Tucson, Best shows to Visit?

Jewelry Discussion
1

Hi everyone,

I’m thinking of going to Tuscon but never have and would appreciate
some guidance. My goal would be to find stones, mainly faceted, at
wholesale prices. My goal is to have my studio completely outfitted
in the next several months to manufacture all my designs here. Until
then I can use a studio locally for casting or send the items out for
casting. I am not sure whether I want to deal directly with the
public, say online or at festivals, or deal only with
retailers…wholesaling to them.

This past weekend I went to a jewlry/gem show in St Petersburg, FL
and it was a bit disappointing. The usual helping of beads, of which
I hve no interest, and a few people with stones. One vendor in
particular had nice stones and settings, with a bench jeweler there
to set the stones. Across the aisle was another vendor selling just
stones. This man had a helper, a young woman of 28. I asked to see
three stones since I have a pendant I want to replace an oval opal
with something colorful and faceted. She kept walking away to go sit
down with her employer who was very loud and obnoxious, belittling me
for not knowing about a couple of stones that I had never seen in
person and didn’t know their pricing or value.

I finally told her I was really trying to buy something but she kept
leaving me and the guy was so abusive I finally just left. I didn’t
want to put a lot of money into a 5x3 stone, like $500 for a colored
gem, so I guess I was chopped liver! And the pendant can be melted
down for all I care.

I want to go to Tuscon and do business with people who will treat me
with professionalism since that is how I conduct business. I am not
going to be spending tens of thousands of dollars, but a few thousand
is not out of the question. And I am not a retail customer for
looking personal adornment.

Is it worth going? I want to establish business contacts that could
potentially be enduring relationships in which we all benefit. But
I’m not interested in meeting a$s like the one last Friday. It’s
my money and I don’t want to feel I am being abused then robbed.

What are the best shows to go to? What dates? Any help will be
greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Nel

2

Hi

I want to go to Tuscon and do business with people who will treat
me with professionalism since that is how I conduct business. I am
not going to be spending tens of thousands of dollars, but a few
thousand is not out of the question. And I am not a retail customer
for looking personal adornment

I would try this…ask for a tray and start to lay out all of your
most expensive purchases first…even if you may not purchase them
all in the end. The vendor will smell cash and basically treat you
like royalty. If it turns out you have picked up too much, put
whatever you need to back at the end…saying you changed your mind.
It’s unfortunate, but money is the best way to be treated with
respect (at times).

Some of these shows are dog eat dog. Everyone vying for position in
line…trying to get the best price. A lot of vendors may feel that
everyone they see is just trying to squeeze them as best they can.
It’s the reason I have stayed away from shows up until this point.

My apologies to any sincerely upstanding businessmen on the list. I
know you’re not all like that and like I said, it’s unfortunate that
it’s that way sometimes.

Good Luck

3

Hello Nel,

If you want to get into the wholesale shows, you need to have
verification that you are in the jewelry business. That means copies
of your state sales tax certificate or business license, business
cards, and perhaps evidence of wholesale purchases from a couple
established firms. Go to the Tucson show guide website

http://www.tucsonshowguide.com/tsg

for a list of the various shows and dates. You can also register for
the shows now, which is advisable. Saves unnecessary hassles and time
in Tucson. If you have your registration tag from the larger shows,
like AGTA, GLDA, GJX, G&LW, etc. it usually will be honored by the
other shows.

There are several Orchidians who sell at Tucson. Perhaps they will
let us all know where their booths are so that we can make the
effort to put faces to names.

Judy in Kansas, where the rain really came down last night, making the
morning misty and somewhat warm.

4

Nel,

Two very large shows that you can pre-register for are: AGTA GemFair
Tucson and GLDA, Inc. Don’t miss either!

The pre-registration deadlines are fast approaching so give their
phone #'s a call to see what you have to do. Usually a tax exemption
certificate, business license, and business card w/ “jewelry”
mentioned somewhere on the business card.

Do not pass up the Show Guide at: tucsonshowguide.com Copies of the
Guide are readily available at all of the shows at no cost. By
subscribing to Colored Stone you may receive one a couple of weeks
before the show. It may be too late to do that, so using the on-line
Guide will help a lot to map out your strategy. Use it to save A LOT
of precious time once in Tucson.

AGTA: 1-800-972-1162
GLDA: 1-520-792-9431

Many of there other shows you need to register on the spot w/ info
mentioned above, or do not have to register at all.

Hope this helps you and others. Tucson is one of my favorite weeks
of the year!

Kay Taylor

5

Nel, the first thing to do is get your wholesale badge. You can do it
in advance via mail or fax which will save you alot of time. Apply
for the ATGA and GLDA, with those you can get in pretty much
anywhere. You’ll have to send them copies of various things to show
that you do indeed have a business and then you’re in. I always hit
the Holidome and the JGX tent first. You’ll be overwhelmed and have
to wade through all the beads to get to your stones, but what fun. I
save the ATGA for the end when I ready to spend the rest of my
money, everything seems to be higher priced there, but the quality
can be superior. There are many other places to go, Howard Johnson’s,
Pueblo Inn, just to name a couple, and I’m sure I’ve missed out on
seeing some great ones. Just not enough time! This year is the first
year in the last 5 I won’t be going, I going to miss it and the
Orchid dinner! My goal last year was to buy enough so I could skip a
year and hopefully I’ve succeeded. Have a great time and enjoy the
high from looking at all the eye candy!

6 
....snip....but money is the best way to be treated with respect
(at times)....

I am a small time buyer - very small, you might say minuscule, and I
must say that I have been treated with the utmost courtesy at the
shows in Tucson. There is so much to look at that you can always go
to the next table or booth if you sense they don’t want to deal with
you where you are. Getting a tray is a good idea, simply because
there is no other way to pick up all the stones you are interested
it. Usually, if I show an interest in their stones they quickly give
me a tray. Another good idea is to have a loupe to look at the stone,
if you are buying anything of value. That way you can see the obvious
flaws even if you are not knowledgeable enough to tell a synthetic
from a real stone (which is where I am regarding precious gemstones).

Another thing - sometimes it comes down to a matter of trust. There
is a point where we must trust others, just as we want them to trust
us - true, you might get burned once in awhile, but you will be a
much happier person if you approach others as being trustworthy.

I mostly buy interesting cabochons of so called “semi-precious”
material and only the occasional precious gemstone which I use for
accents. So, perhaps I am not qualified enough to chime in here.

Jan

7 
I want to go to Tuscon and do business with people who will treat
me with professionalism, since that is how I conduct business. I
am not going to be spending tens of thousands of dollars, but a few
thousand is not out of the question. And I am not a retail
customer looking for personal adornment

Sorry to hear that you were not well treated in the last show you
attended.

We suggest that you go to the GJX show in Down-town Tucson. January
31st through the 5th of February. It is a “wholesale only” show. You
must have a cororoborating documents to prove that you are in the
Jewelry business.

Besides the usual 500 vendors from the normal GJX show, there will
be another large hard-sided, carpeted tent with another 300 vendors
this year.

Come by our booth # 205 at the GJX and we guarantee that you will
have our full attention for as long as you need - to pick out any
amount of loose Colored Gemstones, Emeralds and Opals (Brazilian and
Australian). This year we will also have a large selection of 60 year
old Persian Turquoise from the Nishabor mine - that has been salted
away in a safe in Brasil for the past 60 years.

Is it worth going? I want to establish business contacts that
could potentially be enduring relationships in which we all
benefit.

Is it worth going? You will have to decide that. It is a bit late to
be finding a room reservation. Most of the hotel rooms are in the USD$
200/night price range at this late date. You have to factor in your
airline ticket costs, hotel room rates, food and if you are getting a
rental car (probably not necessary as there are shuttles to most of
the shows).

You can spend your budget of a few thousand dollars in a relatively
very short time in Tucson - especially if you are not highly focused
on what you want/need to buy.

Of course you can write off the expenses as a business trip - and
get in a few vacation days along with the buying part of the trip.

What are the best shows to go to? What dates? Any help will be
greatly appreciated.

“Wholesale only” shows downtown are the GJX and the AGTA shows. The
AGTA show has much the same merchandise as the GJX show though
usually at higher prices.

But I'm not interested in meeting a$s like the one last
Friday. It's my money and I don't want to feel I am being abused
then robbed.

You will find the vendors at the GJX show to be very professional
and interested in helping you to find what you need. Since it is a
“wholesale only show” you won’t run the risk of someone confusing
you with a retail customer and not treating you accordingly.

There are several Orchidians who sell at Tucson. Perhaps they will
let us all know where their booths are so that we can make the
effort to put faces to names.

We hope to meet as many Orchidians as care to stop by our booth and
say hello.

Best regards,
Robert Lowe
Lowe Associates - Brasil
Gemstones, Rough, Specimens
Tucson - Jan 31 - Feb 5, 2007 - GJX # 205