Spotlighting the Gem App: Your New Tool for Vintage Jewelry Hunting! - Episode #55

[00:00:00] Welcome to the Jewelry Resellers Podcast, your go-to source for all things shiny, sparkly,

[00:00:06] and of course, profitable.

[00:00:08] I'm your host Desiree, and I'll be your guide on this dazzling journey through the

[00:00:12] world of reselling jewelry.

[00:00:15] We'll be diving deep into the art and science of reselling, uncovering valuable tips,

[00:00:20] insider secrets, and sharing stories from successful jewelry resellers.

[00:00:26] We'll explore market trends, industry news, and even discuss how to find those hidden

[00:00:31] gems just waiting to be discovered in thrift stores, estate sales, and beyond.

[00:00:37] So if you're dreaming of turning your hobby into a hustle, or if you're a seasoned pro

[00:00:42] looking to stay at the top of your jewelry reselling game, join me each week for insights,

[00:00:48] stories, and more on the Jewelry Resellers Podcast.

[00:00:55] All right.

[00:00:55] I have a very special guest that I am just so excited to talk to.

[00:01:01] Lisa, welcome to the podcast.

[00:01:04] Thank you for being here.

[00:01:06] Thank you so much, Desiree.

[00:01:07] I'm Anuraat and super happy to be as your guest today.

[00:01:10] Yeah, I can't wait to hear all your questions and talk more about gems and

[00:01:14] other things with you.

[00:01:16] Wonderful, wonderful.

[00:01:17] And you have such a beautiful accent.

[00:01:19] So may I ask where you're from?

[00:01:22] I'm originally from Finland, so I now live in New York City.

[00:01:28] We moved to California first two and 10 years ago, and now we are based in New York.

[00:01:33] Oh, wonderful.

[00:01:35] All right.

[00:01:35] So let's go ahead and start then, I guess, with the first question or not even a question,

[00:01:40] but I guess more of an introduction.

[00:01:42] Why don't you let us know who you are and what it is exactly that you do?

[00:01:47] Yeah.

[00:01:48] So my name is Lisa.

[00:01:49] My last name is Jokinen and I am the co-founder of the Gem app.

[00:01:55] And Gem is a search engine for all online secondhand and vintage clothing items,

[00:02:01] accessories and jewelry.

[00:02:03] And what Gem does in a nutshell, it helps you to find whatever secondhand or used

[00:02:10] items that you're looking for online.

[00:02:13] And you can use it as a website or download an app.

[00:02:17] We have both iPhone and Android versions.

[00:02:20] And you can use Gem anywhere in the world, actually.

[00:02:24] Oh, really?

[00:02:25] Wow.

[00:02:26] That's fantastic.

[00:02:27] So when I'm traveling someplace exotic and fun, I can still search for jewelry,

[00:02:34] inventory, whatever using your app.

[00:02:37] Yes.

[00:02:37] Yeah.

[00:02:38] So we launched Gem at the same time globally anywhere in the world.

[00:02:44] Wow.

[00:02:44] That's exciting.

[00:02:45] So tell me how the idea for this app came about.

[00:02:50] Like what was the thing that motivated you or inspired you to even create this?

[00:02:57] Yeah, I think it was a long time coming.

[00:03:00] And of course, you're probably not surprised when I tell you that I've

[00:03:03] been drifting all my life.

[00:03:06] That's fantastic.

[00:03:08] And I loved old clothes and I guess retro aesthetics even as a little kid.

[00:03:15] And even as a baby, I would wear my mom's old clothes.

[00:03:20] And I just remember always really loving them most.

[00:03:24] And I was super honored and happy if I ever got any hand-me-downs

[00:03:30] because they were so special.

[00:03:32] Of course, this happened.

[00:03:33] So I'm turning 50 years this year.

[00:03:36] So this happened like late 70s and early 80s

[00:03:40] before online shopping or anything like that.

[00:03:42] And so any clothing that was accessible and available, of course,

[00:03:48] much more limited than it's nowadays.

[00:03:52] So growing up, if I wanted to have something special

[00:03:56] and which I always wanted, I either had to make it myself,

[00:04:01] make my own clothes, or I had to go drifting.

[00:04:04] So I had two options.

[00:04:06] And then I had to hand-me-downs growing up from relatives

[00:04:09] and from my big sister.

[00:04:11] So I've always been gravitating towards old vintage aesthetics,

[00:04:18] even if it comes to furniture and home goods.

[00:04:21] Oh, yes.

[00:04:22] Yes.

[00:04:23] And then moving forward, drifting more and more,

[00:04:28] shopping vintage secondhand in Finland where I was growing up,

[00:04:33] I never dreamed of becoming a seller.

[00:04:37] But what happens that when you frequent thrift stores,

[00:04:40] you come across so much amazing stuff.

[00:04:44] Yes.

[00:04:45] Unfortunately, you have to leave so much behind

[00:04:48] because not everything is your size.

[00:04:50] Maybe it's not quite your style,

[00:04:52] but you just can't buy everything.

[00:04:56] And I was like, whoa, how could I

[00:04:57] find a new home for all these things?

[00:05:01] I would love to save them, give them a new life.

[00:05:04] But how could I do that?

[00:05:06] So that was just something that I

[00:05:08] was thinking at the back of my head.

[00:05:10] And then I feel like next phase was

[00:05:15] when we really started talking about sustainability.

[00:05:18] And I think it happened before it became a bigger

[00:05:23] thing here in the US.

[00:05:26] So this was maybe, I would say,

[00:05:29] 2015 years ago in Finland.

[00:05:32] And then, no, I lost my thought.

[00:05:40] Oh, yes.

[00:05:41] Yeah, so I was trying to encourage more of my friends,

[00:05:44] of course, like stop shopping at H&M,

[00:05:47] stop fashion and so on.

[00:05:52] But then especially if my friends were busy with their

[00:05:56] careers, and especially if they had young kids,

[00:05:59] and a lot of things going on in their lives.

[00:06:04] And they were like, hey, you can find all this second hand.

[00:06:07] But yeah, but it takes a lot of time.

[00:06:09] I feel like it's a privilege if you have the time

[00:06:12] to be frequent and go drifting

[00:06:14] and buy all your stuff that way,

[00:06:17] because you never know what you're

[00:06:19] going to find at the thrift stores.

[00:06:20] It's always random, which is, of course, super fun too.

[00:06:24] I enjoy it.

[00:06:26] You're looking for something specific.

[00:06:28] It takes forever to find it.

[00:06:30] And I realized that there must be better ways

[00:06:34] how to connect people who are actively

[00:06:36] looking for something specific,

[00:06:39] whether it's something to wear for work or for their children

[00:06:44] or maybe jewelry for their wedding

[00:06:47] and all the items that were out there.

[00:06:50] And then the final moment came when

[00:06:53] we moved from Finland to San Francisco first.

[00:06:57] And then I discovered so much more,

[00:07:00] so much more secondhand than vintage.

[00:07:02] So many more stores.

[00:07:04] The first resale platforms existed.

[00:07:07] I discovered Instagram vintage stores

[00:07:10] and so much of everything.

[00:07:13] And I was super excited and inspired.

[00:07:16] And I loved it.

[00:07:17] But at the same time, I was even more confused

[00:07:20] because then I didn't know where

[00:07:22] to start looking if I really wanted

[00:07:24] to have something specific.

[00:07:27] Maybe I had seen a post on Instagram

[00:07:31] of something super beautiful, a dress or something,

[00:07:34] or maybe it was my favorite designer.

[00:07:37] And I was like, I want to have something similar.

[00:07:40] How can I find it?

[00:07:41] But I had no idea where to start looking.

[00:07:44] And then I realized that there

[00:07:47] needs to be a dedicated search engine that

[00:07:51] would connect vintage seekers

[00:07:54] with all the online listings existing in the world.

[00:07:59] That's how it was born.

[00:08:03] So basically your own passion and love

[00:08:06] of thrifting secondhand goods, sustainability

[00:08:12] and simplifying the process of finding those items

[00:08:18] was kind of how this whole thing came about.

[00:08:21] Is that correct?

[00:08:22] That's definitely correct.

[00:08:24] All those things combined.

[00:08:25] So it was not like one specific moment

[00:08:28] when I realized, hey, I want to build a search engine

[00:08:31] for online vintage and secondhand.

[00:08:33] It was more like this process where I gradually

[00:08:37] came up to the point where I walked to my husband

[00:08:40] and I asked him that, hey, how about

[00:08:43] if we build a search engine?

[00:08:45] And then we did it.

[00:08:48] Wow, that's fantastic.

[00:08:49] Because if I wanted to do something like that

[00:08:51] I wouldn't even know where to start.

[00:08:55] Like I'm so overwhelmed.

[00:08:57] Yeah, to be honest, we didn't know either

[00:08:59] because of course we hadn't built anything

[00:09:01] like this before, but step by step we figured it out.

[00:09:07] Okay, okay.

[00:09:08] So for those of you that don't know,

[00:09:11] it's gem.app on desktop, right?

[00:09:16] And then it's just gem app like on mobile device?

[00:09:22] Yes.

[00:09:24] If you go to our website gem.app on your phone

[00:09:28] you will be directed to download the app versions too.

[00:09:32] So the best way is to just go to our website

[00:09:35] and you will find us.

[00:09:37] Okay, so I'm gonna pull that up.

[00:09:39] So for those of you who are watching this on YouTube

[00:09:42] you get to see me actually share the website.

[00:09:45] If you're listening to the audio only version

[00:09:48] make sure you come to YouTube so you can see

[00:09:52] what I'm sharing here on the screen.

[00:09:55] So let me pull that up.

[00:09:59] Okay, so this is what it looks like.

[00:10:04] So that way you know you're on the correct website,

[00:10:08] right?

[00:10:09] Yes, yeah.

[00:10:10] All right, so do you wanna talk us through

[00:10:14] I guess how you navigate it?

[00:10:16] Yeah, so like you see, you can just,

[00:10:18] if you're like, if you immediately know that,

[00:10:21] okay, this is what I want to find.

[00:10:24] For example, maybe you want to find

[00:10:26] Kenneth J. Lane rings

[00:10:27] because that's what I always love to look at.

[00:10:31] Kenneth J. Lane.

[00:10:32] There we are.

[00:10:33] Yes, so you can just tap, ta-da and here.

[00:10:37] Oh, when you said,

[00:10:38] oh, look at all this beautiful stuff.

[00:10:43] Like you see, like I mentioned,

[00:10:46] there's a lot.

[00:10:48] So these are all listings coming from different

[00:10:51] marketplaces and online stores.

[00:10:55] All right, so let's say we wanted to click on one.

[00:10:58] I don't know, I'll pick the butterfly.

[00:11:03] Yes.

[00:11:03] So it tells you where it's located

[00:11:05] and what website, correct?

[00:11:07] Yes, and if you are interested in purchasing it,

[00:11:10] you can just tap the Etsy sign

[00:11:12] and then we take you to Etsy

[00:11:14] where you can actually purchase the item.

[00:11:17] So we are not like listing or selling

[00:11:20] or shipping the items.

[00:11:21] We are just showing them

[00:11:23] and like bringing all the online listings

[00:11:26] into one search, like an aggregator.

[00:11:30] Wow, this is fantastic.

[00:11:32] So I think this would also be helpful for researching.

[00:11:37] You know, like if you're looking

[00:11:39] for a specific type of jewelry

[00:11:42] or not even jewelry, just anything,

[00:11:45] then this will give you a good idea

[00:11:47] of not only where to find the item,

[00:11:50] but also what people are kind of asking

[00:11:54] as it relates to the price of the item.

[00:11:56] Yes, definitely.

[00:11:58] Yeah, so yeah, it definitely helps.

[00:12:02] You can research, like you can easily see like, okay,

[00:12:05] this is the amount of let's say like

[00:12:07] connect J-Lane rings or brooches

[00:12:10] that are there on the market at the moment.

[00:12:13] So you get the idea like, is this rare?

[00:12:16] How rare and so forth.

[00:12:18] And you can easily check the pricing too.

[00:12:21] And there are some features that will help you.

[00:12:25] You can like sort the listings by the price.

[00:12:29] So you can see, you can check that.

[00:12:31] Okay, I want to see the highest price first

[00:12:36] and the lowest or the other way around

[00:12:39] or you can browse by newest listings.

[00:12:42] So that helps.

[00:12:43] And then there are some other really cool features too.

[00:12:48] I think our user's favorite of course is new item alerts.

[00:12:53] So if you have like something that is rare

[00:12:57] or maybe you are hunting for something that is rare,

[00:12:59] you can set a new item alert

[00:13:01] and then we send you a condensed one email

[00:13:05] every morning your local time

[00:13:07] with all the listings that match your search.

[00:13:11] Okay, so let me ask you two questions then about using it.

[00:13:16] Is the app free to use as a buyer?

[00:13:22] Yes.

[00:13:23] It's free, okay.

[00:13:24] Yeah, so the app is totally free

[00:13:27] and maybe I should explain.

[00:13:29] So before we go to the price part,

[00:13:32] so we are showing listings from big platforms.

[00:13:35] Like we just do Etsy listing.

[00:13:38] We are also showing listings from eBay,

[00:13:40] Poshmark, Rubilane can be something that is relevant

[00:13:45] and interest for jewelry collectors.

[00:13:47] There's some there, also RealReal and other platforms.

[00:13:54] Also independent online stores

[00:13:56] can be included in our search.

[00:13:58] And here comes the most important part

[00:14:01] is that there is no extra cost,

[00:14:03] whether you are a seller or shopper,

[00:14:05] if you want to use gem

[00:14:06] or if you want your listings to be included in gem.

[00:14:12] So, yeah.

[00:14:15] Okay, so like if I had something listed on eBay,

[00:14:20] it could show up on gem app for free.

[00:14:25] I don't have to do anything extra for that

[00:14:27] is pay anything extra for that.

[00:14:30] Yeah, correct.

[00:14:31] So the way we work is that

[00:14:34] if there's a bigger platform,

[00:14:35] like Etsy and eBay, we get all the listings

[00:14:41] as a how to say it, at once.

[00:14:43] Not like, because there are like hundreds, thousands.

[00:14:47] I don't even know how many sellers there are

[00:14:49] on Etsy and eBay, but it's a huge amount.

[00:14:52] Yeah, millions.

[00:14:54] So that would be like, yeah, impossible.

[00:14:56] So we include big platforms at once.

[00:15:00] We might exclude some items,

[00:15:03] you know, if we notice that there are like

[00:15:05] totally new items, you know,

[00:15:09] but in general, we include everything.

[00:15:12] And if it's an independent online store,

[00:15:15] the store owners can reach out to us

[00:15:18] that an ask to be included.

[00:15:20] Or if we discover a really nice store

[00:15:22] that we actually absolutely love,

[00:15:25] then we will shout to the store owners that,

[00:15:27] hey, can we start showing your listings on gem?

[00:15:31] Now does, so is there like a way to track,

[00:15:39] like let's say I had something I sold

[00:15:42] and someone found it through gem app.

[00:15:45] Does that get tracked, I guess,

[00:15:47] as it relates to how someone found the item?

[00:15:51] Like would I know that the buyer came from gem app?

[00:15:56] So we only know like what happens inside

[00:16:00] our platform once people look at COE bay or feel,

[00:16:05] we don't know what happens.

[00:16:07] So we can, we don't know that,

[00:16:09] but you can check your own like Google analytics

[00:16:13] if you have your own website store

[00:16:15] and there's a traffic coming through gem.

[00:16:19] And then I guess like platforms have

[00:16:24] some kind of tracking systems.

[00:16:26] I've never sold on any of platforms.

[00:16:28] So I don't know like how their analytics work,

[00:16:30] but I'm assuming that most platforms

[00:16:33] have some kind of analytics where sellers can see.

[00:16:38] Right.

[00:16:38] How much traffic you get and so on.

[00:16:42] Yeah.

[00:16:44] Okay.

[00:16:44] So let's say someone finds something on gem app.

[00:16:48] They love it, they buy it.

[00:16:51] And obviously the transaction takes place

[00:16:53] like let's say on Etsy.

[00:16:55] Does gem app instantly remove that item once it's sold?

[00:16:59] So is it done like in real time

[00:17:02] as soon as the item is sold,

[00:17:04] does gem app update that same listing as well?

[00:17:09] So it's a bit complicated.

[00:17:11] So we like kind of like refresh the listing

[00:17:16] at least once in 24 hours.

[00:17:19] Okay.

[00:17:20] But quite many platforms we are able to,

[00:17:22] get like new feeds much more often.

[00:17:27] So it's get updated much sooner,

[00:17:29] but it really depends on the platform and the store.

[00:17:32] But we are working towards a more and more

[00:17:36] like real time updates regarding new listings

[00:17:40] and also sold listings.

[00:17:42] But all sold items will be removed automatically

[00:17:46] the same way as like if you sell on eBay

[00:17:49] and you list new items,

[00:17:51] new listings will automatically start showing up

[00:17:54] on gem searches and the same way your sold listings

[00:17:58] will disappear.

[00:18:01] Okay, okay.

[00:18:02] This is so interesting.

[00:18:03] I love it.

[00:18:05] Now my next question is what if I wanted to promote

[00:18:09] my listings on gem app?

[00:18:11] Do you have an option like that

[00:18:14] or is that something maybe you guys have thought about?

[00:18:17] We don't have anything like that at the moment.

[00:18:22] Let's say like if there would be like a huge amount

[00:18:26] of sellers asking for that, then we might look into it.

[00:18:30] But it would require us to develop the feature

[00:18:35] and maintain it and you know also like sell

[00:18:39] the promotion places and so on.

[00:18:42] So it would be required like more work from us.

[00:18:45] So we would need to really carefully consider

[00:18:47] that is it worth it?

[00:18:49] But for now there are no promotions

[00:18:53] and all the search results we try to match

[00:18:57] your search terms as well as possible.

[00:19:00] So not any platform or store is like promoted

[00:19:07] or preferred in the search results.

[00:19:11] Okay, okay.

[00:19:12] Well that makes sense

[00:19:13] because I was thinking like for some sellers

[00:19:16] who may have something really rare

[00:19:19] or something hard to find,

[00:19:21] they may want to pay a little bit to you

[00:19:25] for that item to be at the top.

[00:19:27] If someone puts in certain keywords or something.

[00:19:30] Yeah, certainly.

[00:19:32] So but then there are some other things

[00:19:36] that sellers can do.

[00:19:38] Oh yeah, let's talk about that.

[00:19:41] So like I said, we try to match your search results

[00:19:46] as well as possible to your search terms.

[00:19:49] So I think like all the professional sellers

[00:19:54] if they've been doing this for years,

[00:19:56] they already know what kind of like listing titles

[00:19:59] to write.

[00:20:01] Yes.

[00:20:02] Like how to include all the relevant keywords

[00:20:05] and also in which order it makes sense

[00:20:09] you to write the listing title.

[00:20:12] So that would be my number one advice

[00:20:15] to make sure that you include all the relevant keywords

[00:20:19] in your title and nothing else.

[00:20:24] Although you might be tempted to write like

[00:20:28] magnificent.

[00:20:30] Or rare, as you see that a lot people will write rare.

[00:20:33] Yeah.

[00:20:34] That's not something people type in when they search.

[00:20:37] Yes, exactly.

[00:20:38] Yeah.

[00:20:38] So you might want to think like

[00:20:40] how would a person try to look up for these things?

[00:20:45] And I think these same tips also apply

[00:20:48] to people searching directly on eBay or Etsy.

[00:20:52] Exactly.

[00:20:53] I'm not sure if they would type in like,

[00:20:56] I want to find a rare piece of jewelry.

[00:21:00] Right.

[00:21:01] Because you think, okay, it's rare.

[00:21:02] It's gonna be like expensive and pricey maybe.

[00:21:06] So yeah, all the relevant keywords, nothing else.

[00:21:10] And think about the person who you would imagine

[00:21:17] searching for this piece that you have and you're selling.

[00:21:22] Who would that person be?

[00:21:23] And which keywords they would probably start using

[00:21:26] when searching the item.

[00:21:29] Okay, okay.

[00:21:31] So, because I'm still new to the app.

[00:21:35] Now, is there a way to save your searches?

[00:21:38] I know you said you can set up an alert,

[00:21:40] but is there a way to save?

[00:21:41] Like if I'm looking for, I don't know,

[00:21:44] vintage jewelry lot or something.

[00:21:47] Is there a way to save my search

[00:21:49] so that way I can just come back and do that?

[00:21:52] You can see your previous searches when you go.

[00:21:56] Yeah.

[00:21:57] But we don't have like a specific feature

[00:21:59] that is dedicated to save searches.

[00:22:00] But it's something that we have.

[00:22:02] Some people have asked for this and it's on our roadmap.

[00:22:06] So we might implement it later on.

[00:22:10] We'll see.

[00:22:12] But you can save your favorites.

[00:22:14] You can save your favorite items.

[00:22:16] All right, and then I did see that you can also filter.

[00:22:19] So if I wanna see the newest searches

[00:22:23] or if I wanted to see price high to lowest,

[00:22:28] you can search that way too.

[00:22:30] Yes.

[00:22:31] And there are other filters too.

[00:22:32] You can, can you pull up the website again?

[00:22:36] Oh sure, sure.

[00:22:37] Let me see that.

[00:22:46] Okay.

[00:22:47] Yeah.

[00:22:48] I didn't have that.

[00:22:48] So yeah, I saw that we could filter by price,

[00:22:51] size, location, decade, gender, date added

[00:22:56] and sort by.

[00:22:58] Yes.

[00:22:58] So those are the filters that we have.

[00:23:00] And you can also, if you go back to the front page,

[00:23:06] if you tap the gem word.

[00:23:08] Yes.

[00:23:08] You can see that you can start your browsing

[00:23:11] by going by category.

[00:23:13] So you could just go for like,

[00:23:17] you could go tap like.

[00:23:19] Women's.

[00:23:20] And there you can go.

[00:23:22] Okay.

[00:23:23] If we are now I guess interested in jewelry.

[00:23:27] Or you can just go.

[00:23:28] Okay.

[00:23:29] Or you can just go and price browse all the items.

[00:23:34] And I love this, how you have the decades,

[00:23:36] 70s, 80s and 90s.

[00:23:38] That's fantastic.

[00:23:40] Yeah.

[00:23:41] And of course you can then write more keywords

[00:23:46] to your search bar too

[00:23:47] if you want to be more specific.

[00:23:51] Okay.

[00:23:52] Okay.

[00:23:52] Wow.

[00:23:53] Look a million plus results.

[00:23:56] That's a lot.

[00:23:58] Yeah.

[00:23:59] All together we are showing over 100 million items.

[00:24:04] So.

[00:24:04] Wow.

[00:24:06] It's so cool.

[00:24:08] That is so cool.

[00:24:09] I'm not the person who is like worried

[00:24:11] about vintage items like disappearing or I mean.

[00:24:16] Right.

[00:24:17] There is so much still, you know,

[00:24:19] you don't need to be worried.

[00:24:22] Yes.

[00:24:23] You're right.

[00:24:24] You're absolutely right.

[00:24:25] You know?

[00:24:25] Because it seems like the more that you find,

[00:24:29] the more there is to find.

[00:24:32] Yeah, yeah.

[00:24:33] That's true.

[00:24:34] You know?

[00:24:35] Yeah.

[00:24:36] And someone's always got something in their basement,

[00:24:38] in their garage, you know,

[00:24:40] in a storage unit somewhere.

[00:24:42] There's always something else out there to be found.

[00:24:45] You know?

[00:24:46] Yeah.

[00:24:47] So that's what's exciting about it.

[00:24:48] Yeah.

[00:24:49] And if we think about jewelry especially now,

[00:24:51] so there are like so many pieces

[00:24:54] that can like stand the test of the time,

[00:24:57] like forever and forever.

[00:24:59] You don't need to wash them like clothes.

[00:25:02] So.

[00:25:02] Yes, yes, yes.

[00:25:04] And the other thing about jewelry

[00:25:05] is that it's so easy to store.

[00:25:08] You know?

[00:25:09] It doesn't take up a lot of space

[00:25:11] and you know,

[00:25:12] you can have hundreds or thousands of pieces,

[00:25:16] you know, in just a little box or something.

[00:25:19] So it's much easier to manage.

[00:25:21] That's one of the reasons I love jewelry,

[00:25:23] you know, as a reseller.

[00:25:25] Because it's so easy to manage,

[00:25:29] you know, hundreds or thousands of pieces

[00:25:31] without it overtaking your entire house.

[00:25:34] Yeah, exactly.

[00:25:36] And also for these reasons,

[00:25:38] I'm like always like,

[00:25:39] why would you buy like new jewelry?

[00:25:41] Because there is so much,

[00:25:43] you know, vintage and secondhand available.

[00:25:45] Right.

[00:25:46] And if you buy like used,

[00:25:48] you have like all the styles and options.

[00:25:51] It's not just what's like fashionable right now,

[00:25:55] but you have like,

[00:25:56] you have the antiques

[00:25:57] and you have like all the decades in between

[00:26:00] to our days.

[00:26:00] And you have all the materials and styles

[00:26:04] and so many interesting designers

[00:26:06] and it's like such a treasure trove.

[00:26:11] Yes, yes.

[00:26:12] You know, and plus you also have that authenticity

[00:26:16] that, you know,

[00:26:17] this actually is from the 70s

[00:26:19] or this actually is,

[00:26:20] you know, from the 90s or whatever.

[00:26:23] You know, and it's not just cookie cutter

[00:26:25] kind of copycat designs

[00:26:28] that they remake today

[00:26:30] because of something that was popular back then.

[00:26:33] Yeah, exactly.

[00:26:34] And if it's like real 70s something,

[00:26:38] it's just gonna be like,

[00:26:40] it's gonna maintain its value

[00:26:42] and you can,

[00:26:43] if you want,

[00:26:44] you can resell it again

[00:26:46] or just keep it and, you know,

[00:26:48] pass it along to your own children

[00:26:52] or your friends or,

[00:26:53] but you know,

[00:26:54] it will stay with you.

[00:26:58] So, excuse me,

[00:27:00] because of your experience

[00:27:03] with secondhand and resell,

[00:27:05] what do you think the future of reselling

[00:27:08] is gonna look like going forward?

[00:27:10] Because I know now it's really, really popular.

[00:27:13] It's very, very hip and in and trendy,

[00:27:17] but do you think that the love

[00:27:20] and the allure of secondhand and vintage items

[00:27:23] will continue to be as strong as it is now?

[00:27:27] Well, I certainly hope so.

[00:27:31] And I think it will

[00:27:34] for like two reasons

[00:27:36] because once you have bought something

[00:27:39] secondhand or vintage,

[00:27:40] you have like,

[00:27:41] why would you like stop doing it?

[00:27:44] Because there are so many benefits

[00:27:47] quite obvious to us who know.

[00:27:50] And I think we've already done this thing already.

[00:27:53] So why would you go back to your past fashion,

[00:27:57] you know?

[00:27:59] Right, right.

[00:27:59] And also secondly,

[00:28:03] when we look at the younger generations,

[00:28:07] like shopping and wearing secondhand,

[00:28:10] anything is so normal to them.

[00:28:12] It's not like a weird thing

[00:28:16] or, you know,

[00:28:17] they don't shop secondhand only

[00:28:19] and nothing else quite the contrary.

[00:28:21] It's like the new normal for younger generations.

[00:28:25] So I'm hoping that they,

[00:28:28] and I'm pretty sure that they won't like go back

[00:28:33] or how would they go back

[00:28:35] because they are so young,

[00:28:36] but I'm confident and hopeful that they will,

[00:28:39] you know, continue shopping secondhand

[00:28:41] through their lives.

[00:28:44] Yeah, I,

[00:28:45] cause I was talking about this with a friend

[00:28:47] a couple of weeks ago and I said,

[00:28:50] yes, there's also the beauty of these older items

[00:28:55] but it's also like looking back at history, right?

[00:28:59] Because a lot of, you know, jewelry and fashion

[00:29:04] from the past,

[00:29:06] it teaches us a lot about what was important

[00:29:09] at that time, right?

[00:29:11] Like we learn what types of,

[00:29:16] you know, trends and cultural ideas were common

[00:29:21] at the time, like during the 70s, 60s, 50s, whatever,

[00:29:25] you know?

[00:29:26] And so I think it's kind of like a little snapshot

[00:29:29] of history when you do have a vintage piece,

[00:29:31] especially a jewelry piece.

[00:29:33] And then you start to think about,

[00:29:34] well, who owned this?

[00:29:36] You know, where did she wear this?

[00:29:38] You know, how, you know, who gave this to her?

[00:29:40] Was it a gift from, you know, her lover

[00:29:44] or was it something that was in her family for generations

[00:29:47] and it was passed down?

[00:29:48] Like you always wonder what the backstory is

[00:29:51] for some of these older antique and vintage jewelry pieces.

[00:29:55] And that's what I find so interesting

[00:29:58] and fun to research.

[00:30:00] Yeah, that is super fascinating.

[00:30:02] Both like, like you mentioned,

[00:30:04] like in a grander perspective regarding

[00:30:07] like society's values and the history of the time,

[00:30:11] what happened, you know, in society.

[00:30:13] And then also like the personal history

[00:30:16] of the people who were the previous owners of the items.

[00:30:21] Yes, and even like the designers too.

[00:30:24] You wonder what was their inspiration?

[00:30:26] You know, why did they choose emeralds versus rubies?

[00:30:31] You know, like stuff like that.

[00:30:32] Why did they do gold instead of silver?

[00:30:36] You know, all these things,

[00:30:37] you just start wondering about like, you know,

[00:30:39] how these pieces came to be.

[00:30:41] Yeah, that's true.

[00:30:43] Like vintage scan deeds are so many things.

[00:30:46] If we just, you know,

[00:30:48] if we are open to ask the questions and, you know,

[00:30:52] stop on our tracks and you pay attention to,

[00:30:54] you know, to the items.

[00:30:57] How, and also like regarding like

[00:30:59] the materials and techniques,

[00:31:01] how were these pieces made?

[00:31:04] And I feel like I'm so happy that I had to kind of like

[00:31:08] start drifting and making my clothes young

[00:31:12] because we didn't have stores where I was growing up.

[00:31:16] Because I feel that way,

[00:31:17] I was able to learn to appreciate, you know,

[00:31:21] the good materials and also all the work

[00:31:25] that goes into making a garment or another piece.

[00:31:30] Because when you do something by yourself from scratch,

[00:31:33] you realize, okay, this is not that easy.

[00:31:37] It takes a lot of time and patience

[00:31:39] and a lot of learning and so on too.

[00:31:43] To make even like a simple piece of clothing,

[00:31:46] the first one is always tricky.

[00:31:48] So yeah.

[00:31:51] All right, so what can you tell us

[00:31:53] as it relates to the future of Gem app?

[00:31:57] Like what, you know,

[00:31:59] do you have any more plans to do maybe another app

[00:32:02] or maybe expand what you're already doing?

[00:32:06] What does the future look like in relation to that?

[00:32:10] So it might feel that, okay, the app is done

[00:32:14] and now we can start working with something else.

[00:32:18] But it's a complicated system

[00:32:21] and even if we had done everything pretty well,

[00:32:25] there's always a component so to say that, you know,

[00:32:28] it needs like, it's like a very complicated building

[00:32:34] with electricity and pipes going that can get clogged.

[00:32:38] Or maybe there is, you know,

[00:32:40] we need to renew some parts

[00:32:43] and there are like so many programs

[00:32:46] that we need to use to keep Gem running.

[00:32:49] And sometimes the programmers or companies

[00:32:53] who develop them, they stop maintaining them.

[00:32:57] And then we need to find something else instead

[00:33:00] or, you know, or updating the little parts.

[00:33:04] So there is constant maintenance

[00:33:05] so that it's a lot of work.

[00:33:09] But what's coming up next?

[00:33:12] So of course we are always adding more stores.

[00:33:16] I said that we're already showing quite many

[00:33:18] but there are always new ones

[00:33:20] that is the landscape is changing constantly.

[00:33:24] There are like small online stores popping up all the time

[00:33:29] and we are of course excited

[00:33:30] to start collaborating with them.

[00:33:33] And in general, we add like new stores every other week.

[00:33:39] So in two weeks time.

[00:33:42] So if you have your online store,

[00:33:44] that's like the expectation that we can give you.

[00:33:47] Like it's gonna take like approximately two weeks

[00:33:51] for us to implement it and start showing you listings.

[00:33:55] And then we are of course like developing

[00:33:58] all kinds of new features.

[00:34:00] We have a lot of things on our roadmap

[00:34:04] but I don't know if I want to talk about them because.

[00:34:07] Well, that's okay.

[00:34:08] Whatever you're comfortable sharing is fine.

[00:34:12] It's always really hard to predict

[00:34:14] like how long I develop something new will take

[00:34:19] but recently this is not like so much dual related

[00:34:23] but really a really big thing

[00:34:26] that we published recently was like size filters.

[00:34:30] So we recognize over 40 international size systems

[00:34:34] in our size filters.

[00:34:37] Did you even know there are so many as 40?

[00:34:40] I mean, there are so many size systems.

[00:34:43] It's a lot like wow.

[00:34:45] And we also recognize plus sizes and put it sizes

[00:34:49] and even unisex sizes.

[00:34:51] And the good thing about this is that

[00:34:54] when you do a search, let's say like

[00:34:57] Chanel silk blouse for example,

[00:35:00] you don't need to worry about what your French size is

[00:35:05] because we convert the sizes for you.

[00:35:08] Oh, that's great.

[00:35:11] So you can use your own system,

[00:35:13] whatever is like the one that you are most

[00:35:17] comfortable with.

[00:35:19] So that was a huge undertaking

[00:35:21] and we are pretty happy with the new filters now.

[00:35:26] Let me see if I can, I thought to visualize our road

[00:35:29] what do we have coming up?

[00:35:34] Is there anything that I could,

[00:35:36] there are some little things regarding the size filters

[00:35:40] that we are working on at the moment.

[00:35:46] Yes, and then I mentioned the more like real time

[00:35:51] going forward, more real time updates.

[00:35:56] That's important.

[00:35:57] I did think of a question while you're thinking of that.

[00:36:01] Now a lot of us resellers

[00:36:05] like to cross posts or cross list the same item

[00:36:08] on multiple platforms.

[00:36:10] Does Gem app pick up that same listing

[00:36:15] when it shows up on multiple platforms?

[00:36:18] Like if it's on eBay, Poshmark, Etsy,

[00:36:21] does Gem app kind of know that this is the same exact item

[00:36:25] by the photos or by the listing title

[00:36:28] or something like that?

[00:36:30] Not yet.

[00:36:31] Unfortunately we don't have like a tool for that

[00:36:34] but that's something that we've been like thinking

[00:36:37] maybe developing like we call it deed application tool

[00:36:41] so that you can combine all those listing

[00:36:43] and then the user could choose whichever platform

[00:36:47] they are most comfortable with.

[00:36:50] Yeah, cause I was thinking someone would notice

[00:36:53] they'd say, hey, I see the listing on eBay

[00:36:56] and then I see it on Poshmark whatever

[00:36:58] and then it'll be the same exact photos,

[00:37:01] same item.

[00:37:02] And so I guess it would be whichever one

[00:37:05] were to come up first in their search

[00:37:08] or whichever one they wanna click on

[00:37:10] if they wanna buy the item,

[00:37:12] if they wanna go to Poshmark or eBay or wherever.

[00:37:16] Okay, cause that's something I just thought of.

[00:37:21] Yeah, that's true.

[00:37:22] Yeah, quite many sellers

[00:37:24] and I would do that too if I was a seller

[00:37:27] cause you never know where your item will be like

[00:37:32] it's changing constantly

[00:37:34] like when people are changing like the shoppers,

[00:37:37] yeah, yeah.

[00:37:39] And then, you know,

[00:37:40] and start using another one and so.

[00:37:44] Yeah, cause you never know.

[00:37:45] You never know where someone's gonna stumble

[00:37:47] across your item, right?

[00:37:48] So you wanna, you know,

[00:37:50] at least maximize the visibility of that item

[00:37:52] and try and get as many eyes on it as possible.

[00:37:57] But, you know, sometimes that's hard to manage.

[00:37:59] If you have the same item listed

[00:38:01] on four different platforms,

[00:38:02] then you have to make sure if it sells on one

[00:38:06] that you remove it from the other three.

[00:38:09] You know, so they do have software now to make that easier.

[00:38:14] But I know not everybody uses the software.

[00:38:17] Yeah.

[00:38:19] Yeah, I don't know.

[00:38:21] Oh, I don't want to.

[00:38:22] Yeah.

[00:38:25] Oh no, that's okay, that's okay.

[00:38:28] It's just something I thought of.

[00:38:29] And so I said, I know other people probably would

[00:38:32] would have the same question though.

[00:38:34] Yeah, that's a good question.

[00:38:36] And yeah, something that, yeah,

[00:38:39] it's on our roadmap.

[00:38:42] Not on our to-do list.

[00:38:44] Yeah, but I cannot say like when something is going

[00:38:48] to happen because maybe I should also mention

[00:38:50] that when you use Chem,

[00:38:54] you're all, it's 50% female founded

[00:38:57] and it's also, it's a small business like yours is.

[00:39:03] We are only two people working with Chem.

[00:39:07] So sometimes we fire like we have outside help

[00:39:10] but most of the time it's two of us.

[00:39:14] And yeah, and I think one important question

[00:39:18] that we didn't discuss because some people

[00:39:21] might be wondering, because I said business

[00:39:23] and we were talking about the cost.

[00:39:25] So we, so of course we have costs that we need to cover

[00:39:31] and we need to make some money to live.

[00:39:34] So the way we get, we do is that we participate

[00:39:39] in affiliate programs.

[00:39:41] So if we bring sales to HCOE Bay for example,

[00:39:45] then HCOE Bay pay as a small fee for those sales.

[00:39:50] Got it.

[00:39:51] That's our business model.

[00:39:53] So because we were discussing.

[00:39:55] That's great and that's really smart.

[00:39:57] Yeah.

[00:40:00] Yes, because then you don't have to run ads or sell ads

[00:40:06] which is nice because that's what I really like

[00:40:08] about Gem app is that it's an ad free experience.

[00:40:13] No, you don't have pop-ups of whatever.

[00:40:17] You just get the results that you're looking for

[00:40:19] and you don't have to click out of a bunch of ads.

[00:40:22] So I think people definitely appreciate that.

[00:40:25] Yeah and yeah, that's been our focus to create something

[00:40:29] that is user friendly and pleasant to use.

[00:40:34] That it's fast.

[00:40:35] Absolutely, yeah.

[00:40:37] That's important for us too.

[00:40:39] And I think what I really like about using Gem myself

[00:40:45] is that I can really fast scan a lot of items

[00:40:49] especially if I'm using the site version

[00:40:52] because we show you like you showed the website earlier.

[00:40:58] We show you the reviews first.

[00:41:01] So you can see like the amount of listings

[00:41:03] and if you are hunting for something

[00:41:05] you can like in a minute scan through like so many items.

[00:41:10] So I like that myself.

[00:41:12] Yeah, so it's very efficient.

[00:41:14] If you're looking for something specific

[00:41:17] it's a very efficient way to search items.

[00:41:21] And like I said, it's a really nice way

[00:41:24] to do some research as well.

[00:41:27] Yes and also what I've noticed now

[00:41:30] that I've been using Gem myself for some time

[00:41:33] is that how much I'm also learning myself

[00:41:38] about like items and about their rarity

[00:41:42] and you know, what is there on the market?

[00:41:47] If I do searches then I see like,

[00:41:49] okay, this kind of 70s denim or leather jackets

[00:41:54] they show, you know, there's usually this

[00:41:57] and this amount of these items on the market.

[00:42:01] And in general, if I have new item alerts

[00:42:04] I would quickly learn that, okay,

[00:42:08] there are generally I will get like maybe

[00:42:11] only one new listing per week

[00:42:14] or maybe I will get like 20 per day, you know

[00:42:17] and that teaches me about like the market constantly.

[00:42:21] I can see like how rare some items are

[00:42:25] and maybe some items are not that rare.

[00:42:28] I was first thinking like, hey, I only found one

[00:42:31] but then when I have the new item alerts

[00:42:33] I'm learning constantly.

[00:42:34] Like there are actually multiples on the market

[00:42:38] and then I can be more mindful as a shopper

[00:42:41] and consumer because I know that I don't need

[00:42:44] to grab the first one that I see.

[00:42:47] I can wait for a little bit and you know

[00:42:50] compare the listings.

[00:42:54] Of course helps you also when you are

[00:42:56] maybe you are at an estate sale

[00:42:58] or maybe at flea market or wherever you are shopping

[00:43:02] you can quickly see that are there similar listings

[00:43:06] on the market and how they are priced?

[00:43:08] If you're wondering, if you are at the market

[00:43:11] then you're like, the vendor is asking you like,

[00:43:14] okay, it's 50 bucks and you're like,

[00:43:16] ah, is that like a right price for it?

[00:43:19] You can quickly pull out your phone

[00:43:21] and check how much is there, you know.

[00:43:25] Yes, yes.

[00:43:27] That's why I'm saying this is a fantastic tool

[00:43:30] just to have in your arsenal of, you know

[00:43:32] research tools and learning, like you said

[00:43:36] about what certain things, how much, you know

[00:43:40] the market value is today, how rare it is

[00:43:43] or how many are available, where it's being sold

[00:43:47] you know, that type of thing.

[00:43:48] All of that is very important when you're sourcing

[00:43:52] and when you're pricing your items, you know

[00:43:55] so that way you don't over price or under price.

[00:43:59] Yeah, exactly, exactly.

[00:44:01] Yeah.

[00:44:02] And even you know that, okay

[00:44:03] this is the right point

[00:44:06] then you can be confident with your listings

[00:44:08] and also you don't necessarily feel like pressure

[00:44:11] to do like price drops even if you're not selling

[00:44:15] if you know that, okay, this is actually

[00:44:17] it's pretty rare item in this colorway

[00:44:19] or something you're gonna like

[00:44:21] I can sit with this item for a bit longer

[00:44:23] I don't need to drop the price.

[00:44:26] Or if you sell on a platform where people make offers

[00:44:31] you might feel tempted to accept an offer

[00:44:34] but if you know that I have something special here

[00:44:38] I can wait.

[00:44:40] Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[00:44:42] Then you know, no, I'm not gonna sell this for $10

[00:44:47] cause I know I can get 200 or whatever.

[00:44:50] Oh yeah, yeah, exactly.

[00:44:52] Yes, all right.

[00:44:54] Well, is there anything else

[00:44:56] you wanna share with us Lisa about Gem app, anything?

[00:45:02] Yes.

[00:45:03] Anything else?

[00:45:04] Yeah, also we have a newsletter and a book.

[00:45:08] Gem stories and we post something new every Tuesday.

[00:45:13] So that's something, so when you asked

[00:45:16] that if we have like promoted places

[00:45:18] so we don't have them on the website and app

[00:45:21] but Gem stories or blog posts are something

[00:45:24] that it's one way how we can collaborate

[00:45:27] with stores, sellers, vendors, collectors.

[00:45:31] So if you have a story to tell

[00:45:34] we are always happy to hear from you.

[00:45:39] All right, that's awesome.

[00:45:41] I'm gonna sign up.

[00:45:42] Yes and like thinking about jewelry

[00:45:45] like there are like so many possible topics

[00:45:48] that we could cover.

[00:45:50] So I'd love to hear from like all the jewelry specialists

[00:45:56] we could definitely cover more jewelry items.

[00:46:00] Okay, okay.

[00:46:02] Well, let me know you can reach out to me anytime

[00:46:05] I would love to help.

[00:46:06] Yeah, perfect.

[00:46:07] Yeah, let's collaborate more.

[00:46:09] Yeah.

[00:46:10] That's something and of course we are on social media.

[00:46:14] You can find us on Instagram and TikTok too.

[00:46:17] So that they also some ways how we can, you know

[00:46:20] collaborate we love to do like collaborative posts

[00:46:24] with sellers.

[00:46:25] Oh great, great, great.

[00:46:28] All right, so what I will do

[00:46:30] I will have all of the information,

[00:46:34] a link to the website and your Instagram.

[00:46:38] I will have that in the description of the video

[00:46:41] and also in the show notes.

[00:46:43] So if someone is listening

[00:46:44] they can still click on the links

[00:46:46] and then they'll be taken right to your website

[00:46:49] and then they can get all the information.

[00:46:51] You know, if they wanna take a look at this

[00:46:53] which I think you definitely should

[00:46:55] because there's no reason not to.

[00:46:58] And if you have an online store and you're not on jam yet

[00:47:02] feel free to reach out to us

[00:47:04] and we can start showing you listings.

[00:47:06] Oh, great, great.

[00:47:08] All right.

[00:47:09] Well, I wanna thank you so much Lisa.

[00:47:12] I just, I can't thank you enough

[00:47:15] for spending this time with me

[00:47:17] and sharing about your amazing app

[00:47:20] and how it can help not only jewelry resellers

[00:47:23] but just people who love vintage items

[00:47:27] or people who are just looking for something different

[00:47:29] and they want to make that experience

[00:47:31] of researching it a lot easier.

[00:47:36] Well, thank you.

[00:47:37] It was a pleasure.

[00:47:38] Yeah.

[00:47:39] Yes, yes.

[00:47:40] And I'll definitely be in touch with you.

[00:47:42] So check, you know, keep an eye out for your emails.

[00:47:46] Yes, perfect.

[00:47:47] I will for sure.

[00:47:48] Cool.

[00:47:49] Thank you so much for having me.

[00:47:52] All right, thank you.

[00:47:53] I'll chat with you soon.

[00:47:54] Yes, bye.