[Jewelry making - Article 00189] - Re: [Orchid] Hagglers at your jewelry booth

[Steven R. McQueen]

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    I am reminded of a tale from my youth. A tailor is explaining to a
    customer why the suit he is trying on is so expensive.... 

    ...It starts out in the mountains of Tibet, where the finest
    silkworms spin the finest silk, which is collected by 18-year-old
    virgins and carefully placed in a hermetically sealed bag. It is
    shipped to Thailand, where it is woven into the finest cloth by the
    finest virgin weavers. The cloth is placed in a hermetically sealed
    bag and shipped to China, where 80-year-old virgin seamstresses sew
    it perfectly into a suit, which is placed in a hermetically sealed
    bag, loaded on to a 747 jet and flown to San Francisco, where the
    whole thing is placed in a hermetically sealed bag and shipped to
    this store by special courier. 

    At the end of the story, the customer offered about 1/4 the asking
    price and the tailor immediately said, "Sold!" 

    I always thought that tailor was something less than an expert on
    this haggling business, but he did make the sale. 

    Many thanks to Don Knotts, who told the story much better than my
    hazy memory, but the point is that when selling luxury items, one is
    never selling a physical object. One is selling a feeling, a symbol
    of success. Some people feel successful when they can buy what they
    want without asking "How much?" Others feel successful when they get
    a bargain, or a special deal. I don't think it is ever about the
    vendor. It's all about the buyer. 

    I think every buyer wants to be special. For some, that means
    acquiring the finest, the biggest, or whatever at any cost. They do
    not "respect" the seller, they see a symbol of their own
    "specialness." Others want to work a deal. They do not "disrespect"
    the seller, they simply want to have something (a price break) that
    nobody else could get. Their "specialness" is tied up in the ability
    to wheel and deal the lowest prices. The first type will brag to
    their friends about the quality, beauty, and price of their latest
    acquisition. The second will brag about their skill that allowed them
    to make that incredible deal. 

    Neither will think about the seller again, except to reflect on how
    their own need to be "somebody" was, or was not, satisfied. And
    maybe to go back and get that feeling again. 

Regards,
Steve McQueen
Gems Evermore
http://store.gemsevermore.com
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