[Jewelry making - Article 01245] - Re: [Orchid] Approaching stores and consignment contracts?

[Catherine Ondrey]

========[ Invite a Friend - http://www.ganoksin.com/invite.htm  ]========

    I sold both on consignment and wholesale - I'm now just selling
    retail but am seriously thinking of getting back into wholesale once
    I get a better feel for what my "line" is going to be so I can sell
    it as a story. 

    This is just my point from experience and it may not be the right
    view or the wrong view - just what I found in both experiences -  If
    I'm selling on consignment and plan to make a living selling my
    designs, I need to have my merchandise on consignment in a lot of
    shops and galleries.  Let's say I have 20 galleries and each gallery
    has about $2,000 inventory of my merchandise at a given time and my
    take on that is 50% or $1,000 from each shop - that's still $20,000
    in inventory that I have out there.  The cost, in both material and
    labor, to make up that inventory is huge and a risk if it doesn't
    sell. 

    To me, making up a sample line and spending money on a large
    wholesale show (including travel, booth fees, everything) is still
    going to be a much safer bet and the initial cost will be lower and I
    won't have thousands of dollars in inventory on hold somewhere. 
    Maybe I'm not understanding something - I have done wholesale shows
    in New York and none of the buyers have ever requested or expected
    consignment.  I haven't yet applied to Buyer's Market because I don't
    feel I'm ready - but do the buyers that go to that show (as well as
    ACC shows) want to consign?  I was told by someone once that buyers
    don't buy on consignment at those shows. 

    Anyway.. having done the wholesale trade show route, consignment
    doesn't work for me because I can sell my items for wholesale at
    50/50 and I'm paid for the merchandise upon shipment (sometimes
    terms).  If I can sell my designs outright at my wholesale cost and
    get paid upfront, what incentive is there for me to take the risk of
    sending thousands of dollars in merchandise out on consignment and
    waiting months for the same amount of money I can get selling
    outright wholesale?  It's not being "selfish" to view it this way,
    it's a big risk and a lot of money in merchandise - at least for me. 

    I'm spending time and labor that goes into making up the designs
    which could be spent filling orders, marketing, shows, or creating
    new designs.  I'm at a point in my business where I'm really
    beginning to see the meaning of "time is money."  Time spent on
    "possible" sales versus actual sales is a risk and a big expensive. 
    It costs me more - piece for piece - to sell on consignment than to
    sell outright wholesale, which is why I say 50/50 doesn't work for
    me.  The costs are not the same.  Any inventory I have in a shop on
    consignment is money that I cannot put into my business.  Whereas,
    wholesale orders are paid for upfront at 50/50 - and I've made back
    the money I've put into the business.   Plus, I know that the labor
    spent is also getting paid for when each order is placed.  What if
    the consigned items end up being sent back to me - what happens to
    all that lost labor? I'm asking that seriously - what are the average
    losses for lost time, returned merchandise?  I can imagine it could
    really add up to a lot of money.  I've tried both routes and can
    vouch that the consignment situation was more risk and more cost for
    me and I was much more limited in what I could do and what I could
    sell because of the cash flow situation and waiting for money that
    comes with consignment.

____________________________________________________________________
T h e   O r c h i d   L i s t
Open Electronic Forum for Jewelry Manufacturing Methods and Procedures
____________________________________________________________________
Orchid FAQ:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/faq.htm
Orchid Archives:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/archive
Orchid Galleries:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/gallery.htm
Invite a Friend:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/invite.htm
____________________________________________________________________
Tips From The Jeweler's Bench - Article Archive
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/tip_sear.htm
The Jeweler's Selected Bibliography List
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/jewelry-books
Buy Orchid Jewelry:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/shop
____________________________________________________________________
-Unsubscribe:
-Email: orchid-request AT ganoksin.com Body=unsubscribe subject=blank
____________________________________________________________________