GSP to Affect Bali and Hill Tribe Silver Prices

Here at Artbeads.com, open communication with our customers is a top priority. We strive to build relationships with our customers based on trust and honesty and want to ensure everyone has a positive shopping experience with us. We’ve recently received an update regarding U.S. duty rates that will affect the prices of some of our items and wanted to share this information with you right away. As of January 1, 2011 imports that were previously duty free under the GSP (U.S. Generalized System of Preferences) are now subject to the standard duty rates. This will affect our purchasing prices for Bali and Hill Tribe Silver components, resulting in price increases on our site. Rest assured that if these components become duty free once again that we will decrease our prices accordingly.

These price adjustments will take effect in the next few days so now is your chance to stock up on your favorite components! Shop the Buy Like a Wholesaler Sale, through Monday January 31, 2011, to get great deals on Bali and Hill Tribe silver components. Please read on for the official update from our Chief Operating Officer, Michael Hervieux.

Since 1976 the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) has been in place to promote economic growth in under-developed nations by offering duty-free entry into the US for a large number of products including, among others, Bali and Hill Tribe Silver. The federal government is required to continually reassess and reauthorize this program in order to keep it in place and over the years has let it lapse several times only to pick it up once again. Unfortunately, this program was most recently only authorized until December 31, 2010 so effective January 1, 2011 all imports of products previously covered by the GSP have been levied at the standard duty rates that are as high as 13.5%. There is no estimated date for when the GSP will be renewed or if it will even happen. Sadly, Artbeads finds itself with little choice but to raise the prices on these items to help cover this new cost. (These prices will be rolled out in the next few days so now would be a good time to stock up!)

As always Artbeads strives to be as open as possible about outside influences on prices. Over the course of the last year the sterling silver market has been highly volatile and has forced us to move our prices up significantly. However, when the silver market declines our prices have likewise been adjusted accordingly. As soon as we learn if and when the GSP will be renewed we will be sure to keep you advised and will roll back our prices accordingly.

-Michael Hervieux, Chief Operating Officer, Artbeads.com

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Comments

  1. Reply

    Wow…I realize ArtBeads doesn’t have a choice…but…that is terrible!!!
    Add this increase to the cost of silver in general & I feel this will definitly change the way many people make jewelry!!!

    Lets hope the “powers that be” take a hard look at the cost of silver and realize adding 13.5% to Bali & Hill Tribe would be a blow to their industry!!!

    We can hope for a positive out come…

    • Dale
    • January 27, 2011
    Reply

    Although this is a difficult situation, it also presents you with an opportunity: of finding new sources of good silver from this country and other countries where perhaps the tariff is lower.

    • Betsy Fox
    • February 1, 2011
    Reply

    where once I was drawing a nice price for my originals, now I have to reconstruct and take out the “real things” and the silver so my customers can afford it and I can sell it. As times are rough I go with the old saying “something is better than nothing” and I do believe that things will go back to normal. This period of time only makes us work alittle harder to be alittle more creative to make less expensive items and keep our customers happy and someting in our pockets! Get to work everyone and happy beading! I have been stocking up everytime there is a great sale.

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