lace up and take out for any pace. The Agravic SL is firmer, with a very structured upper. I actually want to try to get a Vibram sole put on my old pair of SL wovens when they’re at the end of their life to feel how different the two shoes would be. I can easily run the SL woven on gravel and uneven terrain. I would have twisted both my ankles had i tried to make it through this mornings run with them - More miles will tell if I reach for the Agravic SL’s the same way that I do with the Evo wovens.

u/thendsjustifythememe — 2 months ago

Looking for a hand engraver in the Washington DC / Philly area

In search of a hand engraver to engrave some dates and a short text on the inside of 2 wedding bands, both in 950 platinum. My shop is down south in Western North Carolina, but our client is in the DC area - we can't find anyone in a 50 mile radius down here, so hoping for some recommendations that could work up in the DC / Philly area.

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u/thendsjustifythememe — 2 months ago

Handmade production jewelry business. Having trouble getting sales

https://www.goldx3.com/

We do well with custom orders - mostly through word of mouth and working directly with interested customers. Trying to get the production side off the ground but things are moving slowly. Interested to if folks can identify any points where things just aren't working. Open to all suggestions.

u/thendsjustifythememe — 2 months ago