Wholesale Silver Jewelry

1. WHAT KINDS OF PAYMENT DO YOU ACCEPT FOR SILVER WHOLESALE PURCHASES?
   
2. IS IT SAFE TO USE MY CREDIT CARD ON YOUR WEBSITE?
   
3. WHY DOESN'T YOUR SITE HAVE ANY OF THOSE REASSURING 'HACKER SAFE' OR BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU (BBB) SEALS?
   
4. WHAT DOES SILVER 'WHOLESALE' BULK JEWELRY SUPPLY MEAN?
   
5. WHAT IS YOUR MINIMUM BULK JEWELRY SUPPLY ORDER?
   
6. CAN YOU FILL AN ORDER FOR LESS THAN THE $100 MINIMUM?
   
7. DO YOU OFFER VOLUME BULK JEWELRY SUPPLY PRICING FOR JOBBERS AND DISTRIBUTORS?
   
8. SO, I CAN GET EVEN GREATER DISCOUNTS ON VOLUME WHOLESALE JEWELRY PURCHASES?
   
9. DO YOU SELL ON TERMS? C.O.D.?
   
10. DO YOU HAVE SALES REPS? DO YOU ATTEND TRADE SHOWS?
    
11. DO I NEED A SELLERS PERMIT?
    
12. HOW DO YOU SHIP BULK JEWELRY SUPPLY ORDERS AND WHAT IS THE SHIPPING COST?
    
13. HOW DO I PLACE AN ORDER?
    
14. HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO RECEIVE MY WHOLESALE SILVER JEWELRY?
    
15. CAN UPS LEAVE THE PACKAGE ON THE PORCH? : UPS SPECIAL DELIVERY INSTRUCTIONS
    
16. DO YOU SHIP SILVER WHOLESALE OUTSIDE OF THE UNITED STATES?
    
17. WHAT IS YOUR GUARANTEE ON SILVER WHOLESALE PRODUCTS?
    
18. WHAT IS YOUR JEWELRY SUPPLY RETURN POLICY?
    
19. CAN I USE YOUR PHOTOGRAPHS?
    
20. HOW DO I PHOTOGRAPH JEWELRY?
    
21. HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN IN THE SILVER WHOLESALE JEWELRY SUPPLY BUSINESS?
    

1. WHAT KINDS OF PAYMENT DO YOU ACCEPT FOR SILVER WHOLESALE PURCHASES?

We accept payment by VISA, MasterCard and Discover cards onsite. If you do not have one of these cards, it's easy to get a simple ATM/debit card from most any bank, free with a checking account. These cards have a VISA or MasterCard debit logo on them, and will work just fine to make payments on SilverSource.com.
These cards are usually made available at no additional cost with any standard checking account from most banks.

Payments may be made safely online at checkout via our secure server. All data are encrypted using the latest 128-256 bit encryption technology, and transmission is extremely secure. Please note that consumer credit card agreements generally limit maximum customer liability at $50 maximum in case of fraud or a lost or stolen card (check with your issuer for details) provided the customer properly reports same within a reasonable period of time.

In addition, all online merchants must go through extensive screening qualification before they are allowed to accept credit card payments and all charge activity is very closely monitored by the loss prevention department at all major banks. Billions of dollars in online credit card payments are safely processed each day. Be assured that you can safely use your credit card for jewelry supply orders in full confidence and security.

On rare occasions, exceptions can be made for payment by cash instrument (money order or cashier's check) postal-mailed IN ADVANCE ONLY. If approved, payment must be received before your silver wholesale order can be processed and shipped. Please contact us if you absolutely must pay by this method.

2. IS IT SAFE TO USE MY CREDIT CARD ON YOUR WEBSITE?

Credit card fraud is real. Much of popular fear about credit card fraud, however, is based on misinformation and speculation about the conditions under which it occurs, and the nature of cardholder liability. A falsified charge on your card can be made by anyone who has your numbers: it can occur where you charge in person at a physical location, online or offline. If, for example, you bought a meal in person at a local restaurant, and a corrupt employee of that restaurant decided to steal your card number, he could attempt to make a fraudulent purchase on your account. The point of theft - online or offline - is the human being you have entrusted with your data, and the security and privacy procedures followed at that particular business.

Now, it is very important to realize that credit card charge information whether originating in an offline or online purchase is all transmitted online just the same by the business-- and by your bank--via the exact same Internet channels that billions of dollars in transactions are safely transmitted every day. These transmission channels are extremely secure and virtually unbreachable. Data properly transmitted along these channels is virtually impenetrable. Again: the risk of breach is at the merchant level and with the merchant's employees, not in the data transmission itself. Your determinant of risk is the company's security procedures and reputation, and the honesty or dishonesty of the people who work there, at the human level -- regardless of whether you are shopping online, or in person at a physical location. The software mechanism itself is extremely secure.

SilverSource uses state of the art 128-256 bit encryption via secure socket layer transmission. The man who designed our site security developed security software for Xerox corporation, as the boss over a team of 300 employee programmers. In 11 years of business processing thousands of credit card transactions over the Internet, totalling millions of dollars, we have not had a single case of fraud occur. Not even one. Our reputation in the trade, and a history of honest transactions going back well over a decade, are absolutely spotless.

Lastly, you should check with your credit card issuer regarding your maximum liability in case of fraud. In almost all cases it will not exceed US$50 if the loss is reported promptly. The cardholder always comes first and is fully protected, and in fact it is usually the merchant who must absorb any losses due to fraud. That is why merchants such as SilverSource have so many fraud-protection and verfication procedures in place; the system is structured such that the burden of fraud falls upon the merchant, not the card issuer bank, and not upon you - the credit card holder.

3. WHY DOESN'T YOUR SITE HAVE ANY OF THOSE REASSURING 'HACKER SAFE' OR BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU (BBB) SEALS?

The dirty secret about these seals us that they are strictly for sale. They are not truly impartial nor merit-based, and approval standards are low. Seal display program subscriptions are actively hawked to website owners by aggressive cold-calling salespeople. Sites which do not pay these companies annual fees ranging between several hundred and thousands of dollars are not allowed to display the seals. Although such seals may seem to carry some kind of significant meaning or weight, for the most part they are virtually meaningless.

In webmaster circles, no website is ever truly 'hacker safe', and no security specialist other than an amateur would be so ignorant or presumptuous as to declare it. SilverSource site security is state of the art and always evolving. Our longstanding reputation in the wholesale jewelry trade is spotless, backed by a long history of extraordinarily clean statistics for well over a decade. In our opinion it is unnecessary to pay anyone for a useless seal, which provides a false sense of assurance only to those who are easily assured. We believe our money is far better spent on perfecting customer service, and constantly refining actual site security.

4. WHAT DOES SILVER 'WHOLESALE' BULK JEWELRY SUPPLY MEAN?

SilverSource sells bulk jewelry. Most silver wholesale items are sold as a three-piece minimum order. Additionally, the total minimum bulk jewelry supply order required for purchase is US $100 (this amount before shipping).

As long as the total amount of your wholesale jewelry supply order is $100 or more, we can accept your order. No other buying qualification is required. So if you wish, you may pool your office, friends and family to reach our silver wholesale minimum. This could be the start of a retail jewelry business of your own!

Please note: CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS ONLY should provide a California resale number to buy silver wholesale and avoid state sales tax (currently 8.25%).

All interstate bulk jewelry supply sales outside California are tax-free, no resale permit or tax ID is necessary.

5. WHAT IS YOUR MINIMUM BULK JEWELRY SUPPLY ORDER?

Our bulk jewelry supply minimum order is US $100.00 (before shipping).

6. CAN YOU FILL AN ORDER FOR LESS THAN THE $100 MINIMUM?

Sorry to say, it's for every purchase. Our accountant has informed us that because our markups are so very low, we would actually lose money on orders below the minimum - factoring stock cost, rent, phones, advertising, website hosting, labor and other overhead expenses.

7. DO YOU OFFER VOLUME BULK JEWELRY SUPPLY PRICING FOR JOBBERS AND DISTRIBUTORS?

Yes, quantity counts.

We can offer extremely low prices on larger volume bulk jewelry purchases - unbeatable bargains on premium quality bulk jewelry supply, as well as silver wholesale closeouts and overstocks.

We can also offer very competitive pricing by gram for larger wholesale silver jewelry supply orders. We're always ready to make a silver wholesale deal so call us.

8. SO, I CAN GET EVEN GREATER DISCOUNTS ON VOLUME WHOLESALE JEWELRY PURCHASES?

We're always trying to give our customers maximum value for their money. Because our profit markup is tight, and item availability varies widely depending on manufacturer, raw silver bullion costs, market availability, foreign exchange and import duty rates, it usually is not possible to quote one overriding blanket percentage discount across an entire order. If you let us know which designs you want, we can crunch the numbers and let you know what's possible, with quotations on a design-by-design basis. Discounts beyond the 12-piece minimums onsite are usually applicable to orders which both: total US$1000 or more and also contain 24 or more pieces of each design within the order. Sizes within each ring design may be mixed according to your preferences, pending availability.

9. DO YOU SELL ON TERMS? C.O.D.?

SilverSource policy is that all purchases are paid in full via Checkout at time of sale. Credit terms such as "30-day-net" are not available.

10. DO YOU HAVE SALES REPS? DO YOU ATTEND TRADE SHOWS?

All our sales are direct to buyers without representatives or commissions. We let the quality and beauty of our silver jewelry sell itself. Everything we offer is available onsite, and we have found little need for aggressive sales hype delivered via intrusive pitchmen and women, nor do we find it necessary to tout our quality products via parasitic middlemen. This eliminates a significant layer of cost to you, our dear buyer.

11. DO I NEED A SELLERS PERMIT?

SilverSource is different from most other jewelry wholesalers, in that we don't have any in-house screening against new customers, and there are no special qualifications required to buy wholesale from us. As long as the total amount of your wholesale sterling silver jewelry purchase is $100 or more, we can accept your order. No other buying qualification is required, so if you wish, you may pool your office, friends and family to reach our wholesale sterling silver jewelry minimum. It could be the start of a retail jewelry business of your own!

Please note: CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS ONLY must provide a California resale number to buy wholesale sterling silver jewelry without state sales tax (currently 8.25%). All bulk jewelry supply sales outside California are tax-free -- no resale permit or tax ID is necessary for interstate wholesale sterling silver jewelry orders. California State law requires all orders shipped to California addresses be charged sales tax UNLESS the buyer provides a valid California state resale permit number at the time of purchase. Resale permits are easy to get, and free of charge. Simply contact the California State Board of Equalization by phone Toll Free at 800-400-7115 or click here

12. HOW DO YOU SHIP BULK JEWELRY SUPPLY ORDERS AND WHAT IS THE SHIPPING COST?

PLEASE NOTE: Most United States domestic orders are filled and shipped within 2 business days, Monday-Friday. UPS does not ship on weekends. This means that an order placed Friday could possibly ship on Tuesday of the following week. The shipping rate you choose determines shipping time from the date the order is filled and shipped, not from the date of initial order placement.

We ship domestically within the United States via UPS Next-Day Air, 2-Day Air, 3-Day Select or Ground service. We may ship international orders via U.S. Postal Service registered post or another courier, depending upon the destination country.

Shipping cost varies according to service type, weight and destination zone. You'll get an accurate shipping quote at the time of Checkout. You can also use our convenient 'Shipping Estimator' function to preview shipping costs, by clicking on the UPS logo located at the bottom right of every page.

13. HOW DO I PLACE AN ORDER?

You don't need a tax ID number to order. Just go to SilverSource.com, then simply click the photographs of the items which interest you. Choose your preferred sizes and quantities, and add them to your shopping cart. When you're ready to complete your order, click the "Checkout" link. From there you'll enter your shipping and billing info. It's really that simple.

14. HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO RECEIVE MY WHOLESALE SILVER JEWELRY?

Most domestic USA wholesale jewelry orders ship within 2 business (ie: Monday-Friday) days. Please note that although we are almost always able to fill and ship within this two day window, no guarantee fill/ship time is expressed or implied. Our orders are highly customized and labor-intensive, even though we sell for low prices with low overhead. It is highly recommended that you plan ahead and order well in advance of your retail shows. Shipping time is determined by the level of UPS shipping you choose. UPS does not guarantee delivery times for Ground shipments, and they do not deliver on Saturdays or Sundays. Ground service usually arrives within 3-7 days. UPS does, however, guarantee delivery times for Next Day Air, 2nd Day Air, and 3-Day-Select services. Again, please note that these delivery times are from the date we ship, not from the date on which you placed your order; please allow up to 2 extra days for order processing.

15. CAN UPS LEAVE THE PACKAGE ON THE PORCH? : UPS SPECIAL DELIVERY INSTRUCTIONS

UPS won't allow us to specify any special dropoff conditions, such as requesting that UPS leave a parcel elsewhere (ie: "Leave on Porch") if no one is in to receive it, and we have no control over UPS drop-off policy from here. All of our wholesale jewelry shipments are insured, and your local driver is personally responsible and liable for the insured value if the package is lost or stolen. It's his call whether or not to leave a parcel without a signature. The best bet is to try making some arrangement with your local UPS driver if possible.

16. DO YOU SHIP SILVER WHOLESALE OUTSIDE OF THE UNITED STATES?

International bulk jewelry supply orders ship within one week, instead of the usual 2 business days for domestic jewelry supply orders. This allows for the complex extra paperwork required by foreign Customs, as well as paid employee time required to wait in line and process shipping documents in person at the US Postal Service.

Please note we charge one averaged shipping fee (currently US$23) for all foreign destinations. This is a flat rate regardless of order total. Given the labor involved to process international silver wholesale orders, we actually lose money on all foreign shipping. This is true even in cases where the postage shown on your package may be lower than the shipping fee you were charged when you placed your order.

Most countries only allow bulk jewelry supply shipments shipped via Letter Rate post, and this is the only rate we use. Please note: although Letter Rate is a First Class rate, packages can sometimes take a long time to arrive, so please plan your orders accordingly. It is not possible to send foreign jewelry parcels by Express Mail, Priority Mail, UPS, FedEx or any method other than Letter Rate. For more information on US Postal Service Letter Rate and registered mail service, please visit http://www.usps.com

All foreign bulk jewelry supply parcels are sent Registered Mail for optimum security. Insurance is not available for international jewelry supply shipments. Registered mail is extremely secure: parcels are sent inside locked bags and each person who handles it along the way must sign to document receipt.

Although in 11 years of using registered mail for foreign wholesale silver parcels we have only had one loss (shipping loose gems to Indonesia, a notorious kleptocracy - and during a revolution too!) no common international carrier will guarantee the secure arrival of bulk jewelry shipments. ALL INTERNATIONAL SILVER WHOLESALE ORDERS ARE SHIPPED SOLELY AT BUYER'S RISK.

In the following countries, for unknown reasons, postal regulations simply do not allow importation of jewelry. However, in almost all of these countries it is nonetheless entirely legal to import bulk jewelry via a non-postal freight carrier. If you can find a way to get it there, we'll be delighted to ship our silver wholesale bulk jewelry to you:

Argentina
Costa Rica
French Polynesia, incl. Tahiti
Panama
Poland
Reunion
Seychelles

All Duties and Taxes are the responsibility of the customer. These charges will be collected at delivery, and refusal of the package does not limit liability for these charges. Unfortunately we cannot export wholesale silver jewelry declared with lower than actual values to circumvent duties and/or taxes. Please contact your local customs office to get an estimate of these charges.

17. WHAT IS YOUR GUARANTEE ON SILVER WHOLESALE PRODUCTS?

All of our items are guaranteed to be 925 Sterling Silver purity and free of defects. We regularly assay-test products for purity and we stand behind our jewelry supply merchandise.

We are not, however, responsible for damage due to wear and tear, oxidation (tarnish), customer neglect or mishandling.

18. WHAT IS YOUR JEWELRY SUPPLY RETURN POLICY?

If you receive a factory-defective jewelry supply item, you may return it for a full refund, credit or exchange. All other returns, including refused delivery or undeliverable shipments, are subject to a 10 percent restocking fee.

Refunds are paid by SilverSource company check ONLY.

19. CAN I USE YOUR PHOTOGRAPHS?

SilverSource's standard policy is to not allow use of our copyrighted silver wholesale photographs, graphics or text.

We invested a lot of time and money creating these images and developing the unique look associated with our jewelry supply company and its registered trademark. All images have been digitally watermarked using Digimarc Digital Watermarking Technology and any unauthorized use is reported back via Digimarc's Image Spider.

Once you have purchased SilverSource jewelry supply merchandise, you may take your own photographs and use them in any way you wish, provided that you will only be using those photographs to sell SilverSource jewelry supply silver wholesale merchandise - and selling it in a way that does not compromise the good reputation of our company or otherwise devalue the SilverSource brand name.

20. HOW DO I PHOTOGRAPH JEWELRY?

The key is to use a decent digital camera with a Macro function or Macro lens, so you can get very close to your subject. Fortunately digital cameras prices have recently dropped quite a lot, so quality cameras are very affordable. You'll need strong lighting (full outdoor sun is great) and ideally, a photo retouching/graphics program such as PhotoShop.

Because you're selling retail and probably won't need a standardized background such as SilverSource uses, you're free to shoot against any interesting, creative backdrop you like - leaves, flowers, rocks, your housecat - or anything else which shows off the product.

macro photography tips

21. HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN IN THE SILVER WHOLESALE JEWELRY SUPPLY BUSINESS?

SilverSource® started as a retail company in August, 1994, and then became a bulk jewelry supply silver wholesale-only business in December, 1998. We've been growing ever since -THANKS to you, our loyal silver wholesale customers!