Hi Dionne, I also have a post on how to use both imperial and metric measurements in your jewelry listings:
Do You Use Inches or Centimeters in Your Jewelry Listings?.

I have only had a problem with an item once and it was not a problem returning it for a full refund. All sellers have been very kind.

Starting from when I first bought online several years ago, I would spend upwards of six months looking at a site before I’d make the first buy. I signed up for the store’s newsletter. I compared prices, doing independent research on the stones and beads (in particular turquoise and Fair Trade) I was interested in, both in the virtual world, checking out other more geology-oriented/academic sites, as well as the real world by going to gem and mineral and bead shows and talking to vendors.

I might mention here that I’m partially disabled as well, with problems walking or standing for very long. Leaning over displays is impossible. After a couple of visits and making small buys, I got to know particular show vendors. Once they found out I am a serious buyer and not a lookie-lou, and they understand my physical limitations (I tell them), they invite me to sit in their booth and bring me the trays to go through. They were and are immensely helpful with information.

Back in the virtual world, as well as spending six months reading the newsletters and seeing what the sales were like if sites had any, and because I was buying turquoise, I also checked out southwestern US jewellery websites to see what various stones and cuts looked like made up and made myself familiar with finished jewellery prices and the stones and the mines they came from. I subscribe to several museum websites, as they are a goldmine (sorry!) of information about stones used in historical times.

Then I made my first small buy. I compared what I received with the photos on the websites. How long did it take to arrive? How securely was it packaged? I have to say that I have been more than 100% happy with everyone I’ve dealt with and on the infinitisimally rare occasion when something was amiss, they have shipped out priority post the make-good with no charge — told me to keep the wrongly shipped item.

I have avoided places like eBay so far only because I honestly still do not know enough about stones, other than what I like — and that is no guide to price or quality! I used to buy books on eBay, until I found out that the shipping wiped out any apparent deal on the book itself. I suspect that is true of buying many things, including stones and findings.

I also keep a ruler here by the computer so I can figure out immediately how large/small something is, because it’s so hard to tell when all you’re looking at are enlarged photos on your monitor.

Barbara

It’s important to me to support my fellow artists and small businesspeople by purchasing from them whenever I can.

But to make my purchasing decisions, I need specific info about what they’re selling – exact size / dimensions / length, what all the materials are, how many come in a package, etc.

So I lean toward purchasing from the seller who has the most complete information.

I don’t usually take the time to email the seller if their product info is incomplete. Like most people, my time is limited and I don’t want to wait for a back-and-forth conversation to find out whether I want to purchase the item or not. Plus I would feel uncomfortable not purchasing after contacting the seller and asking them for extra info.

So I usually just move on to another seller who’s offering something similar – and who *does* include all the info I need to make my purchasing decision.