[Jewelry making - Article 00694] - Re: [Orchid] Should prices be visible?

[Daniel R. Spirer]

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    Some people seem to have confused some of my statements on this
    issue. Every piece I sell is tagged with a price. EVERY PIECE. But
    the tags are not big enough so that someone can see the price
    normally (well with sharp eyes maybe on the rings) and I keep them
    tucked under because it just looks far more attractive to do it that
    way. On earrings they are located under the earring or under the
    stand they are on. I would never consider using those stands with
    prices on them that some people do for two reasons: the first is
    that I have never seen an attractive one and the second is that they
    simply clutter up the cases (and I don't have enough display space to
    be able to afford to do that). I am actually not a huge proponent of
    completely unpriced goods because then the customers may feel that
    someone is inventing a price as they go, however I do see the need
    for it in some retail venues. 

>     You sound like a car salesman :-) Confident of your ability to
>     persuade a customer to buy. Unfortunately, that's useless if the
>     customer glances into the showcase, sees no prices, and keeps
>     walking. But you don't want that kind of customer anyway. 

    As I've said before in this thread, I am one of the least aggressive
    sales people around. I am not so much confident in my ability to
    persuade a customer to buy as I am confident of the quality of my
    work and that's what I let sell for me. Might I occasionally lose a
    customer because I don't have big signs posted all over with pricing?
    Sure. But so what? I lose customers for a variety of reasons at times
    and that's just the way it is. Some don't like my work, some don't
    like my pricing, some don't like my chocolate lab. I learned long ago
    that you can't please everyone and that trying to only ends up (in
    the long run) costing you money, not making you money. I'm not going
    to lose any sleep over that. 

>     The majority of the customers that walk through our door are not
>     looking for a 'feel-good' transaction with a fancy song-and-dance
>     sales pitch with a lot of hand-holding, compliments on their
>     excellent taste, or misty-eyed descriptions of exotic lands. 

    Lee, someday you should come in and shop my store. The experience
    you are describing is absolutely not what goes on in here (nor, I
    believe, does it in Richard Hart's). But perhaps the reason your
    sales aren't what you want them to be is that your customers are, in
    fact, looking for this kind of experience. There is a reason that so
    many major retail venues have chosen to make their customer's
    experiences more akin to being at an entertainment complex. People
    like to be wowed by stuff. Actually, being located in Las Vegas,
    where people spend their hard earned dollars at the casinos faster
    than the casinos can count the money I would think you would be
    aware of this. Price will be the ONLY issue for your customers if you
    make it that way for them. Choose not to and they'll look for other
    factors to base their decisions on. 

Daniel R. Spirer, G.G.
Daniel R. Spirer Jewelers, LLC
1780 Massachusetts Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02140
www.spirerjewelers.com
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