Dear All,
We have reached the point with our wholesales line of jewelry that we
can not continue to “grow” it ourselves. David simply can not be at
the bench and out on the road at the same time. Does anyone have a
good idea about how to go about finding a rep? I know there are ads
in the back of trade journals, and maybe that is a good way to start,
but I’m wondering if there might be a better way? All companies say
they have great product that sells well in their established
territories. We have great product and customer support but a very
small territory at this point.
The ideal sales rep would have a line they are already carrying, but
would be looking for an additional line to augment their income. I
think it would be difficult to support a salesperson with our line
alone, at least to begin with. We scouted some at a trade show in
Madison where we had our first wholesale show booth, but didn’t come
up with anything promising. Any ideas or suggestions?
Thanks again.
Brenda
david lee jeweler
david lee jeweler.com
Mason City, Iowa where the high heat and high humidity have finally
broke- thank goodness!
Brenda,
Go to the owner or buyer for one of your own wholesale accounts and
just ask them “Who would you suggest as a good sales rep?”.
They will have some very definite, experienced opinions.
John Flynn
Hello, I don’t post very often but I’m hoping someone out there might
be able to help me find 1 or 2 sales reps. Any would be
greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Janice R. Kuhm
Darkmere Designs
10200 Banff St.
Stanton, CA 90680-1706
714-713-9808; FAX: 714-527-2615
www.Darkmere.com; Janice@Darkmere.com
Hi Janice,
Good luck finding a rep, I’ve seen many other requests. Having spent
the past 3 years on the road, I can imagine a rep will request
sometype of guarantee and therefore be much more costly. Being ‘on
the road’ has become much more expensive and risky, with relatively
poor result. I suggest another good outlet may be a rep doing the
trade show circuit?
Regards,
Ed Cleveland
303-882-8855
Ed,
Thanks for your reply. You suggested another outlet being a rep doing
the trade show circuit, are there reps that do that? I have spent my
time doing other shows and in order to get into the wholesale shows I
would need a whole other booth and I just don’t want to spend the
money or the time on that. Can you explain your suggestion further?
Any help would be much appreciated.
Janice Kuhm
Hi Janice,
I have had some good luck finding reps on Craig’s List. The site is
craigslist.com and is pretty easy to navigate. You put in whatever
city you want and place an add…most cities are free. they also
have sites specifically for this, one of them is called replocate…
replocate.com. Or you can just go online and type in sales reps and
see what comes up. Wholesale shows can be very lucrative, but the
cost to do them is high AND you have to pay the reps percentage as
well. I would try Craig’s List first because the other sites cost $.
Also, try going into stores and asking the buyers if they know of
any good reps…good luck!!
Laura 
Yes, many dealers follow the show circuit with one dozen or more
shows per year. Visit the show, take names and numbers of potential
reps and follow up.
The Denver show is having a nice crowd this first day. We are
focused selling the African Pietersite with a display of Kashmir
sapphire. I put an extra showcase within our space and have two other
dealers product.
Regards,
Ed Cleveland
303-882-8855