Etsy is one of the leading online, e-commerce platforms currently available to the public in the United States and Internationally as well. Since its founding in the year 2005, the brand has overcome many challenges and has finally become one that is familiar to us. The e-commerce platform connects its customers to those looking to purchase their users’ services and goods With being in the retail industry, there are many concerns that each brand must face. One of these is the question of whether a brand sells real, genuine products. The question today is, is the jewelry sold on Etsy real? Keep reading to find out more.
When looking at the jewelry sold on Etsy, it isn’t as simple to say whether the Jewelry is real or not. Many items sold through the platform are handcrafted. Most are sold by the creators and only a few items may be vintage jewelry. Even so, not all vintage items will be real jewelry. The bottom line, most of the jewelry on Etsy can be considered not real.
Why Is Etsy’s Jewelry Not Real?
The reason for this is that Etsy is an online, e-commerce platform. Sellers are all independent. None of them represent Etsy or a specific well-established jewelry retailer.
These sellers are allowed to sell anything from antiques to hand-crafted jewelry. For this reason, not many items would be real.
If you do come across a seller claiming an item to be real, it would be best to have this verified before purchasing it.
How To Figure Out or Test Whether a Piece Of Jewelry Is Real or Not?
If you come across a seller on Etsy who is selling items that have been claimed as true, real jewelry, you could use the following methods to verify whether it is true.
- You could ask for the certificate of the item in question. The certificate will have details on the material and composition of the item. It is the most well-known method of verifying whether it is real or not.
If there is no certificate, you could use any of the following methods.
- Check the piece of jewelry. If it is real, it will have a marking somewhere to show what it has been composed of. If it is gold, it will be marked with a K and a number to symbolize the Karat of the gold. If not K, it will have specific numbers instead. If it is silver, it will be stamped with the number 925 or Sterling on the inside of an item. Other precious metals will also have stampings. It will be up to you to figure out whether the stamps are genuine or not.
- If the item is not new and is said to be an antique, you could always check whether any signs are showing that it was used before.
Precious metal will remain the same after years of constant use. However. If that jewelry has been made from any non-precious metal and was used before, you will be able to make out signs of wear. If a jewel looks discolored, you should avoid such items.
There are other ways to check whether an item is fake or not. So far, the above listed are the most popular.
Some FAQs On Etsy
You may have some questions about Etsy’s jewelry and retail policies after finding out that most, if not all of their platform users are not selling real jewelry. Some of the most frequently asked questions have been answered below.
- What should I do if I am not happy with a piece of jewelry bought from Etsy because it is not real or does not look like the product advertised?
The first step before purchasing any item through any online or e-commerce platform would be to check whether a seller accepts returns and has a refund policy. You should only purchase from sellers who do, so when you have received something that is not to your liking, you can return it and get a refund. However, if you did not check this information before purchasing and find out later that they do not accept returns, you can contact Etsy’s Shop for help.
- What should I do if I was scammed into paying more for jewelry than it is worth on Etsy?
The only option here would be to notify Etsy of this. They will try and get you back a refund and will also ban the seller.
Conclusion
Etsy is an e-commerce platform that links sellers to buyers. Most of the items on Etsy have to be either handmade or vintage products.
They sell jewelry on this platform, however, none of it can be considered real jewelry unless proven otherwise by a seller. To do this, there must be a valid certificate proving the quality and details of the precious material used in the production of the jewelry.
