# Handmade silver jewelry studio for Etsy and Depop > A gram scale, a light box, gift boxes and small flat mailers for makers selling their own rings, studs and pendants from a bench in the corner. - Built for: You make sterling silver and gold-filled pieces at a small bench, list them on Etsy with a second storefront on Depop, and ship 8 to 40 orders a week, most of them in a box that fits a mailbox. - Platforms: Etsy, Depop - Orders a week: 8–40 - Space: Corner of a room - Kit total: $242 to $409 - Running cost: $177 to $272 (Consumables at 24 orders a week) - Updated October 6, 2026 Buyers often give rings as gifts, so the box they open is part of the piece. Spend your budget on presentation and photography, and little on bulky packaging. If you stamp your work, US law has one step resellers of costume pieces skip: a quality mark such as 925 or 14K needs to be accurate, and federal rules expect your registered trademark beside it. Settle your maker's mark before you buy stamps. ## The kit - **[500 g precision pocket scale](https://sellersetups.com/us/product/pocket-scale-500g)** ($8 to $15): Card orders often sit a fraction of an ounce from a postage price break. A precise small scale tells you whether a mailer stays in the cheaper weight step. - **[16-inch photo light box](https://sellersetups.com/us/product/light-tent)** ($18 to $45): Matching white-background photos make your listings look like a store. The box folds flat when you need the desk back. - **[Pocket LED video light](https://sellersetups.com/us/product/mini-led-light)** ($15 to $30): Clips to a phone mount or sits on the desk to lift the shadow side of a card or a ring. It costs little as a first light and stays useful as fill once you add panels. - **[Gooseneck phone holder](https://sellersetups.com/us/product/gooseneck-phone-holder)** ($12 to $22): Bends to any angle for an overhead or side shot. It wobbles more than a jointed arm when you bump the desk, so it suits short shows and listing photos. - ×2 **[Small jewelry boxes, 50 pack](https://sellersetups.com/us/product/jewellery-boxes)** ($10 to $16): A foam insert holds the piece still in the box. The box fits inside a padded envelope, so most orders still ship as a light, thin package. - **[Rigid presentation boxes, 10 pack](https://sellersetups.com/us/product/presentation-boxes)** ($30 to $45): A rigid presentation box keeps its corners square, so a higher-value piece arrives as you packed it. Put the presentation box inside a plain shipping box. - **[Flat mailer boxes, 50 pack](https://sellersetups.com/us/product/large-letter-boxes)** ($40 to $60): A slim box protects a small item better than an envelope and weighs only a few ounces, which keeps it in a low USPS Ground Advantage weight tier. Weigh the packed box before you buy the label. - **[Acid-free tissue paper, 100 sheets](https://sellersetups.com/us/product/tissue-paper)** ($10 to $16): A sheet of tissue costs pennies and changes how a $20 vintage shirt feels on arrival. - **[Zip-top bags, 4 × 6 in, 100 pack](https://sellersetups.com/us/product/resealable-cable-bags)** ($5 to $10): A coiled charger, a set of earrings or a bag of spare game pieces fits a 4 × 6 in zip-top bag, and you can write the SKU on the white block. Pick a larger size if you bag laptop power bricks or whole controllers. - **[Thank-you stickers, roll of 500](https://sellersetups.com/us/product/thank-you-stickers)** ($6 to $10): A sticker sealing the tissue makes the package look finished before the buyer opens it. Swap to custom stickers with your shop name once the brand settles. - **[Phomemo thermal label printer](https://sellersetups.com/us/product/phomemo-thermal-printer)** ($70 to $110): Costs less than most thermal printers and fits on a shelf. It prints the same 4 × 6 in labels, so your label stock carries over if you upgrade later. - **[4 × 6 in thermal labels, 250 roll](https://sellersetups.com/us/product/thermal-labels-roll)** ($8 to $14): Put a roll on a holder or inside a printer with a roll bay to save space on a crowded desk. Each label costs about 3 to 6 cents, a little more than fanfold. - **[ShipStation](https://sellersetups.com/us/product/shipstation-shipping)**: Suits you when you ship dozens of packages a day from eBay, Etsy and your own store and want one queue for every order. It connects to USPS, UPS and FedEx, so you compare rates and print labels in one place. ## How to lay it out ### Bench on the left, shop on the right Keep the soldering and polishing kit on its own side of the desk. Dust from a polishing wheel ruins a white light box, so move finished pieces to the right before you photograph them. ### Light box with a gooseneck above Clip the gooseneck holder to the desk edge and bend the phone down over the open top of the box. One small LED at a low angle shows hammered texture and the curve of a band. ### Gift boxes stacked by size Ring boxes, earring cards and pendant boxes sit in a short stack beside the scale. Pick, fill and close a box without standing up. ### Label printer behind the screen The small thermal printer sits behind the laptop on a roll of 4 × 6 inch labels. Print the day’s labels all at once after the Etsy orders close at lunch. ## Weigh every design before you price it Put each new design on the pocket scale once the findings are on. Read your metal cost and your shipping tier off the weight. Write the weight on the design card in your notebook. When you remake it in a heavier gauge, weigh it again. ## Quality stamps and your maker's mark Register a trademark for your maker's mark before you stamp 925 or 14K on a piece, and stamp only metal you have bought with a mill certificate or invoice that proves its fineness. Unstamped pieces sell fine, and you still describe the metal accurately in the listing. Gold-filled and vermeil each have their own FTC definitions, so use those words only when the piece meets them. ## Photographs that show scale Take one shot in the light box, one on a hand or ear, and one beside a ruler or coin. Buyers who can’t judge size may send the piece back. Keep the same white background for every listing so the Etsy shop grid looks like one maker. On Depop, a styled photo on a wrist works better as the first image. ## Packing a gift buyers can hand straight over Seat the piece in its box, wrap the box in tissue and seal it with a sticker. Then slide it into a small flat shipping box, which keeps the corners of the gift box sharp. Leave prices out of the package. Many Etsy orders go to someone other than the buyer. ## Shipping and tracking Buy labels through Etsy or Pirate Ship and print them on the thermal printer. For pieces above about $75, add signature confirmation or insurance and keep the receipt. Set a processing time you can meet for personalized and made-to-order pieces, and update it in Etsy before a busy two weeks. ## Busy weeks before the holidays and Valentine’s Day Make stock ahead in the quiet weeks. At a corner bench you can make twenty stacking rings in an evening, but you can't polish forty the day before the last shipping date. Put the USPS recommended holiday shipping dates in your Etsy shop announcement and your Depop bio at the start of December. ## Common mistakes - Stamping 925 on a piece made from unverified wire breaks federal stamping rules, so buy metal with paperwork and stamp only what you can prove. - Stuffing a ring box into a letter envelope gets it returned or charged extra, so ship it as a small package. - Leaving finished silver loose in a drawer means you polish it twice, so bag it as soon as it cools. - Photographing on a bright white background with no reference makes studs look like coins, so add a shot on an ear or beside a ruler. - Promising next-day shipping on made-to-order pieces in December leads to late orders and poor reviews, so lengthen the processing time in November. ## When to upgrade At around 20 orders a week, branded tissue and a printed sticker make the unboxing match your Etsy photos. At 30, add a pair of LED panels so winter afternoon photos match your summer ones. - 20+ orders a week: **[noissue](https://sellersetups.com/us/product/noissue-custom-packaging)**: Suits a small clothing or jewelry shop that wants branded tissue and stickers without ordering a pallet. noissue says its custom tissue paper is compostable. - 30+ orders a week: **[Two LED video panels with stands](https://sellersetups.com/us/product/led-panel-pair)** ($40 to $80): Holo cards, foil boxes and glossy packaging bounce a ring light straight back into the camera. With two panels angled in from each side, the glare lands outside the frame. ## Questions ### Do I need to stamp silver jewelry I make and sell in the US? There is no hallmarking office in the US, and a quality stamp is optional. If you do stamp 925 or sterling, the metal must meet that standard, and the National Gold and Silver Stamping Act expects a registered trademark next to it. Read the FTC Jewelry Guides before you describe or stamp a piece. ### Can a ring ship in a flat envelope? A ring box is too rigid and thick for a letter, so it ships as a package. A small box or padded mailer by USPS Ground Advantage keeps it tracked and usually lands in the lightest tier. ### Should I list the same piece on Etsy and Depop? For one-off pieces, yes, but delist the second copy the moment one sells. For a design you can make again, keep both live and note the making time in each listing. ### How do I photograph polished silver without seeing my phone in it? Shoot from directly above through the top of the light box and angle the piece a few degrees. Polished curves reflect whatever sits opposite, so stand a white card in front to hide the phone. ### How do I stop silver tarnishing before it sells? Bag each finished piece in a small resealable bag with the air pressed out. Tarnish needs air, so seal the bag once the air is out. ### What should go in the package besides the jewelry? A care card telling the buyer the metal and how to clean it, and a sticker sealing the tissue. Etsy buyers often ask for gift wrapping, so keep a way to leave the receipt out. ### Do I tell buyers about nickel? State the metal and the findings on every listing, for example sterling silver posts. Many earring buyers search for nickel free, and you must be able to back up that claim.