I initially decided to buy from the Pearl Source as they looked to be very good quality compared to other stores. I received my pearl stud earrings today and they are in indeed very beautiful and of great quality, so I'm really happy with the product.
But more than that, I'm also very impressed with the online service. My earrings were shipped within a few hours of me placing the order and were packaged very nicely when they arrived. I'm in Australia and was therefore hesitant about purchasing from the US at the moment because COVID19 has caused most international postage times to blow out to many weeks (which I've experienced firsthand from other companies) - but I saw that the Pearl Source were using a courier to ship rather than the post, so I decided to proceed. The shipment got to me from them in the US to me in Australia in less than 5 days - which is pretty impressive.
This was a very good buying experience and I'll definitely be back.