Silpada Jewelry

[jenjenfirenjen]

Has anyone here ever been to a Silpada jewelry party and/or purchsed any of their stuff? I kept seeing their ads in my beauty/fashion mags and was always drawn to them. So I looked into it a bit and have started thinking about maybe selling it. But the little bit of research I have done, some people think it is overpriced. Granted, it is expensive but it looks pretty nice. I live in a fairly affluent area but still I worry if anyone will buy this stuff. Just looking for some more feedback.

If you've never seen the stuff, here's a linkie:

http://www.silpada.com/silpadaJewelry/index.jsp

[C99]

I haven't bought anything, but it was all the rage among the moms and teachers in our co-op last year. They did a fundraiser with it at one of the meetings so I saw it, but nothing that I loved enough to spend the money on. The Silpada rep donated a bunch of pieces for our annual auction and there was a mix-up with one of the pieces and another donated necklace I bought for my MIL - I liked the Silpada piece better. However, I generally am not a fan of "____ parties" so I don't tend to go to them.

[rupptopia]

I have been to a Silpada party, their jewelry is nice. I wouldn't call it high end though. I like the earrings I bought but the necklace definitely didn't look as nice as in the picture so I was a bit disappointed. If I go again I would stick with purchasing things the saleslady actually has on display.

Michelle
Mom to Alex born 9/28/04

[firstbaby]

I have been a few times - my neighbors love hosting them so I usually attend / buy. I think their stuff is nice quality, a little on the pricey side (or maybe the things I like tend to be their more expensive pieces LOL). However, if I recall correctly, the initial investment IS expensive - I think $800 - $900 - to sell it. If you either love their jewelry and wouldn't worry about recouping your start up costs or you've run the numbers and could recoup that fairly quickly, try it!

[MichelleRC]

I have a Silpada bracelet that I actually love and get compliments on all the time--it is silver with loads of dangly garnets. It was too long for me so I had a jeweler shorten it and make me matching earrings with the leftover garnets! It was not cheap, but I do really like it.

HTH!

[luvsviola]

I went to a party last year not knowing anything and was extremely frustrated at how expensive the jewelery is. It is nice, but seemed to be the same as department store stuff with a higher price tag.

[deenass]

My mom was a SIlpada rep for about a year (and it is quite the rage in our area). The stuff ranges in price - earrings start at around $20 and necklaces can be as high as $200.

When my mom made her initial investment, she elected to buy a lot of jewelery so she spent about $2000. SHe did make it back within the year and I think she will admit, she didn't work too hard at it (she started right before the holidays and had a bunch of parties and then they petereed off and she didn't really do much to bring in new business). It can be pretty lucrative, sinc eyou make 30% of the sales total and hostesses can get A LOT of free jewelery (a good incentive for them). Unlike other home shows, the hostess gets a percentage of sale in jewelery instead of "this piece at half off and this piece at a reduced rate".

A lot of people around here wear it. It isn't cheap, but it isn't INSANELY expensive either.

[gatorruth]

I was a Cookie Lee Rep for about 2 years. Their stuff is a bit less expensive than Silpada. (check ebay for listings-- you can see how many reps end up quitting and trying to sell their inventory) I was gung ho about it but realized 1) it's tough to book parties!! If you do get a show, then it is very hard to 'convince' someone else there to do a show. 2) You have to be the kind of person to wear the jewelry all the time, talk about it, and try to sell it off your body- which is hard to do with kids around. If you leave your house without showering or getting 'dressed', don't even think about it!!

I have about $2000 worth of old CL jewelry that I need to sell on ebay now. Just don't tell DH!!

Good luck with whatever you decide!
Ruth