[Jewelry making - Article 00371] - Re: [Orchid] Should prices be visible?

[Marty Hykin]

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

Well!

    Here's another completely odd response to my posting of two days ago
    on this subject. Yesterday's response from Richard Hart took me aback
    and i wrote to him off line because I don't really like to get into a
    public slanging match when my impression is that someone has
    completely misunderstood my meaning. I've had no reply from Richard
    yet, but today's rant from R.E. Rourke of New Orleans makes me wonder
    if my communication skills are utterly hopeless because today I am
    accused of something which I never did nor intended, in this case
    making "callous judgements." Rourke - I honestly can't tell if you're
    with me or against me! And I've read your post more than once. 

    So - for what it's worth - I'll try again and with apologies (if
    wanted) to any sensitive retailers out there who feel that they have
    been slighted. 

    Simply put, what I did was to express my own feelings when
    confronted with a situation where I must ask for the price of a
    luxury item. Like today's poster, neilthejeweler, I wonder what is
    the dynamic involved in concealing prices? I put it to you that, to
    the best of my knowledge, there is no other niche in retailing where
    a customer is expected to ask for the price of each and every item on
    offer. Cars, whether Fords or Cadillacs, have prices on their
    windows, shoes have price tags, and so do dress suits, potatoes,
    hamburger meat, ballpoint pens, and buckets of paint. Restaurant
    menus, and even high-end real estate listings feature price
    prominently. What is it about jewelry that is different? Having done
    a passel of real estate business myself I have heard realtors
    frequently use the term "looky loo" to derisively describe people
    who take lots of time looking at property they can't afford. But, on
    the whole, realtors are not rude to those folks and neither are
    retail jewelers in similar situations. But the situations are not
    comparable. A potential buyer in real estate, like anyone, may be
    looking for a bargain but he can usually make a fair guess as to
    whether a house is within his budget. There are clues in the
    location, the age, the condition and size etc. And in the final
    analysis, no matter how ignorant or wishful the buyer, there is the
    asking price clearly on display. So why does he waste everyone's
    time? 

    Jewelry is different. Much more expertise is required to discern the
    differences between an excellent piece of jewelry and a cheap
    imitation. How many folks walking in off the street can instantly
    spot the difference between a good diamond, a bad diamond, or even a
    zircon? How many really understand the differences between casting
    and fabricating, between solid and plated, between one-off custom
    design and mass-produced trinkets? There are differences and they do
    justify the difference in the prices - no question about that. A
    good and honest jeweler will be able to politely explain all of this
    to an interested customer with no problem - but it is all a simple
    waste of time to both of them if the piece in question is reasonably
    priced at $10,000 and the buyer has $675 to spend. Whoops, sorry.
    There is no judgement involved as far as I'm concerned. It is a fact
    of life. And time was wasted when a price tag could have avoided the
    situation. Unless the retailer enjoys spending his time educating
    John Q. Public instead of selling merchandise or making more of it at
    his bench. Then maybe he should take a job as a teacher instead of as
    a jeweler - at least he'd be paid for the effort. 

    In case you haven't noticed, people tend to be rather embarrassed at
    being caught in situations where they can't afford to shell out for
    something when asked. There is a whole credit card industry making
    billions of dollars which rests on that simple fact. Rather than say
    "I can't afford ------ (fill in the blank), many folks'll go into
    debt beyond their means. The alternative is to suffer embarrassment.
    Sure, it's crazy, but it is another fact of life in this material
    world. I'd venture a guess that most folks today are more comfortable
    showing your what used to be called their "private parts" than
    telling the truth about how much money they have or don't have. 

    Sure there are plenty of zillionaires who wear torn blue jeans and
    don't shave often, so it behooves any retailer to warmly welcome
    each and every person into the shop, just in case it's one of those
    folks. Right? We don't want to be fooled by appearances. I know there
    are folks to whom price is no object. And on the other end of the
    spectrum, I also know there are many more who like to look that way.
    I've worked in places in Boston and elsewhere, places where the mafia
    big-shots went out just to be SEEN spending big bucks. They looked
    like fools and they spent like fools but, hey, they never asked about
    prices either so who would bother troubling them with such trivial
    matters? R.E. Rourke lists a few other situations where people spend
    too much for odd reasons; making up for marital problems, for
    example. Money is a complex part of our lives for sure. But that's
    not what I was writing about. So here it is again... 

    Unless your business is frankly dependent upon taking advantage of
    folk's frailties, Why waste the time of the ordinary customer? Why
    waste your own time? I just don't get it. 

    I'd like to know, just between us, what is the problem with letting
    your prices be seen? What would it cost you in psychological terms?
    In financial terms? 

    And I'm really truly sorry for the folks in New Orleans, a place
    I've always wanted to see, at least once upon a time. Get better
    soon! 

Marty in Victoria.
____________________________________________________________________
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
____________________________________________________________________