[Jewelry making - Article 00222] - Re: [Orchid] Pricing ring sizings

[james newton]

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

    Hi LaVerne. You pricing instincts are right on. For example the
    current Geller book lists sizing a ring with 1 to 4 stones up one
    size as $47 for 14K yellow and $75 in white. The highr white gold
    price covers the extra costs of rhodium plating. When this becomes a
    rush or "while you wait" job the price increase to $71 and $113,
    respectively. These prices are a guideline only, you have
    flexibility depending on the customer or difficulty of the job, but
    if you are not somewhere in this range you are missing the boat. My
    employer was pricing very similarly to yours until I talked him into
    investing in the Geller price guides this last Sept. When he read
    Geller book he agreed to give it a try. He was afraid he'd lose
    customers if he raised prices, but he's willing to try new things. He
    was stunned to see that the same percentage of customers balk and
    walk at the new Geller based price as were resistant to his earlier
    "give away" prices! He quickly realized that instead of existing just
    to service his customers at a loss, the shop is now his most
    profitable area of the store, without one good customer even
    realizing the pricing has changed! It is only in the mind of the
    "experienced" jeweler that the new prices are "high". It is the
    jeweler who is resistant to the pricing, not his customer. When you
    experiment with repair pricing you will quickly see that if you do
    not present the new price with any apology you will get the same
    percentage of balk and walks as you always have, if your work is up
    to par. It is you expertise as a craftsperson, not you give away
    price they come to you for! The cost of a service is not just
    materials and labor, but all of the costs of operating a business,
    from taxes, to rent, to insurance, etc, that must be figured into the
    price of service AND inventory. Would your employer sell his jewelry
    to customers at a loss on each sale just because the price seem too
    "high" to him? That is what he is doing with his shop and there is no
    earthly reason he needs to do this, especially in the current
    economic environment where every dollar is vital, and a profitable
    shop could mean the difference between survival or closure. 

Good luck. JimNewton


 
____________________________________________________________________
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
____________________________________________________________________