Last Christmas Eve, online merchant Barry Anderson personally accepted and packed more than 30 Internet orders that came in after deadline, and then he ran them to be delivered.

        It was more than his shoppers should have expected — they were promised next-day delivery only if they ordered before 4 p.m. But to Mr. Anderson, providing that extra, unexpected service was tantamount to building a future at his now 2-year-old Ejewelry.com.

        “It's our busiest time of year,” said Mr. Anderson, who is director of Fairfield-based Ejewelry.com. “If we can handle that, we can handle Mother's Day, Valentine's day, the day-to-day business.”

Barry Jump (left), puts together an order as directors Barry Anderson and Jean-Marx Mantilla watch. (Dick Swaim photo) | ZOOM |

        Ejewelry.com, whose parent is 22-year-old jewelry wholesaler Quality Gold Inc, started preparing for the holiday shopping season in April. It expects 70 percent of the thousands of customers who made purchases during the year to come back and shop in the six weeks before Christmas.

        The good news for Ejewelry.com is that Quality Gold, which has 120 employees, provides its 22,000 products and handles shipping. Correct order fulfillment is an e-tailer's biggest concern.

        But Ejewelry.com, which has 28 workers, must ease the path to the online cash register with lots of service and product information. Jewelry is more expensive than books and music CDs, and therefore more risky to order online.

        Ejewelry.com offers live chat to discuss jewelry quality. There is an 800 number that operates 7 a.m. East Coast time to midnight West Coast time. There's a 30-day return period.

        And — as a hot holiday sell — Ejewelry.com offers next-day delivery for $7.50 on most items that don't need to be set, such as gemstones.

        “If a customer is upset, they're able to voice that online,” said Jean-Marx Mantilla, director of e-commerce at Ejewelry.com. In other words, a bad referral online is louder than one offline.

        Also, an Internet merchant can more easily lose a disappointed customer than a store will, said Cynthia Cohen, a retail strategist and president of Strategic Mind Share in Miami. It's just easier to switch online locations than it is to move to a different store.

        “There's a reliability factor,” she said. “If I walk into the store, even if I'm dismayed by the service, if I see a product I know I can get it.”

        Online retailers compete best with convenience, but convenience counts for nothing if they don't have enough inventory. Ejewelry.com attracts about 130,000 unique visitors a month, and anticipates a 10-fold increase in the six-week holiday shopping season. Any unavailable item is a lost sale.

        “I think their expectations are becoming higher online,” Mr. Anderson said. “They're starting to expect more from e-tailers.”

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