Vendor saw my listing of their work and offered to swap?

[Circe]

I could use a bit of advice on an unusual situation.

I'm currently listing some things I don't wear anymore for sale, for a variety of reasons - some were presents that were never my style, some of them I bought myself but just always pass over for one reason or another, and some of them are kinda freighted with emotional baggage because they come from past relationships. Well, the jeweler/vendor who made a few of them just stumbled across my listings and sent me a very polite e-mail saying she'd be very interesting in bartering materials or directly exchanging from her current inventory for the pieces I had up, and any others I might have if they were no longer to my taste.

Has this ever happened to anybody else? It never crossed my mind to contact her directly, because most dealers just aren't that accommodating. At first, she was offering to barter/exchange at the rate of what I had up vs. the prices she generally sold at - which, fair enough, I know retailers have mark-up, but it would be a bit of a value loss for me, like, swapping a heavy high-carat gold piece for a silver one. But when I responded by saying that I'd actually been hoping for an exchange of like kind, like one of the other high-karat pieces for the ones I had, she said sure, she'd just need to make it up custom.

In theory, I'm delighted with this - I love her work, and being able to have a piece that didn't come freighted with a lot of drama would be great. On the other hand, I've never been in this situation before, and I figured it couldn't hurt to bounce it off of you guys. Have any of you guys come across anything similar? Is there anything I should keep in mind to be a good customer-turned-exchanger?

 

[k_darling]

I've never been in that position, but it sounds like it's a great option. If you're not taking a loss over what you would have gotten selling to the public, and you already like her pieces, go for it! I think posting the new pieces in SMTB and giving her a little free press would be a nice thank you.

 

[JewelFreak]

If you trade like for like, it sounds great to me. You love her work, you get something you want to wear, and she takes over the sale hassle. As long as you're satisfied you're not losing, grab it! I sure would.

--- Laurie

 

[peacechick]

That sounds like a great deal! If you trade like for like, you can have new pieces that don't have any baggage attached to them. That said, you should only trade for items that you like and can imagine keeping around for a while.

 

[Enerchi]

I'm another voice in the crowd saying, no harm no foul! If she's willing to trade value for value, then you both come out in a win win situation and I like how there would be no 'baggage' on your old items, the new pieces would have the bonus of a great story to tell

Good luck - I hope you post pics of what you get in return! (provided you go this route...)

 

[Rockdiamond]

Sounds like smart business to me.
If a vendor sees a good client (or ex-client) selling pieces they made, it seems very smart to make every attempt to win them back over.
Although you're not in a total strength position, you're way ahead of the game compared to "a stranger" trying to sell pieces to a dealer- even if they made the pieces.
In general, it seems common sense that the bigger the discrepancy between what you're needing to sell, versus what you want to buy will help
For example, if one paid $3000 for the items they wanted to sell, and were looking to spend $10,000, they'd have a far stronger hand than if they wanted to to do an even trade.
But it really depends on how much they value your business......

 

[jstarfireb]

Makes complete and total sense to me, except in the situation where someone is selling pieces because they need the money. Sounds like that's not your situation, but it wouldn't help to trade if money is what you need rather than more jewelry.

 

[artdecogirl]

Sounds like a win - win, they must have some market for the items you listed or they would not have contacted you and if they have stuff you like without the emotional attachments I say go for it, and of course we need to see what new pretties you get right?!

 

[minousbijoux]

I'm not sure I'm quite understanding all the nuances of this and why a vendor would do this. That said, if you would get something out of it that you really want (like there is another of this vendor's pieces that has been singing to you), then go for it, otherwise, sell it for the cash. I guess, ultimately from the vendor's perspective, it helps keep their pieces in circulation limited perhaps and therefore makes them more coveted? I don't know, just taking a guess here...

 

[peacechick]

Also possible that she made them early in her career and they have some sentimental value to her? I know some artists and designers do that if they have the means.

 

[Circe]

Hi, guys - I didn't forget about you, I just wanted to wait until I had a decent update!

The seller is continuing to be very cool. They just sent me a big box of opals to pick from. One of the stones is a big front-runner for me, but I don't know from opals, so I don't even know what to call it.

So, just for full context ... here's the ring I have, a 6 carat-ish watermelon tourmaline that is naturally heart-shaped. And here is the box of opals ... can you guess which one a Circe might lean towards?

 

[Circe]

Spoiler: the really glittery blue one.

Thing is, I seriously know less about opals than almost any other kind of stone ... what would you guys call it? It looks solid with the glittering blue flashes against the grey background (which are so bright it almost looks fluorescent), but it's actually translucent, which I tried to capture in the last shot.

And also ... thoughts? The vendor said they had loads of opals so if none of these caught my eye, there were other options.

 

[distracts]

I don't know much about opals either but that one looked prettiest to me.

 

[Enerchi]

What do the two in the bottom right look like? They are interesting shapes and I love the colours in those as well --- yours looks to match your sapphire collection beautifully!!

Really - they just sent you all these opals to play with??? WOW!!! Can I come over and play too???

 

[Circe]

I don't know much about opals either but that one looked prettiest to me.

Heheheh - that was the exact criteria I was applying!

What do the two in the bottom right look like? They are interesting shapes and I love the colours in those as well --- yours looks to match your sapphire collection beautifully!!

Really - they just sent you all these opals to play with??? WOW!!! Can I come over and play too???

I'll take a close-up after dinner ... I was looking at those, too, because I think they could make fabulous earrings (I don't know if that would be asking too much, though, so this is more in the spirit of an idle observation). And, yes! I'm quite touched by the trust and the commitment to customer satisfaction.

ETA: Oh, I started an opal-specific post. I dunno if we have an Official Opal Expert on the board, but if we do, I want to catch hyr attention! https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/question-about-an-opal.190828/

 

[JewelFreak]

I know nada about opals too, but that blue one you like stands out to me. The color is so deep & blue & glittery.

--- Laurie