Hello Vera - Is there also a City Ordinance in NYC against returning
or exchanging purchased earrings?
Thanks ahead - Cynthia
regardless of where I buy earrings, I would never buy anything that
could not be returned if unsatisfactory for any reason, including not
looking right on me when I try it on! this is clearly a loophole in
the ordinance when applied to sales over the internet which are to
people who live in states which do not allow earrings to be tried on.
Vera noted:
Kat, I have had no problems with customers. It is generally known that trying earrings on is a no-no.
Interesting. Perhaps it’s because I have “non-standard” shaped lobes,
but I cannot imagine buying anything other than small stud earrings
without trying them on. Even with e-commerce, the sites I’ve seen
allow a “no questions asked” return policy, at least the ones I’d
consider buying from.
I understand and support the regulations for initial piercings, but
I’m bothered, personally, by the extension of those rules to fine
jewelry.
Kat
Actually this thread has now taken an interesting turn as most
jewelers allow some kind of exchange or return policy on all their
items. So often you get back earrings that someone has already worn.
Of course, I advocate thorough cleaning of the earrings, but, again,
does anyone out there have any direct knowledge of someone catching a
disease from a pair of earrings worn by someone else?
Daniel R. Spirer, GG
Spirer Somes Jewelers
1794 Massachusetts Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02140
@spirersomes
http://www.spirersomes.com
Dear Daniel,
Alcohol, denatured, still used by the medical profession to clean
skin before an injection. The truth be known, the actual wait time for
max. effectiveness is 2 min. No one waits that long… not even me,
when start an IV in surgery on immunocomprimised patients. Chlorine is
used for cleaning equipment that handles the Cl- molecule. Metals
(silver) are a different story. A no no. It is a 10 % soln. & that
kills most anything especially the retro viruses ( Aids among them).
Aldehydes ( glutaraldehyde used for cold sterilization are good, but
very harsh on tissues. Esp lung!!! Need special precautions & venting.
Not a good choice for the uneducated user or jewelry store. Have no
idea what it would do to metals or gemstones either. I do not
recommend its use. Back to alcohol. Have not seen one infection from
the use of alcohol. Most problems seen are stemming from lack of
hygiene &/ or a combination of a persons reaction to a base metal in
an alloy. (My wife is a jeweler & a smith) Any state agcy(ies)) that
are deep in to the regulation of this aspect are probably overstepping
the bounds of common sense as most are unaware of how dangerous a
shoe lace is to touch & tie on a daily basis from a microbiologic
viewpoint.(consider the number of small breaches to the skin that are
not visible) The body handles a lot more than most think ( I will
conceed that all it takes is on bug to cause an infection) A set of
earrings cleansed with alcohol is the least of ones worries re the
acquiring of an infection. We will not even go into what pions are
where they are & the fact that nothing short of nuclear devastation
alters them; & they are dangerous “organisms” BobnCyn of Gold
Impressions PS I have practised as an OR Nurse for 26 yrs. Just my 2
cents worth on the thread.
Just regarding the subject of returns, where do you draw the line, I
sometimes get customers who return and exchange pieces of jewelry a
number of times, I have one customer who has done this to me 4 times.
The law here is that one can return the item if “it is not of
merchandisable quality or does not fit the purpose it was intended
for” Just because you don’t like it when you get home is does not
entitle you to an exchange/refund. If you receive something as a
present you have no right to return as there is no direct contract
between you and the store. Now thats the legal ends of it, but if you
stuck to that then you would soon be seen as fussy and uncooperative,
and you would soon loose custom. I personally have no problem with
exchanging goods in general, but we do not exchange earrings, I have a
large sign in the middle of my earring display that says “in the
interest of personal hygiene, earrings cannot be tried on or
exchanged”, every customer is directed to this by staff when they are
purchasing earrings, 99% of people are OK with this and it causes
less headaches for me, we also don’t exchange rings that have been
specifically sized or anything that has been engraved. My main gripe
is the person who buys a chain, two days later they want to change it
for a ring, then they are back to change to a bracelet. How do you
stop this. I’m not a lending library. I get people coming in in July
wanting to exchange something they got the previous Christmas, and
when you tell them that you exchange only up to 28 days after
purchase, with a receipt, they look at you as if you had ten heads.
Just part of the business I suppose.
Neil KilBane,
Longford,
Ireland
neil, working here in the united states as opposed to ireland…are
legal laws regarding returns are a little more lax in the fact that
the business owners can make their own rules for returns. People can
be annoying and especially in the jewelry industry it is not unusual
for someone to “buy” a peice, wear it to a special occasion and th4en
return it and expect their money back. You are right , you are not a
loan company. Are business posicy is strict…first and foremost…NO
CASH REFUNDS…store credit only good for one year ( don’t forget,
that customer took your time which you should be compensated for)
and that policy is for 30 days after the date of purchase. Not all
people like it, but you can’t please everyone. If they can’t spend
that credit within a year , more than likely they won’t be a return
customer anyone…We have some customers who have a credit for $20
and can’t spend it (and we even extend the credits to repairs,but NOT
to custom work) believe me, for the aggravation, if they can’t spend
$20 in a year with me , they are NOT a good customer.
The only legal law we must abide is that the policy is clearly and
obviously posted in the store. Not too hard to do. Oh and let us not
forget those earrings…we would take them back (only within the 30
days and only for a credit ) and i don’t object to customers trying
on earring in the store…but then they must come back to my bench
for a thorough dip in the ultrasonic and a good 30 seconds under the
high pressure steamer…that should kill any strange thing your
customer may leave with you… maybe check more into your laws…I
can’t imagine that they would be so unfair to business owners, and
there must be some sort of laws to protect you (or am I just to used
to living in democratic america???) -julia
Neil–Sounds like you’re doing all the right things in terms of
customer relations and fairness. I think
difficult/presumptuous/selfish (and so on) customers need to be dealt
with on a case by case basis. In some cases, it may be worth gritting
your teeth and letting a regular, well-paying client get away with
more than they should. In the cases where it clearly isn’t, why not
go ahead and take a stance that makes it clear how you feel. If they
are offended and you lose their business, it’s no great loss. What
about saying something like: “I’m sorry. We have a clearly
indicated return policy, and I’m afraid once a piece has been gone for
as long as this one has, I can’t take it back. I’ve made several
exeptions for you in the past, because I know you really like my work
and I want you to be happy with your choice, but for me to continue
bending the rules isn’t fair to my staff or my other customers.” Or,
it may be worth giving a this-is-the-last-time speech: this will make
sure the customer truly IS aware of your policy, and/or will let them
know the game is up–perhaps without sobtaging your relations with
them. A couple more thoughts: if a customer is indecisive, it can be
worthwhile taking a visa imprint and allowing them to take a piece [or
two ‘competing’ pieces] home on 24 hour approval. This lights a fire
under them for a speedy return–though in my experience it often
results in a phoned in authorisation. I think a very reasonable
policy to go with this is to say they may have two weeks after in
which to change their mind–but for credit or exchange only. Also, at
the time of the sale, enquire whether it’s a gift. If no, then tell
them to hang on to their receipt and reiterate your return policy. If
yes, then perhaps offer to enclose a little card–say, a store
business card with a rubber stamped hope-you-like-your-gift blurb on
the back which says they have x days to exchange. Some helpful things
to mention to the customer might be: that after such a long period of
time, you can no longer sell the piece to another customer as ‘new’;
that it’s hard on staff in terms of having to retroactively deduct
commisions, rework inventory. Can’t think of any other bright ideas;
look forward to seeing what others come up with. It’s an important
question.