Buying gold jewelry in bulk

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Wednesday February 6th, 2008 @ 10:47 PM

Filed under: Piercing

I have 25 helix piercings that I have been wanting to go gold with. currently I have ss barbells in them. I was thinking I want to switch to gold labrets. Instead of paying out the wazoo buying them individually, I was wondering if there was a way I could buy in bulk being that I am an individual and not a company? If this is possible, where do you suggest I start looking (preferably online)? About how much should I expect to pay for 25 14 gauge 1/4″, labret studs, I’d like about a 3-4 mm plain ball- nothing fancy. I would also need 2 14 gauge, 1 and 5/8 inch barbells for my industrials, and 3 nostril screws- all gold. gold plated would be fine. any help would be great! I found a few places online that sell in bulk, but i’ve heard good and bad about them, I’m interested in what you’re opinion is as a professional. Thanks!!

Ok so the Wazoo it out of the question, but how about The Great Kazoo? lol

Instead of putting your money out onto the internet realm of body jewelry suppliers (as there’s plenty good suppliers along with very bad suppliers), why not just do your part in helping out the Piercing Industry itself by visiting a reputable piercing studio and custom ordering what you need? As by visiting a reputable studio they can take the time to make sure ALL the measurements are exact and perhaps even show you examples of what the jewelry might look like. Whereas when you purchase online, its very much a buyers beware situation. You do not know WHAT type of quality you’re going to get.

Also in terms of getting “deals”, most studios give deals on gold jewelry anways. As currently Gold is almost at, or is at, $1000 a troy ounce. What does that mean? It means Gold is pretty darn expensive currently…Which means the more gold used, the higher the cost on the wholesale end, thus higher the cost on the retail end. Although like I said most shops do not markup their gold jewelry like they do their standard Steel or Titanium jewelry, that way they can keep gold a viable option to purchase.

As for bigger deals then the reduced markup costs, I’d suggest definitely visiting a reputable piercing studio and explaining your situation. Personally if you came into a shop that I had control of the purchasing/prices, for 25 guaranteed bought pieces, I’d definitely work with the customer to offer them at a reduced price. If I were you the BEST way to get the shops to react quickly as well is to give them the list, and work on a basic quote estimate and then offer to pay a partial deposit (like 50%) up front before the order is made. As many shops, even reputable ones, might not have the cash at the time to purchase literally 25 various gold pieces at one time. Also make sure everything is outlined, the list, a receipt of how much of a initial deposit you made,etc.

Now onto the subject of Gold and/or Gold Plating…Stay far far far FAAAAAR away from Gold Playing. Simply put its, crap and often will crack/flake off, leaving usually very substandard jewelry materials then exposed to your body. It’s just garbage and a waste of money, why buy that when you can invest in some nice high quality products? Everyones body only deserves the best if you ask me.

Also know that of course gold comes in various types: 9ct, 14ct, 18ct,etc. Know that with the smaller numbers (the 9ct-14ct,etc) are less and less gold. Usually 14ct Gold is about 50%-58% gold and is usually mixed with Nickel and other compounds that can be irritating to the body. Usually the ideal gold to use is 18ct solid gold as it has a much higher gold amount overall, even better getting (my personal view here) White Gold mixed with Palladium based.

Finally also make sure that the jewelry ordered is Internally Threaded as well, as gold is often horrible with threading and often can strip or get damaged. Where as with Internally Threaded usually there is a steel or titanium threaded shaft made with the gold bead to eliminate the potential damage that would occur if the threading was made out of gold instead.

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