Etsy Seller Interview with Raghav of Prismaticgems

How Prismaticgems got started

Introduce your Etsy shop and tell us your story. How did you begin and decide on what to sell on Etsy, and how do you create your products?

So it all started when my brother was studying in the USA and came back home to India and told me about how people are shifting towards buying gemstones and jewelry online and how this platform called ETSY is picking up pace with handmade jewelry. At that time we were a lot into selling beads, which are used by jewelry designers to make handmade jewelry, which was a huge market in the US offline and now online as well. Then it got into our heads, and I started researching about it and how we can make it happen with shipping from India, as timely delivery was the biggest issue because over on Etsy there were our competitors doing the same thing we were doing, but the only difference was that us being a manufacturer had put us in a better position to create our USP over the other competitors in the b2b natural gemstone beads business.

Coming down to the sourcing of the product, we have been in business since 2002 and have a manufacturing unit of 30+ artisans constantly producing beads of natural gemstones. We source the raw material for gems from various places, like rock and mineral shows in Tucson, Arizona, and direct suppliers from African countries who visit our hometown of Jaipur, India, to show us their goods.

Favorite items

What are your favorite items? What makes these so special? Why do you think these items might be selling well?

We specialize in making tumbled beads, so in order to keep the natural shape of the raw material that came from nature, it is just polished without changing the shape of it, so the jewelry comes out to be very natural and unique as every piece of bead will have a different shape.

These listings are slow to sell, but once sold to a B2B jeweler, they always love them so much that they want to repeat them.

Getting sales on Etsy

How long did it take for you to earn your first sale and how do you currently attract customers to your Etsy shop?

OH! I still remember the first cha-ching-gg. We were sitting in the office planning for the items to get photographed when a sound came to our ears. We had no clue what it was about, but what we knew is that it was the sound of money! It was on the 75th day of our shop being live and us having over 100 products in the shop.

Our USP of tumbled beads and keeping a wide variety of gems in just one shop makes us special. We deal in more than 100 different varieties of gemstones.

Me being a gemologist certified by the Gemological Institute of America makes me and my products more qualified to be exactly what we state them to be. This is because when dealing in natural gemstones, there are a lot of imitations and cheap counterparts that can be used and sold instead, but my being a certified gemologist gave me and my shop an upper edge over other sellers. Currently, we attract new customers by constantly developing new products and uploading new items regularly, which helps our shops get more visitors.

Managing Prismaticgems

How do you manage your shop? Are you running solo or do you have any team members? What tools or services do you use to run your shop and how do you handle fulfillment?

I have one full-time employee other than me and my family. My employee is full-time dedicated to doing the packaging, labeling, and shipping work, plus all the accounting of expenses and following up with the shipments. Other than that, I do all the photography myself to put up the most accurate color possible, as with natural gems color is the most important factor, which needs to be so exact to match it when the product is in the clients’ hands. In India, we have agencies that take care of connecting the package to the client after the item has left our office, so the service is convenient.

The future of Prismaticgems

What goals do you have for your shop in the future?

My goal is to put my unique products out there in the market and create their demand as my products stand out in front of the masses. I am still waiting and working towards my items being recognized as different and unique in the eyes of many designers. I care about the reviews I get from my customers, so working towards their suggestions and improving every day is my daily goal.

Advice for new sellers

What’s your advice for a new seller starting an Etsy shop?

My first and foremost advice would be to be patient and believe in your research and your products and services so that they will be marketed and required nicely. We work every day towards getting better at making the shop look appealing, the products more competitive in price and quality, and the services offered and explained properly.