[Jewelry making - Article 00474] - Re: [Orchid] Got a life?

[diamondeddy]

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    I can relate to this thread quite a bit. I am in a heavy union
    industry city about 1 hr N of Indianapolis, IN. Crap is King here!!
    But I have made a fortune repairing crap! I used to put in 80+ hours
    a week, for years and years. I had a reputation as the best deal in
    town for price and skill level. But I found that I was becoming less
    and less profitable, the more I tried to compete with the Wallyworld
    and Service Merch. type places, in sales of finished goods. Little
    guys can't get past the 'percieved value' mindset that the big
    companies have instilled in todays consumer. And, you can't afford to
    advertise enough to change their mind , even if you have the absolute
    best price in town on everything in your store and shop. 

    Here are a few things to consider. 

    (1) I capitalized on the very thing that makes jewelry what it
    is-emotion, sentiment,romance,etc... Everytime someone walks in your
    door with another piece of 'modern junk' thats sold as 'FINE
    JEWELRY', always remember that the likelyhood of it being a gift to
    them is very high, so don't be afraid to 

    (2) charge enough for your time, including the time it takes to sell
    them on the repair, process the paperwork, and deliver the job back
    to them when they come in to pickup, besides the time it takes to
    actually do the repair job. 

    (3) Leave 'repairman's pride' out of your menu of repairs that you
    do.Unprofitable, difficult jobs are just that- UNPROFITABLE AND
    DIFFICULT. If you give your time away, doing unprofitable jobs, you
    won't have time to think straight when the good jobs come your
    way.'Problem jobs=problem customers=problem profits! 

    (4) Don't hesitate to send problem customers, or unprofitable
    situations, to your competitor. Believe me, Wallyworld sends them
    out the door everyday, after their 'highly skilled teenager' tells
    the customer it cant be repaired. 

    (5) Never throw 'mud' at your competitors via the customer, such as
    Wally or the mall type chain stores, because he is who will send alot
    of people your way, and then you can pick and choose the profitable
    jobs you want. 

    (6) Other than the simplest of repairs, i.e. batteries,
    jumprings,etc... try to take items in for repair, as much as
    possible, because a repair customer will pay drastically more if
    they think it took more time by the 'highly skilled' jeweler,than if
    you walked over to the bench, gave it a twist with a tool and handed
    it back. Remember, what is simple and normal to you is 'mysterious'
    and emotional to them. 

    By keeping these simple little concepts in mind, I have managed to
    create so much profitable repair business, that I haven't spent a
    dime on advertising in over 10 years, I am only open 4 days a week,
    so that I have enough time to handle all of the  jobs that Wally and
    the mall send my way. I'm backlogged minimum 2 weeks or more year
    round. I get 'premo' price out of nearly every job that passes in
    front of me. And I am still considered the 'the best deal in town'!
    And best of all, I still love the jewelry business that I have been
    in since I was 12 years old. I'm the luckiest guy in the world,
    because everyday, I get to do what I love, and send the bad stuff
    packin'. Ed 



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