Most of our customers really love our flat fee shipping & handling options. It’s a very good value if you are a retailer and place wholesale jewelry orders over $100.

In addition to the outstanding rates we’ve negotiated with FedEx for U.S. addresses, we’ve also leveraged our shipping volume to secure outstanding rates to addresses outside the United States. So it’s no surprise that we ship a lot of international orders every day.

If you are new to importing jewelry to your country, please rest assured that Teeda.com ships dozens of wholesale jewelry every week to over 40 countries around the world. We have very robust automated international shipping procedures in place, which really helps our international customers receive their orders as quickly and efficiently as possible.

One common question we receive is about using carriers other than FedEx for international shipments. FedEx definitely offers the most robust tracking system, which is important for importing silver jewelry. However, from time to time some customers prefer that we use their national mail carrier for various reasons. We are happy to accommodate such requests when it’s practical and deemed sufficiently safe. Here are the options we recommend:

1) US Postal Service Global Priority Mail, which has tracking capability within the U.S., but not internationally (except to Canada and Australia, where they are trackable to the final destination).

2) EMS Service (US Postal Service Global Express Mail). This has full tracking capability all the way to the destination, although often not as detailed as FedEx.

3) Air Letter Post, which is regular air mail service that most people are familiar with. This method is often good for smaller packages. For orders over $200, we usually recommend one of the higher priority shipping methods.

There are, as always, a few disclaimers:

1) Please note that we do not know whether the above shipping methods will incur customs and processing fees that are different from FedEx shipments to your destination country, and you would still have to be responsible for any customs duties and processing fees.

2) For all packages, we must accurately declare the description and value of the goods we are shipping, as we ship a lot of international packages every week and need to retain our company’s good standing with the various customs offices.

3) For some destinations and orders we may require that your wholesale silver jewelry order be shipped via a trackable method such as FedEx or EMS- it depends on the destination and order size.

If you would like to order using one of the above alternate shipping methods, please place your order online and select “International Air Mail” in the shipping selection box. If your order is less than $200, we will choose the most efficient and cost-effective shipping method for the order. For orders that are greater than $200, please indicate the shipping method you prefer (EMS, Global Priority, etc.) in the comments section at checkout. We’ll then ship the order using the specified method. The S&H rate in the shopping cart will be accurate at the time you place the order.

Silver Can Get Dirty and Tarnished from Handling and Everyday Wear
Silver jewelry gets dirty from wear and tear, or even from transport and handling when you’re displaying it to customers. Silver also gets tarnished when it is constantly in contact with oxygen and sulfur in the air. A tarnished appearance occurs when sulfur becomes bound to the surface of silver.

Preventing and Limiting Tarnishing and Staining is the Best Approach
The best way to prevent tarnishing and maintain a piece’s lustrous appearance is to keep silver jewelry in a sealed bag when it isn’t in use or being displayed. When placed in the sealed bag, silver jewelry must also be completely dry, because water causes tarnishing as well.

Always Clean Silver Jewelry with a Polishing Cloth
The best option for cleaning silver jewelry is to use a jewelry cleaning cloth, which has two sheets of cotton: the outer layer is cotton for buffing, and the inside layer contains special chemicals that will whiten silver jewelry and make it look like new. Each cloth lasts for dozens of uses Hand polishing silver is a great way to keep silver shiny, and will not damage its patina.

A Trade Secret: Windex (yes, Windex)
Another easy way to clean jewelry if the piece doesn’t have any cubic zirconia, glued stones, or other precious stones, is to use Windex. Dipping the jewelry in Windex and then in clean water can make jewelry shiny again. It is not as effective as a jewelry cloth cleaner, but it can be used in a pinch when you’re at a show and a jewelry cleaning cloth is not available (just find the janitor and ask to borrow a quarter bottle of Windex!)

Don’t Do Anything That Will Scratch or Damage Your Jewelry
It is highly recommended that you avoid using toothbrushes or any object with bristles to clean your silver jewelry. Silver is a very soft metal, and this will result in permanent scratches which will devalue your jewelry. It is also a bad idea to wash sterling silver jewelry with stainless steel jewelry. Washing them together will result in chemical reactions, resulting in sterling silver jewelry with black marks. Also, using soap that contains phosphate can turn your sterling silver jewelry brown.

Do you have any jewelry cleaning tips? If so, please share by leaving a comment!