Work without working cheaper

Jewelry Discussion
1

Tim,

You hit a new nail on the head, discounting.

You said, “Conduct yourself as a professional. Don’t undercut
your competition! There are plenty of ways to get work without
working cheaper.”

I could not agree with you more. I have always striven to
compete on quality not price. When competing on price, you
cannot win. Somebody will always come along and undercut you,
even if they are losing money doing it. Just because someone
offers a better price, the work is rarely the same, and who is
to say that they can even survive at that price? Maybe they are
losing their shirt.

When confronted by a customer who claims that they can get a
similar item for less elsewhere, try this one, “Yes, my work is
not for everyone. If you want the best price, then go back to
them. But if you want quality, you are in the right place right
now.” That may not be exacly the best word choice, but the idea
is correct.

The sad, hard truth is that 99.9% of the time, you get what you
pay for.

Another reason not to discount is that it is a clear statement
that the price you originally presented was too high. You are
admitting that you were attempting to gouge the customer and
that your goods or services were not worth that price but this
new one is the true price. Well, in my book you have now lost
all credibility and the logical conclusion is that your work is
now negotiable because the new price is too high as well.

A couple of years ago I walked into Macy’s jewelry department
across the street from my studio in San Francisco. I had been
selling gold earrings to them for a while and as I approached
the counter I was assaulted by signs that said, “ALL JEWELRY
40-50% OFF” I inched up to the counter, fearful that I would
see my work sold at wholesale to the public. I was shocked
indeed. There was the jewelry I had recently sold them, with a
price tag twice retail with a red line through it and a 50% off
sticker attached. Isn’t it incredible that the consumer
continues to fall for that deception!

Discounting is a trap to avoid.

Alan Revere
Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts
San Francisco

2

Pricing lower than your competitor can be a very tricky game. If
you can in fact produce at a lower cost then it makes sense to
sell for a lower price and get as much of the business as you
can. The other time one might use lower prices is can be a
preditory game where if you are a big enough company you sell a
competitors product at a cost at or below your actual cost to
where you have taken all his clients away he goes out of
business and then you can raise your prices and make a profit on
that item. Wal-mart is famous for this, American Airlines is
being sued right now for triing to drive it’s competitors out of
business in it hubs. www.etienneperret.com