Is selling crystals profitable?

Your first question about opening your own crystal shop might be: Is selling crystals profitable?

You’re probably wondering if there’s a way to make money doing something that you love. You may have noticed that there are many small businesses selling beautiful crystals online. But are they really making a profit?

Yes: the market for healing crystals has never been bigger! Today, it’s a $1 billion+ industry, and continues to grow.

Natural crystals and stones are in high demand and there’s lots of money to be made in selling them. Follow these 3 rules and you’ll be on the way to turning a profit with your own crystal store.

Table of Contents

• 1. Do the math when pricing crystals
• 2. Don’t overpay for crystal inventory
• 3. Invest enough effort in your store
• Yes, you can make money selling crystals!
• Start your crystal business with confidence

1. Do the math when pricing crystals

This is the most important takeaway of this article; if you only read one thing, read this:

The only way to make money selling crystals is to sell them for more than you paid for them.

Seems simple, right? But in reality, the most common mistake that causes sellers to fail is not charging enough for their crystals.

I’ve heard this so many times: “As a new store, I don’t feel like I should charge as much as popular crystal shops.” Or, “I’ll never be able to compete unless my prices are lower.”

Underpricing other crystal shops is never a winning strategy! 

Not only does it harm you because you’re not making enough profit; it hurts all other crystal shop owners by devaluing their products.

Then other sellers feel pressured to reduce their prices… and it’s a race to the bottom from there.

So, please don’t undercut other shop’s prices. You might make a few more sales in the short term – but you’ll never make enough money to be worth your investment in time.

In fact, it’s not always necessary to compare your prices to other shops. It’s simple to tell how much to charge for your crystals. It just requires a bit of math.

*** I recently shared a faster, easier way to price crystals with my free crystal pricing calculator! Check it out. ***

How to price a crystal

Calculate your Cost of Goods Sold (COGS)

Take the price you paid for the crystal. Add every single expense required to sell that one crystal to get your COGS (cost of goods sold). 

Make sure you add all the costs, including things like:

• Shipping fees and taxes from your supplier
• Shipping cost to the customer
• The cost of the box and other packaging materials to ship the item to the customer
• Transaction fees charged by your payment processor and/or selling platform.
  • For example, Etsy charges a 5% transaction fee on top of payment processing fees. This Etsy fee calculator is super helpful!
• Income tax and other business expenses
  • Don’t forget that Uncle Sam is going to take a piece of your profits. Estimate the amount of tax as a percentage, and add that to your item price.

Take your COGS and multiply it by 2

COGS x 2 – If you sell your crystal for this price, that’s a 50% profit margin!

50% is a great profit margin to shoot for. For an online crystal shop, anything less than 20% should be a cause for concern.

If you have a different profit margin as your goal, use this calculator to determine what your price should be. Put your COGS where it says Cost, and your price where it says Revenue.

Open the Profit Margin Calculator

2. Don’t overpay for crystal inventory

The best way to keep from paying too much for crystals is to only buy wholesale. You definitely should not pay retail prices on crystals for resale. There’s no room to make a profit this way.

How can you find quality crystal wholesalers with good prices? To be honest, it takes some trial and error. Check out my article, What to look for in a wholesale crystal supplier, for tips on how to find good suppliers and spot potential red flags.

3. Invest enough effort in your store

With a brand new shop, it’s going to take time to get results. Especially at the beginning, you’re going to have to hustle. Finding suppliers, setting up your shop, and listing crystals all takes time and effort! 

Even once the sales start rolling in, you can expect it to take up to a year to make back your initial investment. Consistency and persistence are key for getting past the first few months. Follow these steps to set yourself up for success.

Get enough inventory to start

It’s up to you how much to invest in crystals to open your store. But it’s also true that the more items you sell, the more profit you’ll make. If you skimp on inventory, it will take you longer to become profitable.

Make sure you have basic packaging supplies

Read Crystal shop supplies that sellers can’t live without to make sure you have the right stuff on hand.

Print mailing labels from Etsy, Shopify, PayPal, or Pirate Ship to take advantage of commercial pricing

This tip applies for sellers in the United States. You need a printer and mailing labels to ship your orders. If you skip this step, you’ll pay way more for shipping, and waste lots of time at the post office.

Take great photos of your crystals

You don’t need to have expensive equipment to take good product photos. Use natural lighting and a simple background, and make sure your photos clearly show the details, size, and true colors of the crystals.

Write descriptions that contain enough information

Each listing description, at a minimum, should contain the following: 

• All commonly used names for the crystal
• Measurements and weight of the crystal
• A one or two sentence description of the crystal and anything that makes it unique

Make your customers happy

If you’re selling crystals on Etsy, your customer reviews will make or break you. Any reviews less than 5 stars have the potential to jeopardize your business.

Even if you have your own website or sell on Instagram, you want your customers to be satisfied so they come back and order again.

Provide good customer service by describing your items accurately; having clear shipping and return policies; packaging your items carefully; and responding to customer messages quickly.

Note: this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have boundaries! Do what you can to delight your customers but, of course, within reason.

Yes, you can make money selling crystals!

It’s totally possible to build a profitable business with an online crystal shop. I’ve done it and so have many other sellers. With the right mindset and good budgeting skills, you can take the first steps toward making money selling crystals online.

Start your crystal business with confidence