[Jewelry making - Article 00683] - Re: [Orchid] Wholesaling one-offs

[Eric McCafferty]

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    Production line needs to be neither cheap or low end. I can think of
    several jewelers who, at a wholesale level, are getting anywhere from
    350 to 5000, and that is for production pieces. Production is simply
    that, a piece you can "produce" repeatedly, in a profitable manner. 

    Is 75 to 150 to high? Well I don't know. Will the public see the
    value in the piece at a retail price of 180 to 400? And by all means,
    don't sell yourself short. Our line is price driven by labor costs,
    there are plenty of times at the shows when I get approached by
    buyers who are looking to buy by weight, they leave without buying
    and that is fine, not the market I am trying for. Another one I have
    heard regarding price, if no one ever says no, your not charging
    enough. I knew another jeweler whose entire line was created by
    modifying findings they bought from Hoover and Strong, added stones,
    and that was it, no casting. They were able to but the appropriate
    mark up on it and make a profit selling it at wholesale. Too high,
    well like most things, that is a matter of opinion, which obviously
    we all have. If you try to sell a plain silver band for 800
    wholesale, well that's probably too high. 

    Going back a little, one offs are that, one of a kind. Most
    gallery's are not interested in one of a kind jewelry. They want
    something that once it sells (because now they know it is worth
    having) they want another just like it to sell again, since that is
    how they make there money. Other problem with one offs, they usually
    are so labor intensive that the average consumer is unwilling to pay
    for it. 

    Wholesale for today's market, that depends on the product. If it
    turns out what you are asking is too high, well find ways to cut
    cost, not necessarily the integrity of the pieces, just little
    things to make it go fast, hence cutting down labor. Do them in
    batches for example, doing two like a production line usually goes
    faster then if you do two one at a time, things like that. But charge
    a fair price, a deserving price, and if it is a good product the
    market should bear it.

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