Pricing Custom Design & Repairs From David Geller
David S. Geller
The Past:
A few years ago, Jewelers Circular Magazine reported that over 75% of
ALL retail jewelers in America LOSE money on their jewelers. They were
talking about a bench jeweler losing money on ¾ of all jobs that they
touched. There are plenty of stores that use a jeweler as an aid to
making a sale and they look at the profit on the item sold, not the
profit on the labor to set the stone. This would be a store that had
the jeweler there on the premise to set a diamond they sold or to size
rings they’ve sold. For the rest of the time, the jeweler might be doing
repairs and other chores.
There are other jewelry stores that hire craftsmen specifically to make
and repair jewelry and they have intricate work to be performed. They
are charging “good” money for their jobs, but they still loose money or
make very little on the jeweler. You know the scenario, where you charge
hundreds of dollars to make a ring and later, when you add up the costs,
you made nothing or lost money. Usually the store owner is the “brain”
with all of the prices wrapped up in his/her head. Many times you
negotiate a price with a customer because they are “good” customers.
What’s your definition of a “good” customer? Mine is someone who brings
repeat profitable business into the store. Not someone who constantly
chisels you on each deal or wants the labor thrown in for free. Giving
a repeat customer prices near cost is not a good customer. You might
have this type of sale and not know it.
What ends up happening? You either loose money on the jobs you do, or
if figure out you’re loosing, you’ll only do simple repairs.
Why deal with labor intensive dollars?
Making a living dealing with labor intensive dollars can be a real
headache. It also can be enjoyable and profitable, if it’s done right.
Today, you’ll get some very valuable tips on doing it right!.
Adding or extending your dollar volume with jewelry design and repairs
will do many things for you and your store:
A. Make you money. You can make 2½ to 4 times cost on repair and
design. Are you getting that now on your inventory?
B. Make your store different that other stores in town. Even stores
that say they do custom and repair business don’t do it well. Besides
performing good workmanship, it’s a matter of how you treat the
customer, come across as a professional and pricing for profit.
C. Build customer loyalty and referrals like you’ve never seen before.
D. Custom and repair will actually help you sell more inventory. You’ll
have an easier time selling loose stones and gain a better markup on
many items. A quick example is the following. If you buy a $1000.00
ring and keystone it, you’ll sell it for $2000.00 (that’s double cost).
But you could design the same ring and have it cost $1000.00 and sell it
for $2800.00. Yes, and very easily, too. How? Well firstly, if you’re
used to “wheeling and dealing” with the customer on the ring, you’ll
lower the price on every “component” on the ring, including the center
stone. Components are: the melee, the gold mounting, the labor to
manufacture the ring, and the center stone. If you design it, you’ll
have an easier time getting full price on most all parts and designing
of the ring. You could buy the melee at $600.00 per carat and sell it
for $1600.00 per carat. That’s 266% markup. You’ll also get about the
same markup on the gold mounting and the labor to assemble. If you have
to wheel and deal, do it on the center stone you’ll sell. You most
likely can’t divide up what you discount on a finished item from the
case. There’s another advantage to this. If the customer complains
about the price, you can point to your price list as to the reason for
the price. You didn’t make up the price, the customer’s request did! If
the customer wants to lower the price, show them how you can subtract
some stones and the price can be lower. Not so easy to do on finished
jewelry from the case. The customer will know (you’ll also tell them) of
the advantages of custom jewelry and it always costs more to get just
what you want, doesn’t it, Mrs. Jones?
The Present
For you to make a profit on jewelry repair and design, you’ll need to
do two very important things before all of this will work for you:
A. Control your labor costs.
B. Have profitable pricing that includes all of your costs.
A&B just above are a combination of two very important things. These
thoughts will be new to you, but you’ll need to change your way of
thinking to do well in this particular field. They are:
1. Pay your jewelers on 100% commission.
2. Figure your repair and design prices in advance, adding up your
actual costs, without pricing from the hip. If you have a hard time
guessing, this method will insure profitable pricing even when you price
it wrong.
If these two items have you squirming in your chair, please continue on.
Allow me to give you a brief history of myself. It will take just a
paragraph or two and I know it will bring of this to light.
I have been doing bench work since I was ten years old (I’m 50). My
father had his family tree traced and supposedly, I’m a 14th generation
jeweler. All in all, doesn’t mean a thing except that I have tenure and
experience. Anybody can be good at something if they put their heart
into it. I own a custom design and repair store in Atlanta, Georgia and
over 50% of our income comes from the labor of our craftsmen. We are in
our 25th year in business.
About fifteen years ago I became very frustrated with paying our
jewelers hourly wages and watching them sit and chat when work was to be
done. Yes I would speak softly, yell and scream, or just turn my back.
Why would it take “all day” to install a shank? How could one person, at
$10.50 per hour, make a ring sizing job take 45 minutes? Why did I have
to keep hiring more people to keep up with increased workload, but never
get caught up? At that time, we had 7 craftsmen and we would keep about
300 to 350 jobs in the store at any given time. Repairs were promised
for 3 weeks and custom design for 6. My stomach was getting pits from
the aggravation.
With the help of my accountant, I turned all of the jewelers (6 at the
time) over to straight commission. Within a month, ½ of them quit. I was
left with the better jewelers, the worse ones quit. Why? Because the
lousy ones weren’t pulling their weight and they knew it. The better
ones saw the potential. Within 6 months, all of the jeweler’s salaries
increased by 50%, to $15.00 per hour. Within 6 months, we went from 3
weeks on repairs to 2 and 3-4 weeks on custom. We did this with 3
jewelers, rather than 6. In two years, we were keeping 400 to 500 jobs
in the store with 4 jewelers. (Remember that we used to keep 300 jobs in
the store with 6 jewelers.)
The secret was paying the jewelers a percentage of what we charged the
customer for the labor charges. The jeweler doesn’t get any percentage
of the product.
The Nitty Gritty
Our jewelers get paid 22% of our regular labor charge. An example is a
ring sizing. We charge $20.00 to make a narrow 14kt ring smaller. 22% of
that is $4.40. That’s what the jeweler receives. We provide the gold,
solder, polishing compounds, etc. The jeweler provides his/her own
tools. We provide emery paper, saw blades, things that get replaced
often. If the jeweler wants to take 45 minutes to size a ring, so be it!
He gets $4.40 for the 45 minutes. If the jeweler sized it wrong, he
redoes the job at no charge. Now we don’t want people who take 45
minutes to size a ring. But it does happen! Just because someone has
been doing bench work for 5 years doesn’t necessary mean they’re are
good! Pay people for a good job done on a timely basis, not time at a
bench or how long they’ve worked for you.
In our shop, we have jewelers who make $385 to $575.00 per week.
They’re slow. On the other hand, we have guys who make in JANUARY
$750.00 to $1000.00 per week. If they make $1000.00, we’re grossing
approximately $4600.00 from their work. When’s the last time you sold a
job for $4600.00 in at retail and your cost was $1000.00.
There are down falls. Redo’s can be a killer. The customer doesn’t like
it, you
chip or break a stone, your design isn’t at all what the customer wanted
and you have to remake the item. If done properly, you can reduce your
problems.
The solution to profitability and reducing errors is writing out your
own price book based up actual costs to perform the task. We have a 300
page price book in our store. It lists everything we possibly could do
to a piece of jewelry. It took me several years to come up with the
formula, of which I’ll pass along to you. It will take work on your part
to device your own price list or price book, but the rewards are beyond
many other things you can delve into.
A price list will guarantee your customers that they will be quoted the
same price on every visit. But most of all it will keep from making you
the answer person! “Oh Mr. Storeowner, how much is it to retip this
emerald ring? How much is it to size a class ring? How much to replace
the low base head with a 6 prong tiffany head?” Enough questions
already! Let’s make money.
Your price list will be the key to how much you receive from a customer
and how much the jeweler gets paid. Remember, our jewelers get 22% of
most labor costs. Our list has the jewelers pay amounts in code in the
book and we staple a form on the back of the envelope with these prices
in code. When they finish the job, they tear off the tickets and save
them. At the end of the week, they turn in one copy of the ticket to the
bookkeeper and they are paid from that. We take out taxes, pay for
insurance, the whole gammit. They are not independent contractors. This
is just a way of figuring their income. Our jewelry staff earns from the
low $30,000 to the high $40,000’s. In 1995, our
best jeweler earned $58,000.00 working 5 days a week. (but maybe 9 hours
per day).
The future
Production is the way to earn better profits on repair and design.
There are many other things to be considered besides pricing.
A. Teaching and maintaining a knowledgeable sales staff who can sell
repairs and custom design.
B. Excellent paperwork must be adhered to. We’ve made up our own double
sided job envelopes, estimate forms, design sheets, and order form
requests. Poor instructions can kill profitability.
C. Procedures must be kept to insure that the job is inspected before
the customer leaves the store and the item is inspected during it’s
route from beginning to end.
All of the items listed above work around two important things that a
store needs. One person in charge who understands the mechanics of the
jewelry trade. The second thing deals with the knowledge. Sales people
will do better if they are trained in how a job is done and what to look
for. Also important is that the sales staff have a handy reference tool
and believe that the designing or repair option is a good one. . Some
sales staff don’t believe repairs are worth their time. Paying sales
staff members well for designing and repairs will make believers out of
them.
We solved that dilemma. Our sales staff is on 100% commission. They
start at 10% commission for a full retail sale. If they discount over
10%, their discount drops to 8%. If they design something that has to be
remade after the item is delivered, their commission drops by 50%.
Everyone shares in the good fortunes, as well as shares with the
problems.
The Price List
Your price list is going to be a work of art. I’m going to tell you
what mine has in it and how you should devise yours. A page from our
book is attached in the back of these pages to give you some good ideas.
Our book carries tips for the sales staff in designing and repairing as
well as listing 2 or 3 findings houses with their stock numbers for a
certain item. (Where to order the 2mm clasp, as an example.) An example
is in the “retipping” chapter. Most people solder a new tip right on the
diamond without removing the stone. With protection, this is fine. But
you can’t heat on an emerald. So right above “tipping” in the price book
is a small paragraph telling the sales person this point and to CHARGE
the customer to remove & reset and stone that can’t take heat. For the
most part, the only stones my staff knows that can take heat are the
stones of the color of the American flag: Red, White & Blue.
Red, white and blue: Ruby, Diamond, and Sapphire. All other stones need
to be removed. Before you send me nasty notes, I know their are some
others that can take heat, but this is easy for them to remember.
The second thing is the listing of the price. We charge $15.00 for the
first tip and $10.00 for each additional tip. In a column next to the
retail price is a column called “Jewelers Code” or Jlrc for short. We
place a number 9 in front of the jeweler’s code so the customer doesn’t
understand what it is. We also place a letter after the jeweler’s code.
“A” means the jewelers gets 22% of the price and “B” means the jeweler
gets 11%. I’ll tell you more on that in a moment. But first to the 22%.
Again, the jeweler gets 22% of MOST repairs, along as there’s no
appreciable value in the finding or gold finding. Retipping a prong or
making a ring smaller has very little value in the gold. I also don’t
want to compute the value of the gold in retipping or even sizing a ring
one size larger. So at $15.00, the jeweler gets 22%, or $3.33. The price
list looks like this:
Description Retail Price Jlrc
First 14kt Tip $15.00 91500A
Remember in the “Jlrc” column, drop the “9” from the code, which leaves
you with $15.00. The “A” means the jeweler gets 22% of the $15.00. (Why
22%? My accountant said 22%, that’s why.)
We charge $11.00 to solder a simple chain repair, or a customer’s jump
ring onto a bracelet. At 22%, the jeweler gets $2.42 for a simple
solder.
Now what about a 2mm barrel clasp, soldered to the customer’s chain?
What would you need? Firstly, a clasp. The clasp with jump rings costs
about $6.00. We charge the customer, complete, $40.00 installed, parts
and labor, everything. We don’t pay the jeweler 22% of the $40.00. What
is the jeweler doing to the job? You guessed it - 2 simple solders on
the jump rings. So the jeweler gets 22% of the 2 solders on the two jump
rings. 2 solders X $11.00 each equals $22.00 retail for the solders
alone. 22% of that means the jeweler gets $4.84 to solder the barrel
clasp onto the customer’s necklace. This is how our price book looks for
items where there’s some substantial gold involved, like barrel clasps:
Description Retail Price Jlrc
14kt 2mm barrel clasp, $40.00 92200A
soldered to item
Again, you drop the “9”, leaving you $22.00. the “A” means the jeweler
gets 22% of the $22.00, or $4.84 to solder the two jump rings. In our
store, we have a full time polisher, so our jewelers don’t polish, only
do bench work.
This is how we came to $40.00 for the clasp. We “charged” the customer
two solders to attach the clasp to the chain. We charge $11.00 each, so
that’s $22.00 so far. The jump rings and the clasp have a total cost of
$6.00. We tripled that to $18.00. Add $22.00 to $18.00 and you have
$40.00 retail.
So let’s look at the profit here:
Clasp & 2 jump rings $6.00
Jewelers pay: $4.84
Total Cost: $10.34
Selling price: $40.00
Gross Profit: $29.66 (over a 3 time markup from cost)
These same numbers work for larger pieces and designs. More later.
These three costs aren’t the only costs evolved because you have
overhead. Other costs added to these would be employee benefits and
overhead, like rent, insurance and such. I’ll tell you later how to
figure that into play.
But think about this now. What if this example had 1 or 2 zeros added
to it?
Costs: $110.34
Selling Price: $400.00
Gross Profit: $296.60
Or
Costs: $1134.00
Selling Price: $4000.00
Gross Profit: $2966.00
Not Bad, eh?
How is the jeweler making out on all of this? Ours make between $30,000
to the high $40,000 range per year, working 5 days a week. (Christmas
doesn’t count). Let’s say on this job, the jeweler melts the jump ring.
Or it drops on the floor and he looks for 15 minutes until he finds it.
You’ve paid out No More Money for his time. You will pay for the melted
jump ring at $.50 cents, but not his time at $15 to $20 per hour. You’ll
find the jeweler will be more diligent on doing it right. If it’s not
done right, back it goes to the jeweler at no charge to you. If you mess
up with a customer, do you get to charge the customer more? Heck no! And
neither can the jeweler.
We guarantee all of our work for a year, and so does the jeweler.
What about the “B” prices?
Remember how the jewelers code has a “B” attached to it? “B” in our
price but means 11%, rather than the 22% for the jeweler. We use this
code when there is other substantial findings costs involved and we
can’t or don’t want to figure out the labor and the materials. An
example is a ring shank. We charge $100.00 retail for a ½ shank on a
ladies engagement style ring. Rather than try to figure the exact cost
of the gold for the shank (which is probably $20.00 - $30.00) and give
the jeweler 22% of the labor to install, we just give the jeweler 11% on
the whole charge. 11% of $100.00 is $11.00 for the jeweler. You provide
the gold and the jeweler puts the shank on. Should take less than a half
hour to do the job, so he’s making about $22.00 per hour at it and your
gross profit is assured. I figure that your cost is about 30% to 40% of
what you charged. And if the jeweler takes 45 minutes, the gross profit
is assured. Without a lot of “dilly-dally” on the jewelers part, the job
should take 20 minutes. But who’s counting?
Another example of the 11% is a Fingermate arthritic adjustable shank.
The retail price is $300.00 for the narrow one. Because the Fingermate
includes installation, we don’t break down the labor and finding. At
11%, the jeweler gets $33.00 to install it and it takes 45 minutes to an
hour to install it. Just so happens, that’s exactly what the factory
will charge you to install on Fingermate when you send them the ring.
Few Other pointers on your pricing
We don’t give the jeweler the full retail amount at 22% on every labor
only job. If we charge a customer $115.00 for a 1 carat four prong
Tiffany style head, soldered in place and setting the customer’s
diamond, the jeweler gets 22% of that charge. But, that’s the most he
will get even if we charge $165.00 for a 2 carat diamond. The jeweler
will still only get 22% of $115.00. Here’s the reasoning. Part of the
higher fee to set a 2 carat diamond over a 1 carat diamond is you self
insuring yourself against breakage. You can’t buy insurance if you chip
or break a diamond, so you charge higher fees to set larger diamonds.
Being the jeweler doesn’t share in the expense of his mistakes on the
material side, he then doesn’t get the reward of higher pricing for
really profitable jobs. It only cost about $10.00 more for a 2 carat
head over a 1 carat head and really takes no more time to install it
than a 1 carat stone. But our jewelers are capped out at 1 carat because
of the breakage factor. It helps to build our “reserves” for the day he
chips or breaks one. Below is a sample our pricing from our price book.
Four Prong Tiffany style head, soldered into place and setting the
diamond.
Price Jlrc
UP TO 25 POINTS (UP TO 4MM) 60.00 96000A
26 TO 60 POINTS (UP TO 5.2MM) 75.00 97500A
61 TO 75 POINTS (UP TO 6.0MM) 90.00 99000A
75 TO 1.0 CARATS (UP TO 6.5MM) 115.00 911500A
1.01 TO 2.0 CARATS (UP TO 8.0MM) 165.00 911500A
We have many areas in our pricing like that. We also don’t give the
jeweler the full retail on 18kt sizing, which we charge more. It takes
the jeweler the same amount of time to size an 18kt ring as it does to
size a 14kt ring. Your price list should duplicate these same ideas.
Our price book also has some features to help expedite the sales
person’s time, as well as the jeweler’s time. (Could also help the back
office personnel.) Right below the charge to the customer for an item or
finding, I have listed the company and their stock number to order it
from. This saves the sales staff the time to look it up AND the CORRECT
stock item is listed there. Here’s a sample of our repair area for
barrel clasps:
Includes Complete clasp, 2 Jump Rings & 2 Solders
and 1 Figure 8 safety. 14kt yellow & white gold.
Price Jlrc
2MM BARREL CLASP (9X2MM). 40.00 92200A
3MM BARREL CLASP (8½X3MM) 44.00 92200A
4MM BARREL CLASP (8½X4MM) 55.00 92200A
YELLOW GOLD ONLY, NO WHITE .
S.E.F. 2mm=A3513-Yg & Wg; 3mm=A3514 Yg & Wg;
4mm=A3515 (Yellow Only)
STULLER 2mm=218; 3mm=244; 4mm=251:
All Available in Yellow Only, No White!
Seems like a lot of work? It can be. But it will help the newest sales
associate seem like a professional and your pricing will be consistent
and profitable.
How to actually figure your cost and markup
In the first 10 years or so of our business, I figured the pricing on
how fast I performed the work. Wrong! If you’re a fast worker, great,
but your pricing has to be based upon the average worker. If you can set
a diamond in 15 minutes and it takes most other craftsmen 30 minutes,
then 30 minutes is the standard. Attached are two forms that we recently
used for our craftsmen to keep track of how long it takes to do a job.
>From these sheets, we compiled an average and used that time frame as
our cost factor. You should keep track for a few weeks before starting
on a new pricing system. Many jewelers copy someone else’s price list or
just keystones the trade shops. You must figure your own.
After your get an average price, you can then decided that all in all,
it should take a craftsmen no more than “X” minutes or hours to perform
the job. Our waxer is averaged over a weeks time for his labor, as
waxing to me is more of an art than a science, as bench work is.
Here’s how to figure your selling price on a repair or custom job. A
customer has a ring made and we pavè set 6 of her diamonds and set her
diamond in a six prong head in the center. Let’s figure that it will
take 1 hour to carve a wax and the person carving the wax makes $15.00
per hour. Waxer cost is $15.00. This includes sprueing. Then a jeweler
takes 3 hours to cast, file up, set the stones and polish the ring. The
jeweler also makes $15.00 per hour. (In our shop, the jewelers don’t get
paid by the hour. We figured that a jeweler should make $15 to $25 per
hour.) Jeweler cost is $45.00. So far our labor cost is $60.00. But not
really! We have to add in all of the costs to hire these two people.
What are they? Matching FICA, Medicare, workers comp insurance, any
insurance we pay AND sick days and paid vacations, along with holidays.
That’s right! If a person contracts to work for you for 50 weeks, but
you pay him for 52, then you’ve paid two weeks salary and received
nothing in return. That’s a cost. We figure an additional 50% to a
person’s salary as his or her costs. So someone who makes $15.00 per
hour actually cost you $22.50 per hour. Figure it in!
The casting gold and the six prong head for this job cost a total of
$110.00. So we now have $110.00 for product cost.
Now we have to add in actual overhead. That’s the money you’d pay out
to open the doors and be able to sell, but without the cost of
merchandise. You know, rent, insurance, job envelopes, insurance,
electricity, advertising, etc. This should be found as a percentage of
sales. If your overhead is $300,000.00 on sales of $1,000,000.00, then
over head is 30%. Add it in. See how it looks below:
Jeweler and Waxer cost: $60.00
Added employee cost of 50% $30.00
Material cost (gold and parts) $110.00
Total cost so far $200.00
Now add in overhead (Ex 30%) +$60.00
Total Absolute cost to do the job: $260.00
Now add in your profit margin. If you want a 25% margin, add that in.
25% of $260.00 is $65.00. That added to $260.00 gives a selling price of
$325.00 Now you’ve covered all of your bases and you know you’re making
a profit.
But let’s look at the selling price another way. Let’s look at what we
would charge from a price book. In our price book, to cast an item where
we already have the mold or wax, would have a charge of $185.00. Then we
charge $145.00 for the six prong head, soldered into place and setting
the stone. To pavè set the six diamonds is 6 times $15.00 or $90.00
total. Then the ring took 6.75 pennyweights of 14kt gold and we charge
$40.00 per pennyweight, or $270.00. Total selling price is now $690.00.
Our total cost, including all overhead was $260.00. That’s over a 2½
time markup, including all costs!
One secret to this is to Pay Jewelers on Commission so they won’t
artificially raise your costs. Your sales staff will be able to quote
prices from your price list and won’t have to second guess and therefore
loose money.
In A Nutshell
Your price list should be lived by on a daily basis. Ours is referred
to as our “Bible”. Other nifty neat things to include in a price list
are the following:
A. Charts of gemstone sizes and appropriate carat weight.
B. Lists of some selling prices for gems and diamonds. I recommend “The
Guide” as a pricing guide. You can markup your prices from “The Guide’s”
average prices and feel confident that you can by diamonds and gems at
these prices.
C. Safety features to be careful of when taking in work. As an example,
our book notates on retipping stones, that you can only tip on the
stones of the American Flag: Red, White, and Blue (Faceted diamonds,
rubies and sapphires). All other gems must be removed first.
D. Vendor part numbers and the vendor’s name. This way when the sales
person finds the price for a lobster claw, if you don’t stock it, the
sales person can put in the appropriate form to get the office to order
the part.
E. Included your guarantee and refund policy so the staff will know it
and can refer to it. We blew ours up and framed it at the front door. No
one can say we didn’t post it.
P.S.
Here’s a little money maker we use and it’s listed on the back cover of
our book, along with laminated ones on our counters. Charge more money
for anything done “While You Wait”. Do you find customer’s thinking
that “this is a simple job” and should be done now? How about people who
don’t need it now, but just want it now? We were always apologizing and
making people mad because we couldn’t put their job in front of another
customer. WE solved our problem by charging 50% above our regular price
for anything done while you wait or within 24 hours! That in of itself
dropped about 60% of the whining. BUT, the other 40% pay the extra
money. The store makes the extra money, as does the jewelers and the
sales staff. The customer now gets what they want and it solves our
dilemma. You know when a customer asks “how soon can I get it?” or says
“is your work done on the premises?” what she’s really saying is “Can it
be done while I wait?” Many times that’s asked because of her fear of
you swapping stones. We circumvent that problem. We’ll do virtually
ANYTHING while you wait, as long as we charge more money. Try it. You’ll
like it.
Still Stuck?
Really, this is a project that you can handle. But if you feel like you
need some experience from “way back”, I’ll be glad to help as best I
can. My expertise in custom design and repair procedures is where I
shine. You can take care of the selling, hiring, firing and the like. If
you need a few pointers, call, and I’ll give you what help I can.
You can design and produce your own price list on a typewriter, but a
computer would be best. Our price list is for sale. It has nine
chapters, with an index for each chapter, along with a master index in
the front. We have two types and two different prices for each
The first choice on a price book is one that is available in all black
ink on all white paper. It has exactly the same prices we use in our
store, the cover will is generic, like the one here at the show. It can
not be customized, either with your logo or with different prices. These
black and white price books sell for $100.00 for the first book and
$50.00 for each additional book.
We also have available a customized version of our price book. It has
your store name on the cover. The advantage of this price book is that
you can have us change up to 100 prices in the price book and return it
back to you, fully customized. For instance, after receiving your price
book, you decided that you’d like to charge more for appraisals than we
do. Or you just don’t think you can get $11.00 to solder a jump ring
(you can). Mark the new prices on the pages and return the book. We’ll
change the prices and reprint and insert those pages and return the book
to you. As these books are printed on two sides, it is produced at two
books per order. The first two customized books are $499.00 for two
books. If you wanted additional books with the same prices, they are
only $99.00 per book, sold in sets of two at a time We have found that a
store needs more than just one price book. The sales staff needs one or
two, along with the back room.
If you would like to order a price book or any forms, please fill out
the attached order form and give to us at the show or mail to the
address on the form.
Please feel free to call upon me if you need some pointers or want to
discuss your own copy of our price book. I call also make arrangements
to come to your store for a one day seminar for your sales staff. This
encompasses how to use a price book, but more importantly, how to sell
design and repair, profitably. Good luck.
David S. Geller
JewelerProfit
Profitable Pricing Systems
For The Bench Jeweler
510 Sutters Point Drive
Atlanta GA 30328
404-255-9565
888-255-9848
404-252-9835 Fax
dge...@bellsouth.net e-mail
Products and Services
JewelerProfit 510 Sutters Point Drive N.E.
Atlanta, GA 30328 (404) 255-9565 (888) 255-9848
(404) 252-9835 Fax
1. Design & Repair Price Book:
Customizable Book: Cover with your name and logo, ability to change up
to 100 prices to your liking in the book.
First two copies $499.00
Each additional two copies, ordered at the same
time: $99.00 each
Black & White, non-customizable: Generic cover, no colored ink. All
black and white. Prices are ours, cannot be changed. You are free to use
white-out in the book , as you like. All words and prices are the same
as the colored book.
First copy $100.00
Each additional copy $50.00
2. Customized Forms:
Design sheets, Estimate forms, Jewelers Worksheet.
Our standard forms, with your logo inserted on the form. Camera ready
for your quick printer.
Eyeglass Stuffer Program.
Our successful eyeglass repair program with all three forms needed for
mailing, with your company logo and map inserted, camera ready for your
quick printer.
Camera ready for your quick printer: $75.00
3. Laminated “While You Wait” counter boards.
All prices are 50% higher than normal. Has approximately 28 prices of
the most asked for repairs by customers.
With Our Price List:
First one: $5.00
Each Additional: $5.00
With Your Prices:
First one: $15.00
Each Additional: $15.00
4. In-Store visit:
David Geller will spend a full day in your store. Allow him to implement
your new profit center. Suggested subjects to be covered in your store
would be:
A. Train the sales staff in using the price book and on pricing
intricate repair and designs.
B. Start the ongoing training you’ll need to educate the staff on
procedures to protect the store and to achieve higher sales in design
and repair.
C. Evaluate your workflow process to maximize efficiency.
D. Establish your “Jewelers on Commission” system if you desire. This
would help to maximize profits in your store and the jeweler, using our
system as used in the price book.
Per Day: $750.00
Plus travelling expenses
Order Form
Company Name:___________________________________________________
Address:_________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
City, State, Zip____________________________________________________
Phone:______________________________Fax__________________________
Your Name:_________________________________Title__________________
No of Stores_______________No of Jewelers____________________________
Please send the following:
Qty Item Description Pr Each Additional Books @ Total
2nd Day Shipping, $8.00 Per book
Total Order
? Please contact me about an in-store visit.
Paid by ? Check ? Credit Card: Type_____________
Card Number______________________________
Expiration Date:___________________________
Contacts I would Recommend You Try
Hand Made Waxes:
The Wax Department
Katherine Howell
223½ 2nd Street
Henderson KY 42420
(502) 830-9449
One of the finest wax carvers I have known. Prices start at $35.00 for
hand carving.
Pick up a brochure with colored pictures from my booth.
Wax Companies with catalogues. Prices average $1.50 to $2.50 each
Timberline Waxes WestWind
PO Box 367 PO Box 18320
Carlsbad CA 92008 Reno NV 89511
(619) 438-5371 (702) 851-8090
438-1828 Fax (702) 852-2393 Fax
Lex Wax Great Western
(913) 268-6359 PO Box 1371
(913) 268-8415 Fax Corrales NM 87048
(505) 897-3470
(505) 897-9154 Fax
Job envelops for the Jewelry Industry.
Impact Manufacturing
(770) 458-9077
I have given them my blessing to allow others to use out custom job
envelope template. Just mention “Jewelry Artisans” and they’ll know what
to do. Pick up their catalogue here at my booth.
Gemstone and Diamond Pricing books
Subscription rate last I heard was $180.00 per year. This includes a
monthly diamond price bulletin, a quarterly gemstone pricing guide and a
technical reference manual. I use this guide extensively and highly
recommend it.
Richard B. Drucker, G.G.
Gemworld International, Inc.
650 Dundee Road Suite 465
Northbrook, IL 60062
(847) 564-0555
(847) 564-0557 Fax
How to handle price objections
When a customer says the price is too high on labor intensive items,
like custom jobs and repairs, there are alternatives to “Here’s an
estimate.
When a customer says “That’s too high”, it means the following:
A. “In my own mind, I have already decided what YOU as a store should
charge and this is higher than MY education guess.”
B. “I had a budget when I came in AND even though I refused to tell it
to you, it’s higher than my SECRET budget. And I’m not stupid either, IF
I tell you my budget, you only charge me more than that
C. I want to do something here in your store, but I’m stuck. I really
don’t have the money OR I have decided that it’s not worth putting this
kind of money into. If the words “I’m Broke” came out of my mouth, I’d
be embarrassed. BUT, if you could say something like “instead of $500,
would something around $350 fit with what you had in mind better? Oh
good, let me show you another idea that will work just fine.” Now I
don’t have to loose face.
D. Other stores charge less than you do. I thought their price was too
high too, and I’m a great shopper. I really don’t want to go back, even
though the price is cheaper because I could tell that they didn’t do
this all day long like you do. But I don’t want to pay for your new car.
Tell me why doing business here is better than the other store. If you
can convince me, I’ll drop my wad here instead.
When showing designing and even repairs, there are other alternatives to
an estimate sheet. Let’s say a custom job with customer’s gold is:
Carve and Cast $400.00
Two tone: $100.00
Set 20 diamonds @15 $300.00
Plat 4 prong head: $225.00
Total: $1025.00
An alternative to carving is using one of our pre waxes. It May not be
in a designer’s catalogue, but it can be beautiful to the customer!
Cast: 185.00 (This saved the customer $215.00)
Alteration: 100.00
Set 20 dias @$15 300.00
WG 6 pr head 145.00
Total: 730.00 A savings of 295.00! a 30% savings!
Another choice is buying a Stuller or ALA casting that’s the correct one
or near correct:
If correct:
5 dwt 14kt yg ring: $325.00
Set 13 @$15 $300.00
Head & set, wg $145.00
Total: $770.00
Purchase their 12
dwts of gold -96.00
Total: $674.00 A savings of $351.00 or 33%!!!
On doing Jewelry Repairs, Our Guarantee is our strong point. When we
“shopped” our competition, we found out that many do not guarantee ANY
jewelry repairs of any type. They won’t guarantee breakage of stones
while setting nor their safety after they leave the store.
End
abrasha
>
SNIP
Wow! 753 lines in this post.
Yo Bro, this is a newsgroup, do you really think that anybody is going
to read that epistle?
The attention span of even the most advanced users is usually not longer
than 2 or 3 short paragraphs, in which all that needs to be said CAN be
said.
Get a clue. 753 lines! Are you out of your mind?
Abrasha
http://www.abrasha.com
Peter W. Rowe
<abr...@abrasha.com> wrote:
>>
>>Wow! 753 lines in this post.
>>
>>
>>The attention span of even the most advanced users is usually not longer
>>than 2 or 3 short paragraphs, in which all that needs to be said CAN be
>>said.
>>
So, I guess we know what ya think of the way I write then... :-)
Peter
DiaGuy
thing later though. I've said for a long time that my bench jeweler is a
money loosing proposition... I have one of those guys that wants to build
100% quality into everything he does, so when a customer brings a hollow 3mm
rope with a barrel clasp with wornout ends, rather than rebuilding the
jumprings, he'll put on a new catch. What a deal for $12. Maybe I should
go to the jeweler commission system. Then I would get paid!
-Stanley Bright
Owner
A&M Jewelers
Baltimore, Maryland
PS- Abrasha- shut up. I'm tired of you insulting people. Does your mouse
not work?
Jeff - jewelrylife.com
>
>On Fri, 04 Jun 1999 07:31:50 GMT, in rec.crafts.jewelry abrasha
><abr...@abrasha.com> wrote:
>
>>>
>>>Wow! 753 lines in this post.
>>>
>>>
>>>The attention span of even the most advanced users is usually not longer
>>>than 2 or 3 short paragraphs, in which all that needs to be said CAN be
>>>said.
>>>
>
>
>Peter
>
I kind of like what David is doing. And, Peter, your posts are always a good
read. I think Abrasha thinks we all have ADD or something! :)
-jeff
Jewelry Life, Inc.
http://www.jewelrylife.com
"The On-Line Fine Jewelry Gallery."
Ronald Arney
<g> What did you do? Look at the line count and think 'Oh good grief,
another flake that writes like Ron," mark it read and then click next.
Hah. I thought I had some helpful guidelines. This dude's poured out a
solid foundation. I would read his daily journal.
Ron
before you read? Or
abrasha wrote:
>
> David S. Geller wrote:
> >
>
> SNIP
>
> Wow! 753 lines in this post.
>
> Yo Bro, this is a newsgroup, do you really think that anybody is going
> to read that epistle?
>
> The attention span of even the most advanced users is usually not longer
> than 2 or 3 short paragraphs, in which all that needs to be said CAN be
> said.
>
LESLIE KINDER-ANDERSON
David S. Geller wrote in message <37588ca5....@nntp.ix.netcom.com>...
>The Why’s and How’s of Profitable Jewelry Design & Repair
>JewelerProfit
>Profitable Pricing Systems
> For The Bench Jeweler
>510 Sutters Point Drive
> Atlanta GA 30328
>404-255-9565
> 888-255-9848
> 404-252-9835 Fax
> dge...@bellsouth.net e-mail
>
>
If you are a jeweler who needs to make a profit in your shop..BUY DAVID'S
BOOK.
You won't be sorry.
Leslie Kinder-Anderson, GG.
owner Melange Custom Jewelry in Wichita, Kansas
and happy user of David Gellers pricing book
Zaa Wizzbang
PWR...@ix.netcom.com (Peter W. Rowe) wrote:
>
> So, I guess we know what ya think of the way I write then... :-)
>
> Peter
>
>
pax-------z
--
John Lewis a.k.a. Zaa Wizzbang-- Jewelry Designer / Model Maker
7 Axis Abstract Machinist, using H.H.N.C.
http://homestead.dejanews.com/user.wizzbang/wizzba
ng.html
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Share what you know. Learn what you don't.
babe
I enjoyed your post on pricing. We do a lot of design work, and machined
pieces. Have you any thoughts on how to save money on a
production line person's salry?
One thing you did not mention was vacation time for the
staff.
We have found it is better (and cheeper) to shut down the company for a
week three times a year and let all our staff have the week off, rather
then be short staffed 36 separate weeks. The overhead saved includes
utilitys, heating gas for ovens, chemicals, air-conditioning (a biggie)
and administration costs. We give extra vacation weeks as rewards for
performance above and beyond the call of duty.
Frank
Curt Gates
<dia...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> I have one of those guys that wants to build
> 100% quality into everything he does, so when a customer brings a hollow 3mm
> rope with a barrel clasp with wornout ends, rather than rebuilding the
> jumprings, he'll put on a new catch. What a deal for $12. Maybe I should
> go to the jeweler commission system. Then I would get paid!
I'd say you're really lucky to have somebody who wants to do quality work.
In the long run, doing the job right the first time is saving you from
returned repairs and unhappy customers. (Send me this guy's name and
address! :-)
If you have repeat customers (rather than one-time-buyer tourists) quality
is important -- for most shops. Would it help, and is it possible, for the
decision on what needs to be repaired, and the estimated cost, be done in
a collaborative way?
For example, if one of these cheap chains comes in for repair, the person
at the counter knows enough to say something like, "You have a couple of
options for this repair. We can simply replace the jump rings for about
$12. But, it looks as if this barrel clasp is about to come apart, and we
can replace it, and the jump rings, with a substantial clasp for about
$25."
(It's important to troubleshoot the whole piece while the customers is
still there, and can see the problems.)
After the customer selects an option, the person at the counter can say
something like, "If you have a minute, I'd like to show this to our
goldsmith -- just to make sure we didn't miss anything, and that our cost
estimate is okay."
If you include the cost of everyone's the processing time, you may find
that you have to establish a minimum cost for any repair, like $12
minimum.
Since the customer is in your store, this is a great opportunity to
discuss a charm for the chain, etc. "I notice that you must like
cats....did you see this.....?" Or initial low price vs cost of repairs.
Or that the goldsmith found a worn spot that's not a problem now, but will
be a problem later -- and it just might be smarter to replace the whole
chain today -- if this is truly the situation.
This whole issue of quality deserves a thread of its own. When is quality
important? When not? Why?
NeophyteSG
<abr...@abrasha.com> writes:
>
>Wow! 753 lines in this post.
>
>Yo Bro, this is a newsgroup, do you really think that anybody is going
>to read that epistle?
>
>The attention span of even the most advanced users is usually not longer
>than 2 or 3 short paragraphs, in which all that needs to be said CAN be
>said.
>
>Get a clue. 753 lines! Are you out of your mind?
>
>Abrasha
>http://www.abrasha.com
>
>
Abrasha
I understand your point, no questions. The post may have been a bit <cough,
cough> :) long, especially for those like yourself who have been in the
industry for a while. On the other hand, for a neophyte such as myself, I
found it to hold a wealth of information ... a sort of "everything you ever
wanted to know about pricing". Okay, so it may have been "one man's opinion",
but you have to admit that it was well thought out and written, and I for one
truly appreciated the time and effort it took. It's listening to folks like
you and David and the other members of the group that hopefully shortens my
learning curve and avoids me having to make all the mistakes myself! Besides,
for those who choose not to wade through all 753 lines, that's what software
developers created the delete key for!
Warm Wishes
Shawn
David S. Geller
explanation and how the counter person could offer TWO choices is the way.
But a jeweler who does "Quality" work, without the company charging for it is
doing no one a favor. The jeweler should do a quality job at what was charged.
So
if they charged $12 for a jumo ring THEN THE JEWELER SHOULD DO A GREAT JOB ON
THE
JUMP RING. Putting on a $40 calsp is crazy.
And if you paid him on commission, he wouldn't put on a $40 clasp for a $12
solder!
The sales staff has to be trained, just as Curt mentioned.
David Geller