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Could there be a new niche'' in the jewelry business?

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Ideal_Rock
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With the amazing advent of the internet as a tool for eduation regarding prescious stones and metals, and reconnecting gold and platinum smith to a large and new audience. And the creation of this new player called a prosumer. Is the local marketplace ready to embrace a new business model? Bascially a facilitator who meet with an individual or couple to find their wants, needs, and budget. Then the prosumer is able to sift through and present stones. Contact metal artisans skilled toward the desired design, have access to talented benchmen who often work freelance or take in outside commissions.

I''m thinking of a way in which to offer small pieces and vintage pieces in a retail setting with the heart of the business being helping people make their dreams come true.

Does this sound appealing? What are the big holes in the idea? Would educated consumers use this service? Would uneducated consumers?
 
It''s funny. I thought about that last year. I definetly think there is a market for it.
 
I''m thinking a quite small vintage piece studio with the custom service available.
 
I think it''s a great idea. Maybe have a few stock pieces on hand to demonstrate differences in sizes and also have reference pictures of clarity, color to help customers narrow down what their parameters are. I think a lot of people know the 4Cs, but they don''t understand the differences in them.

It''s also very confusing to figure out settings, at least for me. Without PS I wouldn''t have even known there were custom ring makers or different types of stones. With a service like this, it would help educate customers to know what they are looking for (single shank? double shank? pave? halo?)

You could even have a talented artist on your staff who could help draw things out to allow customers to visualize the product.
 
Thats the type of thing diamond brokers do Uppy, some work with clients to oversee an entire project from design, selecting the stone, setting to completion. You could certainly look into doing something similar, maybe concentrate on using your skills with vintage pieces and coloured stones.
 
Isn''t this what JBEG would be said to be doing?
 
Date: 4/24/2010 9:37:48 AM
Author: denverappraiser
Yes, that can work, and yes it can be a very useful service, but I'm not so sure how new it is. How is this different from a being jeweler?

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver
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I was thinking, too, on a good day, that might be the case.

Arjunajane, I had to work to determine you meant Jewels by Grace. I think that's what you meant...
 
Very interesting!

Uppy, are you talking about something like a buyer's agent in real estate? For example, consumers pay you a fee for your antique diamond knowledge and vendor experience, tell you what they want, and you do the leg work sourcing possibilities for them from various shops and internet vendors that the buyer may not otherwise know about, assist with custom settings, etc.? This would be different from a jeweler or antique dealer, who works to sell their own merchandise.

For example, Grace and I have an online store where we sell both our own and consignment pieces. We take lots of time to get to know our clients and help them with their selection from our own inventory. If we don't have what they are looking for we sometimes recommend other vendors who might have what they want (in which case the buyer works with that vendor directly). But this isn't really common for us - people who contact us are typically interested in something from our store or a custom setting - we don't do much go-between with other vendors.

Assuming it was the buyer paying you for this service, and never particular sellers (would be a conflict of interest), I definitely see that this could work for many people. Determining a fair price for this service, which would compensate you for your time but also not be perceived as prohibitive for your clients, becomes the tricky part. If I have a $10k budget, how much am I willing to pay for such a service?
 
Erica described what I was aiming for. The "agent" could hold an inventory of high quality sims (Winfield''s for example) to show different cuts, sizes, and colors in person. There could be a portfolio of different styles, and then when a couple gets an idea of what they want, the agent could bring in sample settings, coordinate work with the designer or jeweler once the piece is commissioned, and just function as the general facilitator/hand-holder during the process.

We see soooo many people come to Pricescope saying how overwhelming the process is for newbies, and how the stress almost ruins the romantic process. Jewelers have a vested interest in the piece itself and many cannot or are not interested in being a buyers'' advocate.

I would expect there would be a non-refundable deposit to start the process, and then a percentage comission paid by the couple once the finished piece is delivered.
 
I am curious as to why anyone would want to pay a "middle man" or "agent" when there is pricescope available to seperate the wheat from the chaff - one of the functions of this forum is for consumers to inform each other of knowledgeable vendors that would be able to provide these services. I think that the added price of a middle man adds another confusing layer to the buying process.
 
Date: 4/24/2010 12:47:48 PM
Author: Uppy
Erica described what I was aiming for. The ''agent'' could hold an inventory of high quality sims (Winfield''s for example) to show different cuts, sizes, and colors in person. There could be a portfolio of different styles, and then when a couple gets an idea of what they want, the agent could bring in sample settings, coordinate work with the designer or jeweler once the piece is commissioned, and just function as the general facilitator/hand-holder during the process.

We see soooo many people come to Pricescope saying how overwhelming the process is for newbies, and how the stress almost ruins the romantic process. Jewelers have a vested interest in the piece itself and many cannot or are not interested in being a buyers'' advocate.

I would expect there would be a non-refundable deposit to start the process, and then a percentage comission paid by the couple once the finished piece is delivered.
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I see jeweler''s performing this role and doing it better as they can devote more time. The fee charged to a client would likely be much less than if the "agent" or "Prosumer" could get wholsales prices from vendors and not charge the client anything, instead make their money from the difference between wholesale and retail price. This also requires the "agent" to accept payment and requires them to pay the vendors just like a jeweler. This is possible but then the "agent" isn''t really acting independantly unless their network of suppliers is sufficiently large.

You add to this contacts for both the stones and the setting and that service becomes a jeweler dealing in virtual inventory.
I would be curious to know how many PS vendors would be willing to offer "agents" a discount off their retail prices to provide this service on an item by item basis. Given the competitive prices online it would have to be fairly high priced items for their to be room to feed another mouth in the chain.

It is an interesting idea though.
 
The ‘agent’ has exactly the same vested interest that any other jeweler has … their paycheck is a function of a deal going through and the faster and bigger the deal the better. Whether or not this outweighs their loyalty to the client depends on their own ethics and style of business, just like it does for any other seller.

What you’re describing is in some ways similar to services offered by many independent appraisers but with one key difference. IA’s get paid the same whether or not the deal goes through and independently of how much you’re spending. Even that is tricky in terms of conflict because one of the criticisms leveled against IA’s is that we’ve got a vested interest in finding something wrong because it brings the client back for future appraisal work after it’s fixed or replaced. Dealers, especially those who have products where there’s something wrong, see that as a conflict.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver
 
Date: 4/24/2010 3:27:55 PM
Author: sphenequeen
I am curious as to why anyone would want to pay a 'middle man' or 'agent' when there is pricescope available to seperate the wheat from the chaff - one of the functions of this forum is for consumers to inform each other of knowledgeable vendors that would be able to provide these services. I think that the added price of a middle man adds another confusing layer to the buying process.
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That's what I was thinking.
But people vary.
There may a few who just don't want to be bothered with research and learning and are happy to pay someone they perceive has having expertise and their interests at heart.
Whether there are enough of them to build a successful business and how you are going to connect with them remains to be seen, but the Internet's edge is potentially reaching millions for a small investment.

On the downside it is business idea that is impossible to copyright and easy to copy.
If it takes off competitors will sprout up like weeds.
Posting your idea here on PS did . . . uhm . . . not help you in this regard.
 
Curiously few people seek out professional assistance in this area, even when the fees are on the order of 1-2% of the budget, and even when it’s from some of the best qualified people in the country. AGS, for example, has 17 IA’s and 5000 retailers. The folks who would most benefit, those who are buying blind from unreliable sources, seem to be the least likely to seek it out.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver
 
Date: 4/24/2010 3:58:42 PM
Author: kenny
Date: 4/24/2010 3:27:55 PM

Author: sphenequeen

I am curious as to why anyone would want to pay a 'middle man' or 'agent' when there is pricescope available to seperate the wheat from the chaff - one of the functions of this forum is for consumers to inform each other of knowledgeable vendors that would be able to provide these services. I think that the added price of a middle man adds another confusing layer to the buying process.
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That's what I was thinking.

But people vary.

There may a few who just don't want to be bothered with research and learning and are happy to pay someone they perceive has having expertise and their interests at heart.

Whether there are enough of them to build a successful business and how you are going to connect with them remains to be seen, but the Internet's edge is potentially reaching millions for a small investment.


On the downside it is business idea that is impossible to copyright and easy to copy.

If it takes off competitors will sprout up like weeds.

Posting your idea here on PS did . . . uhm . . . not help you in this regard.
Click to expand...


I think this would be hard to pull off. Anyone who is having questions about narrowing it all down is gonna first Google about diamonds and rings and stuff. Pretty immediately they are gonna find Pricescope. Through Pricescope they are quickly going to find great vendors and excellent help on the threads. All for free.

Those that aren't googling are going to B&M stores and probably wouldn't find you.
 
While I agree that PS is an invaluable resource, a lot of people aren't willing to spend months to educate themselves. PS is great for those really willing to put the time into it, but there is a middle ground between the researchers and those instant gratification persons who buy out of a B&M. It may not be a huge market, but it may be enough to sustain a business especially in certain markets and for the really discerning customers who aren't in the multimillionaire tax bracket, but have the desire to set themselves apart.

If your skill set is good enough to prove to add value, then it's definitely possible. Just like wedding planners - you can definitely do your wedding yourself and track down all the "best" vendors, but you may not have enough time or just not be willing to put in the effort - hiring a trusted person could help you achieve the desired effect while saving you time. For some folks, their time is money.
 
That is totally true. Didn''t think about it like wedding planner. That''s a very good example. Do you know how wedding planners get their clients?
 
MissDebby - I think it''s just like any other business - you start with small things and get noticed. I think the hardest thing of these type of service based businesses is proving that what you offer is "value added". Once you''ve proven yourself and get name recognition, via word-of-mouth, advertising, etc., your business builds itself. Of course, the hardest part is building the business and that can take years, especially for one-time purchases like rings. I think it might have been harder in the past when men traditionally purchased the rings to build a business since no guy wants to admit he went through someone else, but with more women involved with the finding and purchasing of their rings I don''t see why it wouldn''t work as a small side business. It would take time, patience, and a lot of handholding to build that reputation, but once you got it, it would be hard to knock you down from that coveted spot.
 
Date: 4/24/2010 7:03:28 PM
Author: missydebby

Do you know how wedding planners get their clients?
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Referrals, advertising ... I think same as most businesses. I found mine through google - I interviewed like 10.
 
Like the Wella shampoo commercials... and then she told a friend, and so on and so on and so on....
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I might theoretically, you could have a business like JBEG and add on the additional services to the business. Especially for people who are looking for a niche - like antique cut diamonds, this might be a great value added service to a business.

On the other hand, this service could be added to a "proposal" service where clients find someone who helps them plan the whole kit and kaboodle, from from finding "the" ring to constructing the perfect proposal. Having the perfect proposal and ring would definitely be valuable especially since those stories are told forever...
 
Just another thought here, Uppy really a different name to prosumer would be needed if you were going to do this, a prosumer is generally known as a skilled hobbyist/ enthusiast that isn't actually in a certain industry on a professional level whereas you would be. Maybe a different name would reflect your professional status better?
 
Personally, I love this idea. I''m pretty new and Pricescope has been an awesome resource but I can definitely see how it requires a fair amount of time to educate oneself and even with some basic research, the purchase of a diamond seems confusing. I think that is even more true in the vintage stones market, something I am just starting to explore. I think a lot of people want some extra assurance that they are purchasing something of quality, and aren''t confident their own research (or aren''t able to invest the time in research) will be sufficient to make the purchase in the timeframe they need.
 
Someone in this role could literally meet with a client and with just a few questions narrow down what their client is interested in/what is available to them based on their parameters.

While PS is a great resource, it can take you on a long journey and some people don't want to/don't have that much time to spend. I started lurking in January and have gone from assuming modern cuts were all that were available and didn't realize you could custom settings for a realistic price to seriously researching a sapphire/colored gemstone ring to now settling on antique diamonds. And I've been obsessing. What happens if you're just a regular guy who decides it's the time and wants to get a proposal in within 2 months? It's 4 months for me and I'm almost there, but not quite. Luckily, I'm the GF and not fixed on a timeline. What if you're a regular person without a flexible timeline?

Maybe call the new position the Expediter.
 
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