Rio's prices are not wholesale, they are retail. So even when one
purchases multiples, we are still paying retail - and the cost of
the items we sell are more than what can be purchased off the
internet. Anyone can buy from Rio, no resale license required. ....
Though even having said that, I have often lamented that even the
highest multiple purchase available for an item is still higher
than I've gotten that same item at a wholesale show. "the cost of
the items we sell are more than what can be purchased off the
Internet"
I have no idea what what that sentence means. I find it difficult to
make a generalization about what items one would buy at a show as
being less than Rio’s. If someone travels to a show, the travel cost
certainly affects the price. Items at a show can be extremely
limited, are you talking about beads? Just the shipping price on an
internet purchase can raise the price over Rio’s.
I can buy some products from Rio that I cannot get from Stuller. I
can buy some products from Hoover and Strong less expensive than from
Stuller, but if I need a gemstone with my order, I pay a little more
from Stuller, but for the same shipping cost, I get the gemstone
with my order. Stuller can ship overnight Fedex for half what other
companies charge, and sometimes that overnight shipping makes the
sale. There are a lot of sales that are not price sensitive, it is
need based.
The reality for me is that I have to buy what I need from who has it
and price usually isn’t much of an issue.
I do a lot of repair, custom, and I manufacture inventory for my
store, in gold and sterling, we also use gemstone beads. I cannot
think of any items Rio sells that I could not get a good profit
from.
If you are making something where there is a lot of competition, and
a lot of people sell items for low prices and that restricts what you
can charge, the issue is how and where you market what you make, not
what you pay for supplies. Some people can spend $30 and make $60,
some can spend $30 and get $150.
When I save money buying something at a show, I still sell it as if
I bought it from my regular supplier. I do not lower the price, I
make more profit.
Richard Hart
