[Jewelry making - Article 00305] - Re: [Orchid] Hagglers at your jewelry booth

[daniel spirer]

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    It seems to be a common business practice these days for companies
    to say they are selling wholesale to the public. The fact that a lot
    of companies do it doesn't make it less unethical (or less illegal in
    some states). My opinion about that business practice is that it is
    unethical. Same thing with creating a false price so that customers
    think they are getting a deal. Richard, as I've said before, I'm not
    talking about your desire/need to work deals with your customers. I'm
    talking about purposefully raising your prices so that the customer
    thinks he is getting a more expensive piece than he is. There is a
    difference between that and negotiating on a legitimate retail price.
    This type of thing was used for years by jewelers who would write
    appraisals of pieces at much higher prices than they were selling the
    pieces at in order to make the customer think they were getting more
    than they were. They would never actually sell the piece at the
    higher price, they would just give the customers an appraisal with it
    to make them think that they were getting a deal. This is unethical.
    If you don't believe me, then join the JVC. They'll tell you this. 

>     False advertising and selling diamonds for color and clarity above
>     what it is knowingly are unethical practices. 

    It is false advertising to sell a piece at a lower price than the
    "normal" retail more of the time than it is sold at the "normal"
    price. This is a law. Large department stores are routinely fined for
    this. If you have marked up a piece but you never sell it at that
    price then you are effectively falsely advertising the price as one
    thing but the real price is the lower one. If it's against the law,
    in my book, it's probably unethical as well. 

>     Ethics are about what is done as a society, and since there are a
>     lot of people who have prices higher so they can discount, it is
>     acceptable as there are no consequences for having that practice. 

    A lot of people (I would actually say the majority of them) in this
    industry don't disclose treatments, and quite frankly it's
    exceedingly rare that anyone gets prosecuted, but it's still
    unethical (even you admit this). And almost everyone I know drives,
    at least occasionally, above the speed limit but it's still against
    the law. If you speed and kill someone as a result it's not
    acceptable. The fact that a lot of people do something, often with no
    consequences, doesn't make it right. 

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