Hello Orchidians, I have been lurking and learning for a while. This
is such a great forum and you’all are so generous with your
knowledge. Thank you for that!
I have, officially, been in the jewelry business for two years; and
only part-time at that. I primarily design jewelry using colored
and I’ve also dabbled in making wire jewelry (knitting,
braiding, wrapping, etc.). I am now getting ready to do it full-time
(by the end of this calendar year) and am thinking about advertising.
I have been introduced to the Designer Jewelry Showcase. It is a
beautiful publication, and very expensive. I want to get as much
coverage as possible for my advertising dollar. So, I was wondering
if any of you have had experience with it? I would love to hear what
your results were.
Thank you! Doreen Sanborn DKS Designs, Inc. Fine Jewelry Design
703/201-4290 @dksdesig http://www.dksdesigns.com
Hi Doreen, I think the answer depends in part on whether your jewelry
is one-of-a-kind or not, and what your price points are.
I advertised in three issues of the DJS, but not for the last three
years. My jewelry is relatively high end and one-of-a-kind (gold and
stones). I received several calls as a result of my ads, but almost
all were for consignment. Since I do primarily consign, this worked
out well for me in a few cases. A few of the callers requested a
catalog but when I explained my price points and how I work, they
lost interest quickly.
I’ve noticed that a few jewelers appear in the DJS year after year
(I check it out every year), but most have fallen off to be replaced
by new people. This tells me that even if the DJS brings in business
initially, it’s not a long-term worthwhile investment of money for
most.
In the final analysis, the only way you’ll know if it pays off for
you is to try it. But don’t even think about it unless you have
professional quality images. I’m always amazed at how awful some ads
are. Now that’s a waste of money!
Beth
I have been introduced to the Designer Jewelry Showcase. <SNIP>
So, I was wondering if any of you have had experience with it? I
would love to hear what your results were.
Mama always said, “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything
at all.” Said with a Forrest Gump kind of accent… in reality, my
mother would probably slap me if I ever called her “mama.”
I’ve emailed Doreen offline with a response to this question. If
anyone is interested in my comments, email me privately
(dave@sebaste.com) and I’ll forward you my thoughts.
All the best,
Dave
Dave Sebaste
Sebaste Studio and
Carolina Artisans’ Gallery
Charlotte, NC (USA)
dave@sebaste.com
http://www.CarolinaArtisans.com
Hi Les,
Your comments are very valid where consumer advertising is
concerned, but the consumer is not DJS’s intended audience. DJS is
shipped to jewelry stores, galleries, gift shops and the like. It is
not aimed at the end consumer but at the wholesale buyer. So your
point about someone walking into a store trying to buy something
they’ve seen in DJS doesn’t apply.
Secondly, have you ever seen DJS? It’s like a sourcebook and very
well done overall. In my experience, people don’t throw it out, at
least not for a long time. (Some of the calls I received as a result
of my first DJS ad came more than a year after publication.) So your
point about an ad being worthless unless seen at least three times
doesn’t hold up in this case; or at least it’s not accurate to say
that buying an ad in DJS is equivalent to buying an ad in a
disposable national consumer magazine. It is not just possible, but
probable, that a single DJS ad will be seen multiple times by the
same reader.
Note: I am not trying to promote DJS. It’s a lot of money for iffy
results, as I said in my first post; but I don’t think it’s fair to
criticize it for not being something it isn’t trying to be in the
first place.
Beth