Earrings
Earrings Distributor Tier: What the Quote Actually Covers - HOLYCOME
Earrings: tolerances, cost structure and the reject rule for US wholesale buyers.
What the Quote Actually Covers
The brief was simple: 800 earrings, 925 sterling silver, delivered before October. The run that arrived carried 17 pieces with prong geometry, and the buyer spent USD 25-75 on sorting before the goods reached a shelf, priced at USD 36-199 for the 800-piece Distributor Tier run.
On a 800-piece order at USD 36-199, a prong geometry rate above two percent is not a quality surprise. It is a costing error that shows up as a credit note three weeks later.
Nothing in the rebuild was expensive. A gauge, a written limit and a retained tray did the work that a discount would only have delayed, which the Distributor Tier file records at USD 36-199 in bulk carton, 50 per bag.
Where USD 36-199 Per Piece Actually Goes
Cost at USD 36-199 leaves no room for assumption. The table shows which line compresses and which line only moves quality down.
| Cost line | Share | What moves it |
|---|---|---|
| Base metal or alloy for earrings | 30% | Alloy choice and casting yield |
| Stone or melee for earrings | 20% | Sieve range and lot batching |
| Setting and finishing labor for earrings | 19% | Jig design and bench minutes |
| Plating, polish and QC for earrings | 12% | Per-tray versus per-piece checks |
| Packaging for earrings | 19% | bulk carton, 50 per bag |
A factory that cannot state its bench minutes per piece has never costed its own line. Ask for minutes and for the reject rule, not for a discount, shipped as bulk carton, 50 per bag and certified SGS batch report, which is USD 36-199 on the Distributor Tier schedule.
What US buyers Check Before They Sign
At USD 36-199 per piece the four measurements below are worth more than the discount being negotiated. One of them costs nothing to write down.
| Spec point | Common trade output | HOLYCOME standard | Cost if missed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clasp spring life | Sampled by hand | Cycled 500 times on a jig per lot | Detach claim and brand damage |
| Prong tension and seat depth | Checked by feel at the bench | Pull-tested per piece, seat depth written on the sheet | Stone loss and total replacement |
| Hallmark depth and placement | Stamped where it fits | Fixed position, depth measured so it never breaks the shank | Customs query and remaking |
| Solder flow at the joint | Not inspected | Joint inspected under 10x before setting | Crack at the seam in transit |
Write these into the Distributor Tier purchase order and the arrival check becomes arithmetic instead of recollection, which is USD 36-199 on the Distributor Tier schedule.
Distributor Pricing Tiers on earrings
A distributor does not buy a earring, they buy a position. Tier pricing is quoted against annual volume with a floor per SKU, and the tier is reviewed on shipped units rather than on forecast, quoted at USD 36-199 per piece in bulk carton, 50 per bag.
What the tier buys is protection: a defined territory, a no-direct-sell clause inside that territory, and a first look at new models for one season. Without those three lines the discount is just a lower price and the distributor will not hold stock for you, the figure being USD 36-199 for a 800-piece run.
Turn is the number the distributor manages. At USD 36-199 per piece and a 45-day turn, the margin per shelf foot is thin. That is why bulk orders of earrings move in 800-piece lots rather than in the 50-piece sample quantity.
The Three Failures We See Most in Incoming Samples
prong geometry
A prong that grips the girdle instead of the pavilion survives the showroom and fails the third ultrasonic clean. The seat has to be cut to the pavilion angle before the prongs close, and at USD 36-199 for 800 pieces that is the number the buyer signs.
In a 800-piece run this typically shows on 17 of pieces. Catching it means measuring stone retention after a 40-cycle wear test at the tray level, not inspecting the finished carton, priced at USD 36-199 for the 800-piece Distributor Tier run.
rhodium burn-off
A 0.05 micron rhodium layer reads white in the tray and shows yellow at the shank in six months of daily wear. Thickness, not bath chemistry, is the variable that matters, certified SGS batch report and packed bulk carton, 50 per bag at 800 pieces.
The commercial effect is a return shipment plus a resize labor claim, typically USD 9-14 per piece. Buyers who have seen it once put it in the purchase order; buyers who have not usually discover it on the first return, the figure being USD 36-199 for a 800-piece run.
size-step drift
A run gauged at size 6 and estimated elsewhere ships a size 8 that measures 7.75. The mismatch shows up as a resize queue two weeks after launch, and 800 pieces leaves Wuzhou in bulk carton, 50 per bag at USD 36-199.
Our countermeasure is a gauge and a written limit. It adds about 22 seconds per piece and removes the defect from the run rather than from the carton, on a 800-piece Distributor Tier order at USD 36-199.
Order Terms, Sample Timing and Packing
The commercial frame is short enough to state in full. Minimum order is 50 pieces per design, and mixed designs travel in one shipment, so a 800-piece Distributor Tier order can carry three or four models without a separate setup charge. Sample pieces leave in 3-5 days when the components are in stock, and a new model adds about twenty days before the first article exists, which is how the Distributor Tier account reads it at USD 36-199.
Payment is 30 percent with the order and 70 percent against the bill of lading, with the balance window stated on the invoice rather than agreed by message. Prices quoted at USD 36-199 are FOB Guangzhou or Shenzhen; DDP is quoted separately because the duty line moves with the tariff schedule and not with our cost.
Packing follows the bulk carton, 50 per bag format at 800 pieces to the carton, and the packing list carries SKU, size and stone size so receiving can count without opening every box. Private-label cartons add three days for the print run and must be approved before the first bulk order, not after it, priced at USD 36-199 for the 800-piece Distributor Tier run.
Certification is SGS batch report for the lots that carry it, with a batch report and per-piece measurement of stone retention after a 40-cycle wear test for the lots below the threshold. The document set travels with the shipping papers, which is what a customs broker asks for at the port rather than after clearance, which is how the Distributor Tier account reads it at USD 36-199.
A rejected tray is settled inside the same order cycle against the retained reference piece. If the difference sits on our retained sample we replace or credit; if it appeared in transit we split the assay cost and file with the carrier, and that rule is written on the order before the deposit clears, and the Distributor Tier quote for it sits at USD 36-199.
Sample to Container: The Real Calendar
The short version for earrings: it is arithmetic, not relationship. The long version is below, with SGS batch report and bulk carton, 50 per bag stated on the same sheet.
One practical note on timing for earrings: the calendar starts when the spec is signed, not when the deposit clears. A buyer who signs in week one and pays in week three gets the goods in week five, priced at USD 36-199 for the 800-piece Distributor Tier run.
We date the earrings proforma from signature for that reason, and we state the deposit deadline in the same email that carries the spec sheet, quoted at USD 36-199 per piece in bulk carton, 50 per bag.
AQL, Tray Checks and What a QC Report Should Say
Every year we see the same omission in earrings spec sheets, and every year it costs a buyer a season, with SGS batch report and bulk carton, 50 per bag stated on the same sheet.
In the American bridal market terms, this is the difference between a landed cost the buyer can plan against and a number that moves after the container ships. For earrings, we publish the figure per SKU and hold it for the order window rather than for the calendar year, quoted at USD 36-199 per piece in bulk carton, 50 per bag.
Practically, it shows up in three places for earrings: the proforma, the QC sheet and the credit note if something goes wrong. All three should quote the same number. When they do not, the argument is about paperwork, not about the product, certified SGS batch report and packed bulk carton, 50 per bag at 800 pieces.
How a Repeat Order Gets Built
Nothing in this sequence is unusual, and that is the point. Each step exists because skipping it produced a specific failure on a previous order, and at USD 36-199 for 800 pieces that is the number the buyer signs.
- Lock the spec: metal, stone size range, plating thickness, sizing band and finish, all written on one sheet.
- Pull a stock-component sample in 3-5 days and measure it against that sheet, not against the photo.
- Approve the sample in writing, including the reject rule and the retained reference tray.
- Run bulk in 15-20 days for orders under 500 pieces, with the gauge check independent of the shift.
- Ship from Guangzhou or Shenzhen with the QC sheet in the carton and the batch report by email.
Reorders inside this sequence run 12-15 days because the model, the gauge set and the signed spec stay in our system, which is USD 36-199 on the Distributor Tier schedule.
Freight, Duty and the Arrival Check
Export runs through Guangzhou or Shenzhen. Air lands in 5-8 days on the US west coast, 7-10 on the east, and sea takes roughly three times the transit, on a 800-piece Distributor Tier order at USD 36-199.
FOB is the default on earrings and DDP is the option. Buyers new to the American bridal market usually take DDP once, then switch after they see the breakdown, with SGS batch report and bulk carton, 50 per bag stated on the same sheet, quoted at USD 36-199 per piece in bulk carton, 50 per bag.
If prong geometry appears in the arrival check, the retained tray decides who owns it. Keep the SGS batch report batch sheet in the same folder as the packing list, with SGS batch report and bulk carton, 50 per bag stated on the same sheet.
What This Means for a First Order
A first Distributor Tier order of 50 pieces per design at USD 36-199 tests the line rather than the range. Three designs covers the shelf.
Ask for the retained tray and the SGS batch report batch sheet with the first shipment. Both are free and both decide the reorder, certified SGS batch report and packed bulk carton, 50 per bag at 800 pieces.
Frequently Asked Questions
What finish do you use, and how thick is it?
Rhodium at 0.20 micron minimum on white earrings, with a palladium strike layer so wear-through reads white rather than yellow. Vermeil runs at 3 microns over sterling and is logged per lot, on a 800-piece Distributor Tier order at USD 36-199.
How is earrings packed for bulk carton, 50 per bag?
Every unit goes into a foam-backed pouch, then the bulk carton, 50 per bag, then the outer carton at 800 pieces. The packing list carries the SKU, the size and the stone size so receiving can check without opening every box, with SGS batch report and bulk carton, 50 per bag stated on the same sheet.
Can you ship DDP?
DDP is available for US accounts and removes the duty invoice that arrives after the carton clears. FOB Guangzhou or Shenzhen is the default, and most buyers take DDP once and then switch after they see the breakdown, which the Distributor Tier file records at USD 36-199 in bulk carton, 50 per bag.
How long does a reorder of the same earring take?
With the model, the gauge set and the signed spec already in our system, a repeat is 12-15 days; a first run is 3-5 days for a stock-component sample and about 20 days when a new model is needed, priced at USD 36-199 for the 800-piece Distributor Tier run.
What finish do you use, and how thick is it?
Rhodium at 0.20 micron minimum on white earrings, with a palladium strike layer so wear-through reads white rather than yellow. Vermeil runs at 3 microns over sterling and is logged per lot, on a 800-piece Distributor Tier order at USD 36-199.
Next Step
The next step is a sample in 3-5 days, not a container. Write to service@holycome.com or WhatsApp +86 18078079070, subject Distributor Tier, and at USD 36-199 for 800 pieces that is the number the buyer signs.
HOLYCOME is operated by Wuzhou HengliLai Jewelry Co., Ltd., a factory in Wuzhou, Guangxi, producing since 2009 at roughly 60,000 pieces a month. Contact service@holycome.com or WhatsApp +86 18078079070, quoted at USD 36-199 per piece in bulk carton, 50 per bag.
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