How do you find a wholesale rep?

I have recently begun to wholesale my jewelry to gift shops,
boutiques, and galleries. My daughter and I traveled together up the
West Coast and successfully sold to several shops, so I know that my
copper jewelry is quite marketable. While selling on site to shops
was an invaluable experience, it is inefficient for me to try to “do
it all” and I would rather design and make my jewelry than set up
appointments and meet with store owners.

How do I go about finding a sales rep? What is a fair percentage to
pay a rep?

Thanks,
Cheryl

Dear All,

Our company is eying expansion, so we are watching this thread with
great interest. Amery previously suggested that when looking for a
sales rep, you should locate the appropriate building ( this post
talked about Los Angeles ) that housed reps and their showrooms and
try to find a rep that was suitable for your line. I became aware of
these channels a short time ago, and have tried to research them on
line, but they seem to be geared towards giftware or fashion
jewelry. Are there any such places dealing with higher end designer
jewelry?

We have a sales rep in the midwest and we would really like to add a
rep on one or both of the coasts. We would probably be the reps
“second” line, as we are a small but dedicated company. Anyone have
any suggestions? For those of you with stores outside the midwest- do
you have a current sales rep you really like to work with and could
recommend? Our web address is listed below- you can take a look and
see the type of work we produce.

Thanks.
Brenda
david lee jeweler
Mason City, Iowa 50401