[Jewelry making - Article 00036] - Re: [Orchid] Hagglers at your jewelry booth

[Rick]

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    Since I sell at a variety of shows I have a different perspective on
    haggling depending on the show. 

    Art Shows - I usually only sell jewelry at these shows but take my
    finished cabs in case someone would like to custom design a piece or
    buy the stones outright. I generally run into less hagglers at these
    shows if the promoter does a good job of promoting it as an "Art"
    show. But I will offer a discount to someone on the edge to make a
    sale and will work with someone who doesn't approach me like they are
    negotiating the sale of a used car. 

    High-end Art and Craft Shows - I sell both jewelry and cabs at these
    shows. I tend to run into a moderate level of haggling at these
    shows. Mostly from people buying cabs wanting a quantity discount
    which I'm happy to do. At holiday gift shows people will tend to
    haggle on multiple purchases of jewelry for gifts. And of course you
    have a few that want a deal and I will work with them if they aren't
    using their "used car lot" manners. Local craft shows are a waste of
    time for my work. There are too many beads, PMC, and Dichroic glass
    artists giving their work away. 

    Rock and Mineral Shows - I sell a lot more cabs and slabs at these
    shows but I do sell a good amount of jewelry too because of the
    variety of minerals I use. For cabs and slabs it's always haggled on
    quantity. Jewelry is a tough sell at these shows. Rock hounds are
    notoriously cheap. But male rock hounds have significant others and
    they usually manage to pry the wallet out. Most jewelry I sell I give
    a discount at rock shows. 

    Speaking of Rock and Mineral Shows, local club shows are hard to get
    into. They have the same dealers coming back year after year selling
    the same stuff. It's knd of a "Good Ole Boy" network. These type of
    dealers don't like competition. They figure there is a set amount of
    dollars coming in the door and those dollars are distributed between
    the number of dealers. They don't like too many dealers at a show.
    They also don't like being undersold. They set their price on an item
    and keep dragging it to show after show until it sells. I have a rock
    addiction to feed so I'm willing to discount on quantity to move
    stone. I also have buck-a-slab and buck-a-cab trays for the bargain
    hunters to paw through. 

    I recently attended a local rock club show with my cousin. We were
    looking at cabs and my cousin asked the dealer how firm she was on
    her price. In my opinion that is a polite opening to haggling. The
    dealer responded that she didn't discount because it wouldn't be fair
    to her regular customers. I asked her even if I offered to pay cash
    for the whole tray you would not offer a discount. "No" was her
    response. We wished her good luck and moved on. 

    I use PayPal for credit card processing I can offer cash discounts.
    I haven't seen anything from PayPal from preventing me from doing so. 


    The point I'm trying to make is you have to be flexible depending on
    the show and the customer. If you are a jewelry artist you need to be
    sure your percieved value matches your customer's perception. If it
    is not then you are at the wrong show or are a little too proud of
    your work. I consider myself a business man first and an artisan
    second. I make jewelry and cut stone to make money and build my
    business. I can't let the love of the stone and the work get in the
    way of pricing my work and haggling. But then that's the value system
    that got installed in me somewhere along the line. Your mileage may
    definetly vary... 

Rick Copeland
Silversmith and Lapidary Artisan
Rocky Mountain Wonders
Colorado Springs, Colorado
rockymountainwonders.com
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