[Jewelry making - Article 00055] - Re: [Orchid] Friendly atmosphere in a jewelry store?

[LSHancock]

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>     You can go sit in a $100,000 jaguar, touch a $40,000 mink coat,
>     rub up against and lay on a $1000 bed, but you have to ask
>     permission to touch a $100 or $10,000 bracelet. 
 
David,

    I almost always agree with what you write, but let's not get carried
    away.  Yes, handling the work is a very important step in the buying
    process; but when was the last time someone smashed into a jaguar
    dealership and ran off with 10 jaguars in a sack?  I haven't heard
    lately of someone ripping a fur coat out of the hand of a
    salesperson and running out the door.  As well, it's pretty unlikely
    that someone would walk out of a store with a mattress in their
    pocket.  

    Also, I'd be really interested in getting hold of the source of your
    research that supports that showing prices and grouping them
    together results in more sales.  This is certainly true in a Walmart
    or some other self serve store, but if it holds true to all jewelry
    stores why don't all stores do it?  Are they crazy for turning down
    more sales?  Snobs for not wanting to clutter up displays?  Or, is
    it that not every strategy works in every store.  

    I'll never forget the time I set up my booth in NYC and had a woman
    come by and chastise me for showing prices on everything.  As I
    asked others shopping at the show they felt, they most always said
    it cheapened the product.  Now this doesn't hold true in Charlotte
    or Oklahoma City, but if you have a high quality product that is not
    sold purely on price and has benefits that go beyond price, is
    unique and one of a kind or not a commodity and have a savvy,
    educated client base, this strategy is just not always useful.  The
    complaint I get most often at shows about pricing is that clients
    want assurance that you aren't asking them to pay $1,000 but asking
    someone else to pay less.  Having a price tag or cube is tangible
    proof that an object has a set price and is not negotiable based on
    what you are wearing or how you speak.  But it's not necessary for
    the price to be visibly "in their face." Next on the list of reasons
    that people want to see prices is that they are timid or feel you
    will expect them to buy based on their interest in a piece (which I
    never really understood, but respect).  The problem with timidity is
    overcome by approaching a client with respect and friendliness and
    getting them to open up to you and realize that you're no threat. 
    It's a perfect opportunity to get the trust of a client and show
    them that you aren't the archetypal pushy salesperson. 

    When I do shows I'm always concerned with security.  I've heard too
    many stories of craftspeople who have been ripped off at shows.  I'm
    sure that brick and mortar stores also have similar concerns that
    someone would walk in find the most expensive piece and try to walk
    off with it.  

    As well, how will we build a trusting relationship based on
    professionalism and knowledge if our clients don't need us for our
    expertise and can just walk around a store until they decide that
    everything is too expensive.  

    I assert it is more important to dialogue with your cliental and
    guide them than it is to nurse the most base instinct of the shopper
    by hand feeding them the price.  

Larry

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