The COVID-19 pandemic has made people grown more accustomed to online shopping than in years before as they need to avoid getting infected by the disease from outdoor activities. It reduces time in going out and looking for products. With the method, people have shifted to searching and buying products online through different e-commerce platforms. Thus, it has accelerated global e-commerce market’s strong growth. e-Marketer has predicted that the global e-commerce retail sales in 2022 will reach USD 5.542 trillion, or around 12.2% increase from that of 2021. And it will increase to USD 7.391trillion in 2025. Moreover, Technavio has forecasted that the global online jewelry market will hit USD 19,880 million in 2024, or an average annual growth rate of 15% during 2021-2024.

Platforms for Gem and Jewelry Products  

            Online Gem and jewelry trading platforms in the COVID-19 era, which have broadened distribution channels to consumers around the world, are the following 5 platforms.

             is one of the world’s most popular e-commerce platforms. It has storefront websites in the US, and many countries in Europe and Asia. Products offered cover all categories with shipping service available to nearly all countries across the globe. In addition, it offers web hosting for retail websites of brands, for instance, Sears Canada, Marks & Spencer, and Lacoste. 

            In 2021, Amazon net revenue was at USD 33.36 billion, a 56.41% upsurge compared to that of 2020. Number of sellers also increased constantly. There are almost 2 million small and medium third-party sellers on Amazon’s website. There are around 3,700 new sellers register to the platform, daily. In 2021, 3.8 billion items were sold, or an average of 7,400 items/minute. The platform has 310 million users worldwide.

             Amazon offers 2 sell plans on its website. 

            1) Individual Plan is free of monthly service fee. However, there is a placement fee of USD 0.99 per item. Sellers can list fewer than 40 items per month. Items allowed for listing are those that do not required approval from Amazon. 

            2) Professional Plan is offered with USD 39.99 monthly fee but no listing fee. Sellers can list products which require and do not require approval from Amazon. There is no limitation for number of products listing. Sellers who offer fine jewelry products must apply for this plan.

            Selling of fashion jewelry goods which are not made of precious metals do not need approval before making them available. Fine jewelry goods made of precious metals and handcrafted jewelry products have to obtain approval before putting them for sale. Generally, Amazon spends no more than 7 days to approve. Sellers must list jewelry products on accurate categories according to the following criteria.

            Fine Jewelry refers to any jewelry products which are made of precious metals, including those mounted with genuine diamonds, precious stones, semi-precious stones, and natural or cultured pearls.

            Fashion Jewelry refers to jewelry products which are not made of precious metals, including those plated with precious metals, and those which are not mounted with genuine diamonds, precious stones, semi-precious stones, natural or cultured pearls.

            Whenever sellers make a sale, commission must be paid to Amazon in a percentage of the total sales price, including product price, shipping fee, and additional product costs such as gift-wrapping fee. Gem and jewelry sellers must pay 5% commission rate for products with prices higher than USD 250 and 20% commission rate for products with prices up to USD 250.

             is one of the world’s major e-commerce platforms. It has 51 companies, operating business in 31 countries around the world. The platform has 19 million active sellers with more than 1,600 million living listing and over 160 million active buyers, covering 190 countries. According to an eBay Inc. report, it was found that in the first quarter of 2022, its trade value was at USD 19.4 billion. As for jewelry products, it was found that there are around 84,000 sellers, earning revenue of around USD 28.14 million. 12,750 colored stone sellers gained revenue of around USD 1.81 million. Prominent markets with gem and jewelry product buyers were the US, UK, Australia, and Germany. 

            Selling gem and jewelry products on eBay can be done with or without opening a store on the platform. By not opening a store, sellers can list the initial 250 items without being charged for the insert fee. Listing products exceeding 250 items will be charged with the insert fee of USD 0.30/item. After a product is sold, sellers must pay the Final Value Fee (FVF) of 12% of the product price including shipping. Many forms of stores are available to choose from with the monthly fee starting from USD 4.95/month to USD 349.95/month, depending on number of products listed. When a sale is made, sellers have to pay the FVF of 11.7% of the product price including shipping.

            Listing gem and jewelry products on eBay does not require an approval in advance. However, sellers must indicate details of products, from name to product description, which includes types of metals it is made of; or gemstones used are of natural, lab-grown, or treated. For instance, if the products listed are mounted with treated genuine rubies, it should be indicated as “Natural Ruby with Treated”, or a necklace made of genuine silver, mounted with genuine diamonds, it should be indicated as “Natural Diamond and 925 Sterling Silver Necklace”. Criteria for accurate product listing are as follows.

            Fine Jewelry: Jewelry goods of which settings are made of precious metals mounted with real gemstones of CZ and jewelry goods made of non-precious metals but plated with precious metals mounted with real gemstones are classified in this category.

            Fashion Jewelry: Jewelry products of which settings are not made of precious metals, including those plated with precious metals and mounted with synthetic gemstones.

            With the chance of reaching over 160 million consumers on eBay, the Gem and Jewelry Institute of Thailand (Public Organization) or GIT joined hand with eBay Thailand and organized an online seminar, providing knowledge in selling gem and jewelry products on eBay, to create an opportunity in expanding online gem and jewelry market for Thai entrepreneurs and to raise confidence of gem and jewelry buyers on eBay.

             is another favored e-commerce platform among customers around the world. It is a platform for handmade products and products with uniqueness. In 2021, Etsy earned USD 717.14 million, a 16.2% increase from that of 2021. There are 5.3 million active sellers on Etsy and 90.1 million active buyers worldwide.

            Gem and jewelry products listing on Etsy must be handmade items made by sellers or acquired from OEMs. Sellers can get products with uniqueness from any sources to sell. They have to pay the listing fee of USD 0.20/unit. After a product is sold, sellers have to pay the fee (for each unit sold) of 6.5% of the product price with shipping.

              is a Canadian platform for creating website of readymade online stores. It is among globally popular online trading platforms with a system connecting stores with social media platforms-- Facebook and Instagram. The platform offers 14-day free trial. Effective tools for management and online marketing are provided. It supports many payment methods, credit cards and Paypal. The platform is made available in more than 50 languages, so selling products to foreign customers can be done more smoothly.

            At present, there are around 5.6 million stores on Shopify. In 2021, the platform had around 480 million buyers. There are many packages for customers who want to open a store on Shopify. For beginners who have just started selling online and do not want to invest in systems, Shopify has a package called Shopify Lite with the fee of only USD 9 per month. Sellers who want to sell products in a full-scale manner should pick the Advance Shopify package with the monthly fee of USD 299. The transaction fee when a product is sold starts from 0.5% to 2% per unit, depend on a package chosen by an online store.

             is a Chinese giant e-commerce retail website, selling products in B2B and B2C format. The platform provides market space for sellers, as an individual or a company, from different countries. Over 100 million product items are listed for sales on the platform. In order to prevent fraud, AliExpress monitors with a system designed to allow buyers to confirm product acceptance before transferring payment to sellers.

            Currently, there are 150 million users. The platform provides automatic translation for 18 languages. Product placement on the website is simple and free of listing charge. Sellers who sell jewelry products have to pay the 8% fee when their products are sold. Additionally, stores on   AliExpress are connected to other e-commerce platforms such as Shopify, WooCommerce, and PrestaShop.

Key Information of 5 E-commerce Platforms

* According to the data of demandsage.com, it has been predicted that in 2022, there would be around 500 buyers who buy products from Shopify.

            All of these 5 platforms are e-marketplace, which can reach every group of consumers worldwide. Apart from placing products for sales, the platforms also offer overall information for marketing and promotional tools to reach target buyers. Thus, they offer more opportunities to boost gem and jewelry sales. 

Writer: Wasana Somnate

Editor: Budhiphorn Vichaidist

The Gem and Jewelry Institute of Thailand (Public Organization)