How to sell more over the counter buys in your store
If you have not been buying over the counter from the public, you’ve
missed having a lot of money to pay bills. Many jewelers are hurting
this past year but have saved themselves from the profits of over the
counter buys.
Is there a down side to this money? Not really but a friend on
Polygon by the name of “Trader Art” thinks sometimes you may not want
that quality of stuff in your case. Of course melting it is a fast
money multiplier but theres more money to be made selling it to the
public. There’s nothing like having more customers buy more things,
then they are happy and spread the word. Its like viral advertising.
This is what Trader Art wrote a few days ago about putting the items
you buy (after a polish) in zip lock bags and putting them in a glass
fish bowl out front.
You people who buy over the counter will get a load of sterling
rings, some indian jewelry, and some gold stuff etc, that you
probably buy for scrap. Many of you have a fine jewelry
department and dont want to put a bunch of cheapo sterling and
maybe some nice but kind of out of style 10 and 14K rings, a lot
of it recent shopping channel stuff.
You dont have to contaminate your fine jewelry displays with
stuff like that. Put all this stuff, including everything that is
decent, in plastic zip lock bags. Make a hand written description
like, “10K solid gold ring with approx 1 ct tanzanite, and six
small diamonds $119” or “American Indian jewelry, turquoise and
sterling silver, $34”. You get the idea. Date the stuff. If
something doesnt sell after a while, scrap it out, and you still
make a good profit.
This goes in a huge bowl you keep on the back shelf, your “close
out, 50% off estate jewelry” bowl. Plastic bags? 50% off? Estate
jewelry? Close out? Women drool at stuff like this. You will have
women coming in and first thing they ask, “Anything new in the
bowl?”
A tip! Dont make this your triple key bowl. Put some real
bargains in there. You bought it dirt cheap, sell it same way. I
can tell you it is a heck of a lot better than throwing it into
the scrap bowl Trader Art
So give this a try. heck, you could even do it with some of your own
old items, couldn’t you?
David Geller
Director of Profit
JewelerProfit
www.JewelerProfit.com