GS: Needing to Stay Focused...

I am still in the "debating" mode on if I will start business back up.  Slowly researching, quietly thinking and making notes, even a few quick sketches have made it into a note book.

Granted, I'm not completely focused on this... but Sal attempts to not only keep me focused but make me put a business plan down on paper and stick to it.  So during the day he will IM or email me business articles, images, jewelry articles, etc.  While he sends me great information, he sent one that hit home.

It was a Tech Crunch article titled,

"BaubleBar Raises $4.5M From Accel And Greycroft For Affordable Designer Jewelry."

(Give it a read if you have a minute, it's about 10 sentences.)  It's not so much that the company got so much funding that caught me off guard... it's the price of the jewelry they are offering!  While it is apparent that for these prices the pieces must be mass manufactured overseas, I am still confused by how low the prices are!

$28 for a complicated chain piece?  (Sorry, the link is dead... they must have sold out of it! But here's a link to their site.) Even thought it is made from plated base metal, they labor of linking the chains alone is worth more than the price they are selling it for.  This would probably take multiple trained employees well over an hour to link all of the pieces (and this means working in an assembly line, no counting of chain links to make sure they are spaced evenly, no soldering the links, no buffing out any dents or gouges made by the pliers, etc.)  Honestly, this would probably take me a day to link it all together properly.  So why is it $28?  Well, first off, we have no idea where it's made.  There is no "designer" name attached to it, so there is nobody to research.  Under their FAQ's page there is no mention of where anything is manufactured.

Looking up this type of information it made me realize something... do you know where your jewelry is made?  If you buy a shirt, it will say "MADE IN ____________" on the tag.  When was the last time you bought an expensive piece of jewelry and it had a tag that said where it was made?  Sure, the lobster claw clasp may have "Made in Italy" stamped on it, but most likely it is simply the one component.  And the box may have a "Made in China" sticker, but that is the packaging.  And I'm not talking about "hand made custom" jewelry... that should have a makers mark inside.  So where was your jewelry actually made?  Curious, huh?

Well, while I have you pondering that, the debating on whether or not to reopen continues for me...