Frequently asked questions

Smiths Guide puts independent fine jewellers and watch specialists in front of buyers who are actively looking. Searching by product, price, and location — buyers find your pieces online, then come to you to buy in person.

Smiths Guide is made for independent fine jewellers and watch specialists with a physical shop. Every member is verified, so buyers can shop with confidence.

Buyers search smithsguide.com by product, budget, and location. Your listings appear in relevant results — when a buyer finds a piece they like, they can call, email, or visit your shop to buy in person.

A listing is a single piece from your shop. You add a photo, set a price, and select the description from a series of dropdowns. These details help your piece to be discovered by the right person.

There's no minimum to use Smiths Guide. As a founding member, publishing 20 listings within your first 60 days confirms your founding pricing, which you then keep by maintaining at least 20 live listings afterwards (see 'What does founding membership mean?' below) — buyers also respond best to profiles with a meaningful range of stock. There's no upper limit — add as many as you like.

Most jewellers can create a listing in a few minutes. You upload a photo, set a price, and work through a series of simple dropdowns. That's it.

Yes. You manage your own listings from your account and can update or deactivate them at any time.

Draft is a listing you've started but not published — only visible to you, never to buyers, and you can leave it half-finished for as long as you like. Live is visible to buyers in search and on your profile. Unavailable takes it off search without losing anything — one click ('Relist') brings it straight back to live, and if a buyer had favourited it, they're told it's back. Archived is also hidden from buyers, for pieces you don't expect to sell again soon; unlike Unavailable, nothing is emailed to buyers either way. From Archived you can 'Unarchive' (which moves it back to Unavailable — a deliberate second step, not straight back to live) or 'Delete'. Delete removes a listing from your dashboard entirely — you won't be able to see or manage it there again. Nothing about the listing is actually erased, but there's no self-serve way to undo a delete, so get in touch if you need one brought back.

Yes. 'Newest first' search results are ordered by when a listing was last meaningfully updated, not just when it was first published — so keeping a listing current works in your favour, the same way publishing a new one does. This is called a 'Listing Boost', and you'll see it marked on that listing's own History whenever one happens. What counts: a price change, adding a photo, or updating any of the structured details (metal, carat, stone, certification, condition and similar) — the kind of thing a buyer would otherwise have to call and ask about. A listing can move up like this once every 30 days, however many of those you change at once. A genuine price drop is the one exception: cut the price by 5% or more and it moves up straight away, even if it was already refreshed recently. Relisting something that's been unavailable for 30 days or more (rather than a same-day toggle) also counts. What doesn't count: editing the title or description wording, your internal stock reference, or removing a photo — none of these tell a buyer anything new, so they're logged in the listing's history but don't earn a Listing Boost.

Founding membership is available to the first 30 jewellers who join. It includes free listings until June 2028, then a permanently reduced rate. Our standard rate is £170/month + VAT; as a founding member you pay 30% less — £119/month + VAT. Founding status is conditional on publishing 20 live listings within your first 60 days, and maintaining at least 20 live listings after that. No minimum term — cancel anytime.

Your membership continues at your agreed rate. No charge is made until your free period ends — and you can cancel at any time.

Membership is a rolling monthly subscription — no minimum term and no lock-in. You can cancel at any time.

None. Smiths Guide is a discovery platform, not a marketplace. Every sale happens in your shop, between you and your customer.

You complete a short application with your business details. We review it and, once approved, we'll send you a link to set up your account and begin listing.

We check that every member is a genuine independent fine jeweller or watch specialist with a physical shop. Most applications are straightforward.

Once founding places are filled, you can still apply and join — you'll keep free listings until June 2028, but without the permanent 30% discount, paying the standard rate of £170/month + VAT once billing starts.

Getting started — creating your profile and your first listings — typically takes a couple of hours. After that, it's simply a case of activating and deactivating listings as your inventory changes.

No. Smiths Guide gives you a public-facing profile and listings page whether or not you have your own website. Jewellers can use it as their primary listings platform, saving the cost and upkeep of maintaining their own — and freeing them to focus on their social channels and in-store customers.

Smiths Guide is built around the in-person experience. Buyers search and browse online, then come to you to buy — keeping you in full control of the sale and the customer relationship.