[Jewelry making - Article 00236] - Re: [Orchid] The cost of holding out

[MillsGem]

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    David, I constantly marvel at your single minded approach to
    marketing. You always suggest that prices should be as high as
    possible so that profit can be maximised.It seems to me that you do
    not include the concept of competition in your vocabulary ! 

    Apparently you perceive that the best method of business is that of
    squeezing the last drop of money from the customer. I have never, in
    your many posts, seen any reference to the merit of being
    competitive. And yet, most modern consumers are increasingly
    sensitive to getting a "fair deal". I don't fault profitability....I
    derive my living from profitability. Nonetheless, I do not do
    everything possible to milk the customer. I try to give the customer
    a reasonable value on the assumption that he will appreciate the
    fact that he is not getting screwed. As a matter of fact, I assume
    that the best business arrangement is one in which BOTH parties get
    fair value ! 

    I can readily appreciate the fact that you are preaching the gospel
    of the fact that many jewelers don't realistically value their
    services, but I also perceive that your generalizations more often
    than not apply basically to jewelers who operate mall type stores or
    jewellers who have high rent , employee laden stores. 

    Regardless of your SENTIMENTS , you are ignoring the fact that in
    the real world, competition prevails. Furthermore, I want to thank
    you for your inadvertent service to those of us who are the small
    town jewellers who have to compete with the faceless corporate
    competitors. They have the onus of having to support employees who
    have no stake in their success, the monumental burden of paying
    astronomical rents and the burden of remaining open for business
    beyond normal expectations. WE can give the service that customers
    yearn for, and we can make prices that don't include the penalties
    that premium locations demand. 

    Basically, your continuing thesis, suggesting that contemporary
    jewellers are not charging enough, flies in the face of the fact
    that we  are now in another world in which labor has diminished
    value. Now it is time to realize that we must accept the fact that
    we cannot charge nearly as much for labor intensive endeavours
    because a global economy has devalued labor. Ron at Mills Gem, Los
    Osos, Ca 



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