Wholesaling one-offs

Jewelry Discussion
81 
I was wondering about your thoughts on artists who are new in their
careers. Your name carries a lot of weight with galleries and I was
under the impression that between you and someone just starting,
you would have more say in who carries your work and what the terms
are.

The big secret is that galleries and stores are desperate for good
new work from new craftspeople. Think about it, when you go into a
gallery don’t you want to see new things? The difficulty is that
when we are starting out we typically lack self confidence and are
more often than not intimidated by the whole process. If you make
well designed,well made work you will be able to find stores who are
interested in buying it.

How do you feel about consignment for someone who wants to get the
maximum exposure?

I am not a fan of consignment as I have stated. I think it can be
used to further your career if used judiciously. I will consign work
for special shows or to build up a display for a “designer show” at
a store but both of those are limited time events. Since most of my
work now is gold or contains significant amounts of gold the truth
is I can’t afford to have much of it on consignment. If I were
working in less costly materials then there would be a little more
latitude in doing consignment. But again when you consign you are
loaning the gallery the equivalent of your price for the work with no
interest, get something for this. Make sure your work is well
displayed and not just stuck in a corner. Stay on top of it find out
what is drawing interest and what isn’t and use this info to refine
your designs. Don’t just send it out and wait to see if a check comes
in some day in the future.

One other point, it was mentioned earlier that an artist showed up
at galleries with a contract and the gallery owner backed off on
the deal. This (to me) would be a sign that the gallery was not
right for me in the first place. There are galleries out there
professional enough to deal in contracts, right? I don't do
anything on a handshake anymore (unfortunately).

Contracts are tricky things and are costly as I would not sign one
without my lawyer getting involved and I would expect the business
to feel the same way. They are also only worth what you are willing
to pay to enforce them. If you cannot get a contract then you should
make sure they have a written policy on how they deal with their
artists, when they pay, what the mark up is, how much of a discount
they can apply to the work and who bears the cost of such a discount.
And they should have references you can contact. If they don’t have
all this in written form then steer clear of them.

Best of luck,

Jim

James Binnion
@James_Binnion
James Binnion Metal Arts

360-756-6550

82

Ok…my favorite story on why you do not necessarily have to consign
to get into a gallery: I was at the Rosen show a few years ago. A
gallery owner I had never met before approached my booth and started
looking at my work. She asked a lot of intelligent questions,
checking out each piece thoroughly. After about 15 minutes of
looking, she told me that she really loved the work and was ready to
place an order. She went through my inventory, meticulously
selecting a really nice collection of pieces one by one, again asking
questions and taking her time.

While she was making her selections, two of my long time buyers from
two well established galleries, came up to my booth. They both smiled
and said hi, and then started to look at what was in my cases, also
checking out what the first woman was buying while they waited their
turn.

When the order was all written up, about $3000 + worth, bagged and
ready to be put away for later shipment, the new woman launches into
what was obviously a practiced spiel, gushing in a somewhat sing-
songy voice: “Well, as you know, we are a very very well known
gallery, however, we do start virtually all of our new artists on a
consignment basis. We are going to be so happy to add your work to
our stable of artists.”

In unison, the other two buyers who had been waiting patiently on
either side of her during her selection, slowly looked up from the
cases, reared slightly back and looked at her. Then… again in
unison, both turned to look at me, eyebrows raised. Finally, one long
time buyer broke the silence by looking across the new woman at the
other long time buyer. As she did so, she pointed at the bagged
jewelry, tilted her head, leaned in, smiled sweetly and asked,
“So…which of these pieces do you want? I’ll flip you for the
necklace”. “The other old customer cackled and retorted, you can
have the necklace if I can have both pairs of earrings”. They then
both turned, laughed and grinned widely at me. The new buyer stopped
dead, obviously confused, and somewhat flustered. Looking first at
one and then at the other of them she huffed, “excuse me, but we are
in the middle of a transaction if you don’t mind”.

Long-time buyer # 1 looks at me and then at Long time buyer #2. She
then gently placed her arm around the new woman’s shoulders informing
her softly, “honey, if she starts giving you consignment, then you
can get in line…” Long-time buyer # 2 then puts HER her arm
around the woman and chimes in: “and that would be behind both of
us… and a whooole lot of other people.” They both then laughed
like hell. I tried sort of unsuccessfully to keep a straight face.

I fully expected the new buyer to walk at that point and I was
prepared to let her, but instead, the three of them began chatting.
Truthfully, I thought she had a lot of nerve not to tell me what she
expected her terms to be up front. My long time buyers told her how
long they had been buying my work, and that although some of it took
a while to catch on, they had both been very happy with the jewelry,
and that it sold very well for both of them. They also assured her,
that from their years of working with me, in their experience, there
was no chance that I would be doing consignment, that I had always
been adamant about that unless something had changed that they
didn’t know about.

I told the new woman, that they were correct and I would be sorry to
lose her business. However, I would not be making an exception.
especially as I felt it would undermine the purchasing relationships
that I had established with other galleries that sell my work. I told
her of my exchange policy, and that I would work with her as much or
as little as she wished me to, sending along bios and anything else
that she though my help move the work. She hesitated for a bit, but
then in the end, completed the order, agreeing on first order COD,
terms with references, as all of my first time buyers do, (unless
they are a museum or a non-profit. They have some serious
constraints).

She still regularly buys from me and on occasion she will crack:
“So…you doing consignment yet??” Then she laughs. We are good
pals now.

My point is, from an artist’s point of view, you have to value your
work enough to have confidence that it is worth the purchase price.
If you can’t convince a gallery that your work is worth buying, why
should they buy it, and how will they confidently sell it?

All I am really trying to say is, have passion for what you make.

Lucky you guys…I think that may have been my last two cents…but
don’t tempt me…

Thanks for the vote of confidence Lisa, and I wish I could claim it,
but its not me up for those Niche awards this year. I have applied
three times over the years. I was a finalist once, I won in 2000, and
as for the last try…, the application must have gotten lost in
the mail…yeah right…

Lisa, (spent today downtown dropping off and picking up work and
gold, ($ouch$). I want to know why my setter bead set something that
I had explicitly specified as a flush setting!? Bead setting…ptui!
Now I have to redo the dang thing myself. Hate it when that
happens!!) Topanga, CA USA

83

So after reading all these postings (and having had experience on
all ends of this) allow me to stick my nose in and summarize a few
things before adding a few comments:

1) There are good galleries to consign to.
2) There are bad galleries to consign to.
3) It is good for some people to consign their work.
4) It is bad for other people to consign their work.
5) You can make money consigning your work.
6) You can lose money consigning your work.
7) You can make money selling consigned work.
8) You can lose money selling consigned work.

That seems to about sum it up, right? So what’s my point? There are
certain times in all of our lives when a certain means of making
money is appropriate. When someone is starting out, has no
recognizable name, does not have the means (or desire) to open their
own retail store, and is desperate for income, the ability to consign
their work, whether it is one-offs or production work, is often to
their advantage. They get exposure, they get their work in a bunch of
places where it may sell (and if it’s weird work that no one would
normally buy because it won’t turn fast enough than just having it
someplace where it may sell is a plus) and there is a possibility
they can make some good connections that will ultimately turn into
accounts who will buy outright. On the other hand when someone has
reached James Binnion’s (or some of you other more experienced
jeweler’s) level then you can call more of the shots and insist that
stores buy your work. But what you can’t forget here is that you need
to have developed that level of maturity in your work, established
yourself as a known jeweler (at least within the community you are
selling, if not nationally), and your work MUST be in demand. If that
isn’t the case then why would a retail outlet want to buy your stuff
outright?

As for the question of your lending a store money by consigning your
work everyone has to remember that there are costs on both sides of
the equation. If you CHOOSE not to open your own retail store to sell
your product then you have to accept the costs incurred by a store to
sell your product. This includes, but is not limited to, original
buildout costs, the rent on a retail location, advertising,
merchandising, sales help, store managers, bookkeepers, percentages
paid to mall owners, heat, electricity, customer amenities (gift
wrapping, coffee, etc.), charitable contributions, etc. Your cost is
somewhat more limited to the production of your work and the value of
the materials (unless you have employees). So are you lending them
money?? Well…yes, but if you wanted to do it yourself you would
have to go out and borrow a couple of hundred thousand dollars to
open your own store (and how many of you are there out there who
would actually take that risk?) and that would be far more costly to
you then lending some stores some of your merchandise so they could
sell it.

Have some people been screwed by unscrupulous retailers? Sure. Have
some retailers been screwed by unscrupulous artists? Sure. But then
this is true in any business. You just have to make sure that you do
all your homework when working with anyone. Don’t trust anyone fully
who you haven’t already done business with. Check out everyone’s
credit worthiness. Talk to other artists represented in galleries
about their experiences. Make sure you visit the galleries regularly
to check on how stuff is displayed and doing. Don’t expect someone
else to do this for you. It’s all part of being in business. Screw me
once, shame on you. Screw me twice, shame on me.

Daniel R. Spirer, G.G.
Daniel R. Spirer Jewelers, LLC
1780 Massachusetts Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02140
@Daniel_R_Spirer

84

Kennedi,

But your original post made it sound like that is the industry
norm and is a slap to the face to those who have had a not so
splendid time with it. You also make it sound like we are all
spoiled little artists who overvalue our art.'

I would take responsibility and apologize if what you wrote was what
I wrote, but you have greatly misunderstood my posts to the point
that I wonder if English is your first language. Quote me directly,
please so I have a clue of what you are referring to. That you have
had a not so splendid time with it has no bearing on whether it is a
industry norm or not.

If you read my post and understood it, you would have read that I
have other artists in my store, that do consignment on a regular
basis with several other venues and are NOT having problems. It is
the norm for these artists and these are the ones I have direct
contact with… But since we are on the subject, what percentage of
work carried in galleries do you think is consignment?

And I too happen to be a spoiled little artist. I am developing a
line, and the sole purpose of that line, is be be consignment. I can
afford to do that, I can produce quantity, I can price it right, and
I feel my line will be strong enough that I will sell enough fast
enough to make it pay doing it that way. If I can do 30-60, I would
do that. I believe I am strong enough in skill and knowledge to make
it work. Is it a risk, yes, but to me it is about developing a
niche, and mining that. I did it many years ago with leather work.
(When I was a young hippie.) I know there are a lot of good people
out there, and I am going to meet them. Might I have problems?, yes,
but I believe I can handle them and come out ahead (now that I am an
old hippie). Now, let’s get real for a minute. If you can sell all
the work you produce, and get the price you want, then you would not
have to consider doing consignment. If you are not selling all your
work, and need income from work that you have produced, you either
do shows, or consign. I am not interested in doing shows, and I would
rather take the risk by consigning than the work it takes to do
shows.

The below is not my post:

Forclosure/ bankruptsy. I've dealt with consignment galleries
before opening my own. When they went bankrupt, all the artists
were informed to pick up their work that the store was closing. If
you were stupid enough to not comply, I guess you'd lose your work,
but that would be your fault, not the fault of the gallery. Let me
also add... Just because someone thinks their art is GREAT doesn't
mean it will sell (anywhere) And while consigning in a gallery,
you're not paying fees to show your work for more than a weekend -
consigning contracts are generally for 6 weeks or more. There is NO
COST to the artists - unless of course, they are involved in a coop
consignment gallery - that's a horse of a different color.

And for the rest of your post, too much to respond to, but I was
responding to posts that I thought were not broad in scope as to
positive and negative, and I was providing from the
perspective of how it can be, and can work in the artists favor.
There is such a thing. It exists. Finding out what to look for might
be a benefit for some who read these posts. Knowing the pitfalls is
valuable also, but when I am going to fly on a plane, I am not as
interested in the planes that crashed as I am in the ones that
landed safely.

When you are consigning, there are things you have no control over,
and there are things you do have control over. It is your job to
know which is which, and do all you can to protect yourself.

I hope this thread educates people what to look for and helps them
develop a smell for when it ain’t right and it is time to pick up
and move on. I hope it provides info for newbies to know options and
helps people develop a business plan.

There are people who do shows that suck. There is no recourse for
when the promoter makes money and you don’t. Not all of us can sell
outright, not all of us can do shows, and not all of us can do
consignment.

When people have bad experiences, it can have a financial impact,
and it has an emotional impact. I believe knowing how to take care
of yourself involves getting support for how to deal with each.

So, if you had an artists who said they wanted a written consignment
contract, you’d still work with them?

Not only would I, I use the contract that was posted from an artist
on this forum. I believe it provides maximum protection for the
artist.

there are retailers and galleries that really take advantage of
their consignment artists and their products.

I also know galleries that promoted and got recognition for an
artist, and then got crapped on by the artist when they got more
well known!!! Not all one sided is it?

“Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.” Someone
said consignment is like a marriage, and sometimes you need to know
when to get out and cut loses. However, most of us stay too long,
hoping something will change without us having to be proactive and
take responsibility. Definition of insanity is when you keep doing
the same thing over and over and expect the results to be different.
I cannot change anyone elses behavior, I either have to change my
behavior, or change my expectation. Providing info on when to know
when consignment is going bad or how to take care of yourself is
different than judgment blame and criticism of stores and galleries
that don’t take care of the artists that do consignment with them.

1 a.m. and I hope I have been somewhat coherent.

Richard Hart

85 
If your work is sitting in your basement, how is that making money?
At least in a consignment gallery, you stand the chance of selling
something. Or are you selling wholesale directly to the public?!?

There are a lot of people on this list with a lot of different
reasons and motivations for making jewelry There are some who do it
for their own enjoyment and some who either want to make it or have
made it a career. If your plan to make it a career and sell your work
then you need to design it to sell. If you designed it to sell what
is it doing in your basement? If you sell at a retail shows then you
need inventory that might conceivably be in your basement in between
shows but if you are selling wholesale or even consigning work you
should only make work that is headed out the door to a sales venue or
a limited amount to be used for show samples. If you are wanting to
make a career of selling your jewelry you had better figure out what
sells in a hurry and then spend your time making that work not stuff
that will sit around your basement. If however you are making work
for your own enjoyment then you can keep it wherever you desire and
the basement may be the right place for it. If you are referring to
stuff that you couldn’t sell at your retail or wholesale shows why
would a gallery want it if it doesn’t sell?

I am not quite sure what you are trying to say about selling
wholesale to the public and what that has to do with the current
thread, but by definition one does not wholesale to the general
public.

James Binnion
@James_Binnion
James Binnion Metal Arts

360-756-6550

86

Hi Lee:

I have resolved that, the next time a gallery owner says "my
accountant told me I should charge 50% on commission because there
is no difference between commission and a wholesale purchase" I
will seize on that and demand that they purchase my work outright
since they were willing to consign it and they themselves claim
that there is no difference.

Even if there is no difference to the gallery owner, there is a
difference to you. I don’t know if you’ll exactly be able to demand
that anybody purchase your work, but, in my opinion, there should be
no reason why you could not draw up your own purchase
orders/consignment contracts and state your terms in them (whatever
they may be). I would be the first to admit that I have trouble
following my own advice. This is mostly due to fear on my part. What
if I fail? What if my work doesn’t sell? What if the gallery doesn’t
take me? What if they say bad things about my work? It’s all just
fear.

In the end, (this is my opinion) if I can be professional enough to
walk into business deals with contracts, invoices, receipts for goods
etc… all the things required in a court to prove my case (should
I need to and I already needed to once) then the gallery owners who
are professional (like me) will not only deal with me, but have
respect for the fact that I did the homework required to protect my
rights as a businessperson.

If someone runs from a fair and equitable contract, you should run
just as fast in the other direction.

Everybody keeps shouting about how “this is business” “they should
respect me as businessperson” “I deserve this and I deserve that”

You’re right, you deserve respect as a businessperson and so do I.
Get that respect in the form of a contract.

For the record, I used to be an accountant and I have run across an
idiot here or there.:slight_smile:

Best regards to everyone and don’t be afraid. Look them right in the
eye and say “I’m so glad you’re interested in my work, let me just
show you my terms”

Kim Starbard
Cove Beads
p.s. Now if I can just remember what this email the next time I get all
starry eyed when someone calls me talented.

87

food for thought…careful with that torch Eugene!!!

there was a gallery in new York that I consigned to. I got my work
next to all of the people I felt were accomplished artists, they sold
pieces that I could not. I waited 30…60…90…120…days to get
paid. I felt like a pest every time I called…now I can kid my self
and say I’m mr big because I an in the “cats tits gallery”

If you walk into a gallery and would like to buy a brooch for your
dear old mum and have $1000 to spend do you think the gallery owner
will try to sell you the consigned pieces or the ones he bought and
has been sitting on for years…I wonder?

I once left work in a gallery in SOHO in new York, being mr big time
I returned 6 months latter with my lady friend. we went to the
gallery and all the work was gone. the dollar sighs lit up my
eyeballs and I was sure that I could get paid on the spot and blow
all of the money on I Love New York T-shirts and Donkey shows (don’t
ask) much to my surprise the manager told me that my work had been in
the safe for the last 6 months…it really did not fit with the new
work they had…my dick got even smaller and we left the galley with
the work.

I good gallery…and there are some out there, will send out
quarterly reports on what sold and what did not. also if something
sold but the gallery is not in the position to pay at that time they
may tell you why. I have alot of respect for that practice.

I once had a galley owner come up to my booth at a show and tell me
how much they loved my work. they gave me a long list of people they
represented, wrote a big order…I sent the work a few months latter
and they thanked me for the consignment…that was a sale a few
months ago?

the best art experiences I have had have been in consignment galleys

I have never felt so used sometimes as I have buy consignment
galleries.

the fact of the matter is that you are stocking someone’s shelves
for free. are they giving you respect, do they understand your work?
it is a relationship, you should both feel like you win. did you get
an add for your work in SUPER JEWELER magazine so all your friend can
see?

How do I deal with it…EASY I do not consign work to galleys I do
not know WELL. I already know that sometimes payments are late.But
how about this…the next time you are approached by someone who says
they love your work and want to sell it for you. explain to they that
the material is expensive, it takes along time to make the stuff, and
you absolutely love your job…SO if they take a chance on you, you
will take a chance on them. Write an order for them to purchase, if
is doesn’t sell then let them trade it in for other work at a latter
date. Or try a 2 for 1, this is were they return one piece for
another but also buy one more piece, it is very common in the
business. That seems pretty fair to me.

Before you know it you will find yourself in THE CATS TITS gallery
and many others all over the world. women will gasp for air when they
think about your work. the people that sell your work will have
mansions in the Caribbean and invite you for week long
vacations…it could happen.

OK one more. have you ever heard the traffic song called “low spark
of high heeled boys” ? it is about the music industry but it applies
to any art promoter…remember, the low spark is the life force, the
high heels are for you to elevate your being to the place you want to
be in your career. now listen to the song…“the percent that you
pay is too high priced while your living beyond all your means, and
the man in the suit has just bought a new car from the profit he made
on your dreams” listen to the song…you will find in the end that
the life-force prevails and continues doing what it was meant to do.
“it wasn’t the bullets that laid him to rest…it was the low spark
of high heeled boys”

by the way I just write this stuff to entertain Jim Binnion… the
guy has a great laugh

wayne werner

88 
My art cost money to make and loan to you for consignment so I
wouldn't say it "no cost". BTW, of all the retailers I talked with,
nobody consigned for under 30 days

Why would you want to consign for less than 30 days? Most jewelers
(and galleries) don’t have each of their clients visiting every week,
and most want to show that they have a relationship with the artis,
not just a ‘drive-by’ one time relationship. I think I see the basis
of your problem with consignment. What kind of stores are trying to
take your work? Any legitimate jeweler or art gallery will have
insurance, alarm systems and case locks as a matter of course - If I
were being approached by retailers who didn’t have these things, I
would laugh at them as well. Don’t they value their own stock? You
should visit any store in person before you consign anything, to get
a feel for the location. And of course you must have a written
consignment agreement. What kind of fool would leave their work on a
handshake?

Once again, I'm not, but it seems like you assume consignment is a
win-win situation for everyone. Regardless of how good or bad an
artist's product may be, there are retailers and galleries that
really take advantage of their consignment artists and their
products.

Of course there are! Your job is to get to know the owners, the
staff, and the clientele to determine whether or not it is a good fit
for you and your merchandise.

See bulleted area. Thanks for finally making my point. Consignment
isn't a win-win for everyone. I know of people who even had to buy
the displays for their art and give them to the consigning
retailer otherwise their art just laid flat in a case somewhere.

Honey, it’s called merchandising, and everyone has to do it. Where
do you think the greeting card racks, the pantyhose displays, and the
makeup standups come from at the drugstore? These are provided by the
manufacturer. In our jewelry store, when we bring in a new line of
PURCHASED jewelry, be it Artcarved wedding bands, Galatea
diamond-in-pearl (gorgeous!), or Seiko watches, they always come with
nice new displays and point-of-purchase materials, at no extra cost
to us. Why should you be different? Secondly, the piece might be
“their art” while it is being made, but when it is in the gallery, it
is a product that needs to be displayed well to sell. Who whould know
better than the artist how to show it in the best light?

No one is perfect and perception is in the eye of the beholder.
Everyone has off days and that's perfectly fine but you seem to
not want to admit to even that. That is what my problem was/is with
your refusal to accept that their have been artists that have
really been crapped on by the whole consignment thing. In my heart,
I don't believe that the only people having problems with it are
just the artists who have an over-inflated value of their work. OK
so you are an exception to the rule and have the right to point it
out, but that doesn't mean that you should deny that many people do
encounter problems/risks associated with consignment or assume that
they are all unjustly prejudiced

None of these artists have been ‘crapped on’ by the ‘whole
consignment thing’. They have been hurt by their lack of ‘due
diligence’ as to what constitutes a worthwhile arrangement for
consignment, as well as negligence in choosing their consignment
partners. We receive phone calls EVERY DAY from large companies, with
which we have never done business, wishing to send us diamonds,
pearls, finished jewelry, etc., on consignment. These deals often
exceed $10,000 in merchandise, and all that is asked of us is to try
to sell them, to take care of them, and to pay for what is sold and
return the rest. If this works for these companies, it certainly
should work for a talented artist.

Lee Cornelius
Vegas Jewelers

89

Hi All;

Thought I’d throw in 2 cents (and then some) on this thread before
it wears out. I’ll sum it up this way. Consignment, memo, retail and
wholesale shows, bricks and mortar retail, custom commissions,
whatever, there’s a learning curve on all of this. I’ve had good and
bad experiences in all these venues. What I do mostly now is private
commissions, contract repair and custom work, and limited production
work for other artists. But whatever you do, don’t expect instant
results and don’t draw your conclusions until you’ve given it time
and thought about it. I think you can strike water digging one 60
foot well sooner than digging 10 six footers.

But here’s my point, success in these different adventures in
jewelry depends on a number of factors, not the least of which is how
much capital you can tie up and for how long. My advice is, start
with less expensive materials and spread out, getting a lot of
exposure, then recycle as much money as you can into providing pieces
that can sell for higher prices to more exclusive markets. If you’ve
got 20 pieces in 5 galleries, pick the best two sellers and start
them with the nicer stuff when you can afford to include it in your
collections. Eventually, I think you’ll want to get as much money as
you can doing the least amount of work, and that means flipping
expensive stones and metals in elaborate creations selling in toney
galleries. Expect this to take place over years, if not decades.

I agree with Jim Binnion, consignment, unless you’re just getting
started, should be limited. You’re loaning money at zero interest.
But unless the stuff is irresistible and until they have confidence
in your product, how can you expect them to risk the money adding it
to their inventory? We’ve argued about who has what risks in this
thread, but both parties have risks, and it’s difficult for either to
have a sense of the other’s level of investment. Retailers don’t have
anything to assure them that their customers will buy. They may like
your work, but they know their customers aren’t them. To many of
them, their customers are a mystery, I think. :slight_smile: I find that some
venues, retail and some galleries, can be convinced, if your work is
moving for them, to change over to buying. You may need to do some
stringent convincing too. I’m doing that now on a small scale. I’ve
also recently pulled work from a retailer who, behind my back,
ignored my suggested retail pricing and jacked up the prices so the
stuff just sat, even turning down customers who would have bought if
he’d stuck to my pricing (stuff gets back to me somehow in small
towns). I set it up so he could make 66 percent, but that just wasn’t
enough for him, so screw him. I’m selling it a piece or two at a time
to his competitor. My point, make sure the party retailing your work
has a perspective on it, that it’s not mass manufactured crap that
they can just slap a triple-key markup on.

Finally, context is everything, in my opinion. If your work is
buried amidst cheaply made junk and you need to get more for it,
customers are just going to wonder why your stuff is so expensive.
Example; I set up a nice display of what I though was affordable
sterling and low cost gemstone jewelry in a short term co-op effort.
Really sexy, cute stuff. I broke even on the effort while the
pseudo-native-American guy next to me with the twisted wire jewelry
laid out on a card table covered with a blanket made a killing at 5
bucks a pop. Why? Because it didn’t take long, with enough of that
stuff around, for the customer base to be established, namely, people
with a lot of bare midriffs and piercings and not much money. But
I’ve sold “designer” sterling jewelry, mass produced in Mexico, in a
retail “designer” store for prices that would embarrass you. How?
Well, it was sitting there with all the other expensive stuff so
people figured it must be worth it.

So before you even consider selling anywhere, check the place out.
Try to imagine you’re a customer looking for something special. If
you find yourself distracted by the made-in-Taiwan niobium earrings
on the acrylic turnstile next to the cash register, of it occurs to
you there’s a lot of “cat themed” merchandise… well, you get my
point.

David L. Huffman

90

Lee,

I have resolved that, the next time a gallery owner says "my
accountant told me I should charge 50% on commission because there
is no difference between commission and a wholesale purchase" I
will seize on that and demand that they purchase my work outright
since they were willing to consign it and they themselves claim
that there is no difference.

There is one big Difference, Wholesale you get your money now. Also
Wholesale means you have sold the piece and it’s not coming back
except under your terms.

Kay

91

Hi all, here’s an excerpt from a handout I used to give workshops
regarding consignment. Maybe something in this will be of interest.
Andy

CONSIGNMENT?

PROS:

-you have control over your pricing: prices can’t be marked down or
inflated

-work (on the primary market) won’t end up in the clearance case

-galleries/ stores may except riskier work (if they don’t have to
count on recouping costs)

-while work can be returned to the artist, no prorated buy back is
expected from the artist

-gallery may agree to feature a larger body of work

CONS:

-sales become a waiting game: no positive cash flow

-work may not be shown as often or as prominently (as pieces that the
gallery/store already owns.)

-your work may be used as a promotional tool even though a gallery
knows it won’t sell

-bankruptcies, store closures and liens

92

Daniel,

Amen brother!

There are always two sides to the coin. Consignment is a good way for
the emerging artist to “test the waters” as it were without the
expense of opening one’s own gallery. In my experience, when an
artist’s work starts to take off, the “buying” gallery (if in the
same area as the consignment gallery) usually wants an exclusive and
the gallery the artist was originally consigned to has to stop
carrying the work anyway. It may not be this way in other places in
the world, but where I live this does more often than not seem to be
the case.

It is very advisable for the artist to check around with other
artists who show their work in the consignment establishment for
reputation, payment history, handling of the work, etc. I cannot
imagine anyone consigning their work otherwise.

I have seen incredible artists who just because they are not yet
established be turned down by a gallery even though their work is
worth taking that chance. Some galleries will only work with "name"
artists which is every bit their choice, my point being that just
because someone’s work is excellent in every way does this mean a
gallery will necessarily jump at the chance to buy and carry their
work.

Thanks,
Theresia

93 
We receive phone calls EVERY DAY from large companies, with which
we have never done business, wishing to send us diamonds, pearls,
finished jewelry, etc., on consignment. These deals often exceed
$10,000 in merchandise, and all that is asked of us is to try to
sell them, to take care of them, and to pay for what is sold and
return the rest. If this works for these companies, it certainly
should work for a talented artist.

Lee - respectfully - you clearly have the wrong idea about how easily
an artist can produce their work, or just how much time and effort
can go into planning and producing even a simple item.

Diamonds of nearly every type and quality are a mass produced item.
They are ubiquitous, and there is no valid comparison between
diamonds and even the limited production work many of us Orchidians
make our living with.

Regrettably, an absence of understanding of just what it takes to
bring a limited production line, or a piece of art to market is all
too common.

Your post truly underscores the need for a better understanding of
the creative process by retailers who wish to sell the work of
individual artists and designers.

Unlike diamonds, good art and design on the level we are discussing
can’t just be dug out of the ground and processed. It has to be
created - piece, by piece, by piece.

Michael Rogers
M. M. Rogers Design
Albuquerque, NM

94

Wayne,

Low Spark… one of my favorite songs. BTW, where my laugh might not
be as great as Jim’s, you did get some hearty chuckles out of me!

Amery

95

Lee,

    it's called merchandising, and everyone has to do it...... In
our jewelry store, when we bring in a new line of PURCHASED
jewelry, be it Artcarved wedding bands, Galatea diamond-in-pearl
(gorgeous!), or Seiko watches, they always come with nice new
displays and point-of-purchase materials, at no extra cost to us.
Why should you be different?

This has not been my experience. I wholesale and have never been
asked about sending a display. It’s been my understanding that the
retail end picks up the cost on that, and they want to create their
own display that’s right for their store, their case, their style. If
the artist provided the display the artist would have to work with
each and every store to determine the case size, the kind of case as
well as how large an area they need to outfit.

Before I wholesaled, I managed a retail jewelry store for years. And
yes, those bigger companies/ corporations did provide displays with
the first order. Some of them we used, some we not our style and
some we found to be downright ugly. They can afford to send freebies,
I couldn’t afford to send freebies to every account! I also don’t
think you can compare Seiko with the jewelers, designers, artists
that contribute to this forum. You’re talking large companies with
huge staffs, vs. the indies like a lot of us. At my store, we never
expected a smaller artist or even a med sized jewelry
artist/designer to provide any sort of display. We do have some
consignment from local artists and we did all the display to match
the style of the store. We knew retail and how to display jewelry
effectively, we never expected the artist to know what’s going to
work in a retail store. Most of them have no retail experience, how
would they know?

None of these artists have been 'crapped on' by the 'whole
consignment thing'. 

They have been hurt by their lack of 'due diligence' as to what
constitutes a worthwhile arrangement

How do you know that I haven’t been crapped on by consignment? I
don’t want to get into another sob story… oh woe is me, etc…
but I’ve been in situations where I’ve done my due diligence, I’ve
worked with reputable and recommended galleries/stores-- I’ve done
everything right and I have been ripped off- big time! How can you
make such a blanket statement? There have been many posts stating
that they’ve had issues. Are you saying that every jeweler who
posted that they have had problems is a bad business person?

If this works for these companies, it certainly should work for a
talented artist.

I don’t care how talented you are, if you don’t have the capitol to
send $10,000 in merchandise- unsecured to a store- than it won’t
work! You are once again comparing apples to oranges.

Lee, I don’t mean to be rude, but this really got my goat. Maybe
Lisa in Topanga can come wrestle it down for me.

-Amery

96

Lee:

My 30 days comment was in response to another poster who said his
shop often consigns for just a few days and typically only does
contracts when an item will be with them for 6 weeks or more.

Second, there are many stores I have consigned with that provided
the displays as they have a whole store full of displays and they
want them all to match one another.

Lastly, maybe some retailers take better care of items when they are
more expensive…don’t really know. But what I do know is that if
their $10K in merchandise they loaned out to you comes back in poor
condition - or not all of it comes back - they usually have lawyers
to help them recover their merchandise. As an artisan jeweler, I
would prefer not to have a lawyer on retainer. Guess my point is that
whether the merchandise is $10 or $10,000 it should still be treated
with the same care. While I do know how my art is best displayed (or
rather I like to think so) this doesn’t automatically mean that a
gallery is going to abide by my display wishes.

R/
Kennedi

97 
My 30 days comment was in response to another poster who said his
shop often consigns for just a few days and typically only does
contracts when an item will be with them for 6 weeks or more.

Hmmmm…now I would consider sending out work for less than thirty
days, sending it out, “on memo”. I do that frequently. A store has a
specific customer that wants a specific piece or type of work. You
send it out with specific written terms, “to be returned within 7
days, 2 weeks, or store has purchased item, payment to be made
within…” something of that sort. I only do it with stores that
have bought my work, and with whom I have a good business
relationship, (they pay on time, etc…). Stone dealers do this with
me all of the time.

Lisa, (Went out with “the girls” last night. Who knew that women over
forty are dangerous in numbers?) Topanga, CA USA

98

Several years ago I worked for a family member who is an
optometrist. He sold frames that he had bought wholesale and
consignment frames. Most of the frames he bought wholesale were at a
large discount because he tended to buy end-of-line frames. For
several reasons he always steered customers away from consignment
frames and rarely sold any. His reason were these - the demographic
of the area - a lot of pensioners who didn’t care about the latest
fashion trends but did have to spend their money carefully - he could
give them an excellent price on his discounted end-of-line frames. He
could also make a very tidy profit on these items even giving the
customer a price about half that of his competitors. The other
reason was that he needed to keep track of consignment stock - if it
wasn’t moving then it wasn’t hard to track. (He didn’t keep track of
his own stock).

I have never considered selling jewellery on consignment because I
saw how the process worked in that shop - the reps worked very hard -
rotated their stock regularly and tried to maintain a good
relationship with the optometrist but they still could not sell any
reasonable amount of stock in that store. Also, their stock was put
into the furtherest darkest corner of the shop, all together, so that
a customer could be shepherded away from all consignment stock in one
easy movement - they were also “warned” about those frames if they
showed an interest - told that they were made from inferior
components or “made in china” (like everything else wasn’t).

I know spectacles aren’t jewellery… but I can’t see any reason to
expect that the concept is not the same…

I am easily intimidated and often screwed over so I really feel that
the consignment path would be too much of an ordeal for me… I am
guessing whether this sort of arrangement suits certain people
probably has at least a little to do with their personality and
people skills. I think there’s a lot that can go wrong with
consignment particularly from the artists’ side… but, I also am
aware that I am keeping a lot of doors closed to myself by not giving
consignment a go - I think if I wasn’t so spineless and had some idea
of my rights if I were to consign I would give it a go. My advice to
newbies would be to research how consignment works before jumping
right in… be careful about where you put your work - be a customer
before you approach a store… know the way they treat their
customers before deciding if it is the right place for your work…
expect to make mistakes and lose out occassionally while you learn
the ropes. Also, if you are a member of an arts organisation that can
give you access to free legal advice take advantage of it.

Couldn’t resist adding my 2 cents
R.R. Jackson

99

Until now I’ve managed to keep out of this thread altough some among
the multitude of thoughts have made me wonder. Now I’m baffled!

For several reasons he always steered customers away from
consignment frames and rarely sold any. His reason were these - the
demographic of the area - a lot of pensioners who didn't care about
the latest fashion trends but did have to spend their money
carefully - he could give them an excellent price on his discounted
end-of-line frames. He could also make a very tidy profit on these
items even giving the customer a price about half that of his
competitors. The other reason was that he needed to keep track of
consignment stock - if it wasn't moving then it wasn't hard to
track. (He didn't keep track of his own stock).

Why even consider having all these consingment frames? To keep or
not to keep track of? Must be a hassle when you’re not tracking own
stock.

I have never considered selling jewellery on consignment because I
saw how the process worked in that shop - the reps worked very
hard - rotated their stock regularly and tried to maintain a good
relationship with the optometrist but they still could not sell
any reasonable amount of stock in that store. Also, their stock was
put into the furtherest darkest corner of the shop, all together,
so that a customer could be shepherded away from all consignment
stock in one

And then, why did all these sales reps accept being put away in the
least favorable corner and still rotate a stock that seemingly
hardly moved. Did they never ponder their bad luck/business? The reps
should have had some leveredge or they had been screwed from the
start. Unless charity is your game you either sell or pull out, you
decide, not the storeowner unless there’s an agreement saying
otherwise.

I am easily intimidated and often screwed over so I really feel
that the consignment path would be too much of an ordeal for me... 

- I think if I wasn't so spineless and had some idea of my rights
if I were to consign I would give it a go.

Why not go ahead and find out what your rights are? And obligations.
It’s not difficult and as long as all is on paper, terms, price,
deliverys. After all, where would the stores be without good stuff
in the displays? All stocked with same production jewelry from the
Far East making jewelry shopping the most boring thing next to buying
canned food.

Many people are very skillful at their trade yet most of them
remains employees until retirement. It is not easy being your own
boss. Many of us on the Orchid list can’t hand over the boring chores
to someone else, there’s just your other hand picking it up. Me, the
CEO, actually has to clean the washroom before a customer
appointment, do the tedious, but not difficult, bookkeeping on top of
doing my real work - making my customer’s vision become a piece of
jewelry. Every once in a while I’m called upon to be a photographer
and make a poster or booklet that has to make the jewelry justice,
thank god for my aesthetic mind.

But since you’re running your own business you should be qualified
to do all these “chores” because that is part of doing business. If
you’re not, you may easily be taken advantage of by someone with an
unscrupulous nature; they pop up in every trade!

michaela, off to sweep the floors

100

Michael Rogers comments were so on the mark that I just had to
comment. I’ve been a trade Jeweller for over 30 years in Australia
and love making and designing jewellery. In that time so many people
pass through my doors and especially large companies expecting that
you pull designs out of the air like tricks from a magician’s bag.

When I had a large workshop we at times had four or five different
people complete part of a design and we came up with some amazing
pieces because of all the input from so many talented people. shape,
texture, colour, etc.

Sadly after all that time and 9/11 I now work for a retail outlet as
a manager and have very little opportunity to use the skills I have
as a designer and jeweller. In big business in Australia you are no
longer referred to as a jeweller you are a “bench worker.”

A truly demeaning expression if I have ever heard one.

To those that are trying to make a living at jewellery making I say
go for it!!! Do what you love but realise it is a long and often not
very profitable road.

Still I would rather be happy and comfortable than rich and
miserable.

William
Go Orchid!!!