[Jewelry making - Article 01273] - Re: [Orchid] Hagglers at your jewelry booth

[Richard Hart]

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

>     Richard, you asked if I use gems and occassionally I do, but I
>     don't tend to haggle or ask for discounts. I've always wanted to
>     support the individual business owner and I didn't want to insult
>     anyone, (This is not to say it is wrong - but I guess we are all
>     out to make a buck and I try to respect that in my own little way).

    I was telling my wife about this Orchid thread, and she related her
    experience at a gem show. She buys a lot of pearls from Chinese
    dealers. She is at a booth and two Chinese men are loudly arguing in
    Chinese and rasing a ruckus. The person she was working with 
explained
    that they were bargaining. 

    My wife explained to me that a buy sign from some Chinese people is
    for them to ask how much you will take for something. Get offended,
    have your attitude, lose a sale. There are people from other
    countries who come here that have more money than we do as their
    economy is doing better than ours. American goods are a deal with the
    loss of value of our dollar against other countries currencies. I
    hope this information helps some of you understand that you can have
    all your opinions and attitudes, but that as business people in the
    U.S. we are somewhat insulated and isolated from the way things work
    in other countries and cultures. If you are not negotiating for gems,
    if you pay what is asked without barganing you are not serving you
    customer very well, in my opinion. Other cultures expect to negotiate
    and expect you to bargan. This is the way it is done. Other cultures
    might not respect you for paying their first price, they might think
    you are a fool. Our behavior might be perceived as arrogant, not
    respectful. 

    Regardless of how you feel or what you think, whatever ethics or
    moral caca you have, you are not superior or more conscious or
    respectful. Just ignorant. America is economically becoming a third
    world country. Might sound harsh but if you do not know how to
    negotiate, you might not survive. Can anyone of you tell me business
    is not getting more difficult in the current economic situation we
    find ourselves in? One person posted that it is easier to just give a
    discount than to have to go into explainations and reasons and
    justifications. That was wisdom in my opinion. Less time, less mental
    stress. I am not condoning the way Walmart operates. 

    Fact is they hammer on their suppliers to lower costs. If you do not
    negotiate, you actually have to work harder to make money. You are
    getting less than I am for your money, you have to sell more or
    charge more for your product than I do. Your customer will pay more.
    When I was a child, there were a lot of products that were marked
    Hecho en Mexico. Now everything is Made in China. When I went to
    Mexico about 10 years ago with my friend who was born there, he
    wanted to buy Mexican products, but everything was marked Made in
    China. If your work is unique and very saleable and you have good
    marketing for your products, you can make your own rules. If you make
    product and have a lot of competitiion with lots similar products in
    the marketplace, you have to distingish yourself. And one way to do
    that is to have really outstanding customer service, good prices, and
    perhaps discount to close a sale. I have had my current business for
    16 years, I have 3 employees. My business is steady but not growing.
    So far this year I am down 25%. If you are making all the money you
    need by doing business the way you are doing it, I congratulate you.
    I have seen quite a few business go out in the last 16 years. Failed.
    If I did not have to discount, I would not. Perhaps I am not very
    smart, but I am still here doing what I love most. I do not post here
    to be contentious. 

    My hope is that there is some mentoring going on. It is about
    jewelry, it is about business, it is about social and political
    issues. Green gold, blood diamonds. Point is, if what you are doing
    is bringing all the success and money you can handle, keep doing
    that. If not, consider trying something different that is working for
    someone else. Kind of a result oriented approach. The point about
    raising prices to give discounts being unethical is silly to me.
    Having a tag on every item at 70% off is unethical. Having a little
    cushion to be able to give a 10% discount and not have to rationalize
    and justify your price to a customer with some of the answers I have
    seen posted here is worth it to me. 

    The customer who pays a little more is like you when you do not
    negotiate. If you ever ask for a better price from a supplier, then
    the customer who does ask if you can do better is acting like you. 

    I happen to be part of a group by birth that have a reputation and
    are judged and criticized for a tradition of negotiating for a better
    price. I grew up hearing "Don't be a Jew about it." or "He's more of
    a Jew than I am". For the people on this forum who have issues about
    discounting, what backround did you come from? Is there a polite way
    to ask, are you From a white Christian backround? Money is a
    resource. We are taught to not waste electricity, don't waste food,
    but don't negotiate for a commodity? Isn't that wasting money? 

    There are people in America that came from countries where bargain
    ing is cultural. It is just normal behavior. Before everything was
    prepackaged and premarked, people did business and interacted. They
    still do that in some marketplaces around the world. I am not saying
    saying giving a discount is the only answer for all economic
    problems. But knowing when to do that where it will not hurt you and
    it will help you succeed is a skill to me. Sometimes I need the
    dollars, not the inventory. 

    I wrote this a few days ago, was not sure if I would post it. Then
    someone posted:

>     Once I told someone in our booth "if you see something you like,
>     feel free to make an offer" She said "What are you? Jewish!". She
>     wasn't nice about it. 

    And there it is.... 

Shalom, Richard Hart
____________________________________________________________________
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
____________________________________________________________________