[Jewelry making - Article 00260] - Re: [Orchid] Design Fee?

[David Geller]

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

Nanz

    When I had my store I didn't charge a separate fee to sit down with
    someone. But I've met MANY jewelers who do. 

>     Marketing statistic have shown that only one in ten individuals
>     will commit to a purchase over 750 dollars at any given time.
>     Making pre-qualifying a useful tool.

    I don't know WHERE you got that number and if your number is for
    custom designing, which is what this thread is about. I poll, visit
    jewelers, speak to hundreds. Here's the real numbers. 

    If 10 people walk into jewelry store and ask a question about: 

    REPAIR: 9 out of 10 will go ahead with the repair.
    CUSTOM: 7 or 8 out of 10 will have the item made.
    BUY FROM CASE: 3 out of 10 will buy from the case.

    My store had those same repair & custom closing ratios. When you
    sell 70% or 80% of everyone you sit with a fee generally is not
    needed. 

    To say its suicide to charge the fee is not 100% right nor wrong. If
    you're only selling 10% of those who sit in front of you, YOU will be
    committing financial suicide. If you sell a 10 hour day, see 10
    people, each takes 1 hour to try to sell and make ONE SALE at $750
    and then have to stay late and spend 3-5 hours making that one sale,
    that is a recipe for closing up shop. 

    Your 10% is way too low (unless it was product and that's low), but
    let's say it's 30-50%. You'll still go out of business. 

    My suggestion of the design fee came from polling a lot of jewelers
    who do cad/cam. I have found touching cad/cam is a longer process
    than hand carving a wax. They could spend 3-5 hours just to show the
    cad/cam rendering. Some folks charge a $100 design fee up front to
    keep price shopping to a minimum and have only people interested sit
    down and if they like it it's credited against the labor and
    material. If not, they got paid a WHOPPING $33 to $20 an hour for
    getting to the screen shot. :-) 

    But let's address the 10% you mention. They stink at selling. Fee or
    no Fee, they can't sell and everyone here must NOT present a design
    without knowing that customer must be sold. 

    You don't make any money until you sell something. Keeping out of
    poverty then goes into how much you charge. 

    Always offer a customer THREE CHOICES in design and they all 3 don't
    have to be custom. We showed 1 or 2 ways to custom make the item,
    plus maybe a wax from a rubber mold and if need be a picture from a
    mounting catalogue. 

    Many folks in a store will sit FOREVER discussing the design and
    hardly speak of BUDGET. Asking after a few minutes about the budget
    will help you point the customer in the right way. No reason to
    design if they were looking to keep under $400. That's where our wax
    and casting charge STARTS, no material. 

    Many people on this network have more than just a few reasons why
    they might struggle, but mainly it's because (not in order): 

    1. They don't charge enough for labor 
    2. They don't sell enough units from their case 
    3. They don't have enough folks walking through the front door 
    4. When they do walk in looking at product, over 50% walk without
    buying anything. 
    5. They keep jewelry over a year old rather than dumping it. 

    There are 5 reasons for financial distress. 3 can be read now on my
    site: 

    http://www.jewelerprofit.com/page/page/4056875.htm 

David Geller

 
____________________________________________________________________
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
____________________________________________________________________