[Jewelry making - Article 00745] - Re: [Orchid] Wholesaling one-offs

[Richard Hart]

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>     A very interesting thread, this. Simply put, consignment is
>     charity 

    Excusssse meeeee!!!!!!!!!!! 

    There are things said on this forum about consignment that burn my
    butt. My perception is that here seems to be some unjust prejudice
    from some posters unhappy with their experience with consigning. If
    the poster has any responsibility for why they had problems, you
    would not know from what is posted. 

    I have a retail store, I have artists that consign. They have other
    galleries and retail venues that they consign through. Most also do
    shows. Different artists do different numbers, usually based on price
    points, or uniqueness of design. The artists at my store usually sell
    more pieces at Valentine's Day, Christmas, Mothers Day, which
    coincidently is when most of all other jewelry is sold. The rest of
    the year things might be slow. That is not the store owners fault,
    that is retail. 

    If you cannot afford to have enough stock to supply enough stores, do
    not try to intimate in any way that the store owner is responsible
    for your work not selling. As long as they are keeping it clean and
    well displayed. they might be doing all they can. Jewelry is a
    product, and it is your job to find the people who see value in what
    you do, feel that they have customers that can relate to your work,
    and see it as an opportunity for more that just filling their display
    cases. As far as the owner liking your work and selling it, people
    have to respond to it to sell it. I know, I also do art jewelry as
    well as contemporary work, and my work just sits there looking back
    at me no matter how much "Oh look what I do" advertising I do of my
    own stuff. I sell a piece here and there, but I have other art
    jewelers that sell better than I do!!!! At Christmas I sold a couple
    a hundred dollars of my work and an artist I show did over $5000
    retail at my store, $3000 at another gallery, and she did several
    show $1600 being the worst one. If you have a lot of stock in stores
    on consignment, and it is not selling, perhaps it is your
    workmanship, the design, choice of stones.... 

    Some work initially sells really well, and then the regular
    customers get used to it, and it slows down. 

    Case space is like real estate, and I have to make that space pay
    it's way. I have to merchandise your work. That means making people
    aware of it, putting in in their hand, getting them to try it on. I
    also am the owner of the store, and I have a vested interest in
    making pieces that I don't have to buy, move. It reduces my
    inventory costs, which is a benefit only if I can sell it. If the
    store owner has half a brain, they can replace consignment work that
    does not sell with something that does, whether it is purchased or
    other consignment. 

    If someone opinions that someone else should not do consignment,
    they might be advising someone not to use the only way that persons
    work might be seen. My consignees are very grateful for me, as I am
    for them, as it should be. 

    Rant Over, 

Richard Hart

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