Wink switching to all online sales

[Lula]

NOTE to admins: I wasn''t sure where to post this, so please feel free to move it to another forum, if appropriate.

I got the High Performance Diamonds e-newsletter in my mailbox today, and big changes are in store for Wink. He''s decided to close his retail outlet in Boise, ID, to focus exclusively on online sales.

I tried to cut and past the link to the newsletter, but it just brings up my e-mail log-in page. You can sign up for your own copy of the newsletter on his site HPD

I did manage to cut and paste the body of the newsletter, so you can read about the changes to his business below:
QUOTE:
"We are closing our retail outlet to devote full time to you our Internet clients.
* What does this mean for you?
o Melissa and I available to fully respond to your needs
o Super Selection of Infinity Diamonds
o Richard Homer Gems below any prices you will find on the Internet – even lower than on Richard''s own site
o Custom design service – let us help you create the exact piece you desire.
o Friendly personal service
o Reduced overhead translates into better pricing for you
o Same great mountings in high quality gold and platinum
o Complete repair service – repair, repurpose, renew and relove those treasures sitting in your jewelry chest
o Celebration Sale – Now through October 29! Join us for never before and never again offered savings on diamonds, gems, Treasures in the Attic and other jewelry that we are cleaning out. You will need to call for final pricing on our Attic items, but they have been drastically reduced from the pricing that you will see on our websites. All items subject to supplies on hand only.

I am very excited about this new phase in my business as it will allow me to focus my attention on our Internet clients exclusively." END QUOTE

I''m not in the market for a diamond right now (and if I was, I wouldn''t be sharing this

) but he''s got some good deals on stones, for those who are looking for diamonds/gems.

Good luck to you in your new endeavor, Wink!

 

[stone-cold11]

Huh?

How come I didn''t get any mail?

 

[kenny]

Now he doesn''t have to get dressed in the morning.

 

[WinkHPD]

Date: 10/21/2009 7:18:23 PM
Author: Stone-cold11
Huh?

How come I didn''t get any mail?

LOL! You have to opt in. Otherwise I can not send to you without it being considered spam.

Wink

 

[WinkHPD]

Date: 10/21/2009 7:18:40 PM
Author: kenny
Now he doesn''t have to get dressed in the morning.

That would NOT be a pretty sight! Pretty sure I do have to get dressed in the morning.

My thanks to Sara for sharing this with you here on Pricescope, and also for all the personal emails of support and good wishes. It is very gratifying to know that you are seeing this in the positive light that I am seeing it in.

I have been contemplating this for a couple of years now, and I am very excited to have finally made the decision to go forward with it. I think it will be a good thing for my clients, and for my wife who was getting a little tired of me working six and seven days a week trying to serve both local and Internet clients. Now I can focus solely on you, and I believe the level of service will be up another notch.

Wink

 

[stone-cold11]

Good luck.

I will go look at the website again to see where I need to sign in for that.

 

[Lorelei]

 

[oldminer]

Good move, Wink. You will not lose your best local clients. They will now just come to your home or you will go see them. It will be far more relaxing and you'll really get a chance to enjoy the relationships you built. Cutting overhead is good, although yours was not "high" to begin with. What you have found, like so many others, is that personal relationships, even ones via on-line sales, have a huge impact on the success of your business. The guys who sell diamonds here that provide minimal service don't have nearly the best model for business as those who go the further distance to assist clients and to give them what might now be called E-Guild Service levels.

You can now make sales in your PJ's or your long johns, and we won't be any the wiser. Best wishes for more time in the kayak.

 

[Lula]

Date: 10/22/2009 3:41:37 AM
Author: Stone-cold11
Good luck.


I will go look at the website again to see where I need to sign in for that.

Here is the sign-up screen, Stone.
HPD

 

[stone-cold11]

Date: 10/22/2009 8:25:39 AM
Author: sarap333

Date: 10/22/2009 3:41:37 AM

Author: Stone-cold11

Good luck.

I will go look at the website again to see where I need to sign in for that.

Here is the sign-up screen, Stone.
HPD

Thanks for the link, but keep getting an error.

 

[WinkHPD]

Date: 10/22/2009 7:31:20 AM
Author: oldminer
Good move, Wink. You will not lose your best local clients. They will now just come to your home or you will go see them. It will be far more relaxing and you''ll really get a chance to enjoy the relationships you built. Cutting overhead is good, although yours was not ''high'' to begin with. What you have found, like so many others, is that personal relationships, even ones via on-line sales, have a huge impact on the success of your business. The guys who sell diamonds here that provide minimal service don''t have nearly the best model for business as those who go the further distance to assist clients and to give them what might now be called E-Guild Service levels.

You can now make sales in your PJ''s or your long johns, and we won''t be any the wiser. Best wishes for more time in the kayak.

LOL! Not sure why peple think I might sit around my house in my boxers and bunny slippers, but that is not what is going to happen. There will not be any clients coming to my home either!

I will be able to go back to what I did once upon a time, go to their offices so that they do not have to take the time to come to me.

You hit the nail on the head about more time for kayaking though, and especially more time for my grand kids!

Wink

 

[WinkHPD]

Date: 10/22/2009 8:30:39 AM
Author: Stone-cold11

Date: 10/22/2009 8:25:39 AM
Author: sarap333

Date: 10/22/2009 3:41:37 AM

Author: Stone-cold11

Good luck.

I will go look at the website again to see where I need to sign in for that.

Here is the sign-up screen, Stone.
HPD

Thanks for the link, but keep getting an error.

I have sent this to my webmaster, he is checking it out.

Wink

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 10/22/2009 8:31:35 AM
Author: Wink

Date: 10/22/2009 7:31:20 AM
Author: oldminer
Good move, Wink. You will not lose your best local clients. They will now just come to your home or you will go see them. It will be far more relaxing and you''ll really get a chance to enjoy the relationships you built. Cutting overhead is good, although yours was not ''high'' to begin with. What you have found, like so many others, is that personal relationships, even ones via on-line sales, have a huge impact on the success of your business. The guys who sell diamonds here that provide minimal service don''t have nearly the best model for business as those who go the further distance to assist clients and to give them what might now be called E-Guild Service levels.

You can now make sales in your PJ''s or your long johns, and we won''t be any the wiser. Best wishes for more time in the kayak.

LOL! Not sure why peple think I might sit around my house in my boxers and bunny slippers, but that is not what is going to happen. There will not be any clients coming to my home either!

I will be able to go back to what I did once upon a time, go to their offices so that they do not have to take the time to come to me.

You hit the nail on the head about more time for kayaking though, and especially more time for my grand kids!

Wink

hehehe!!!

 

[geckodani]

Congratulations Wink!

 

[Todd Gray]

Date: 10/22/2009 8:31:35 AM
Author: Wink

LOL! Not sure why people think I might sit around my house in my boxers and bunny slippers, but that is not what is going to happen. There will not be any clients coming to my home either!

Now there is a visual that I could have done without first thing in the morning, especially before I''ve had a chance to make my first cup of coffee!

Wink and I have discussed this a bit over the past few weeks and I think it is an excellent move on his part, it was a tough decision for me to close the retail store a few years ago despite the fact that I knew that 98% of our sales were occurring online - but I am so glad that I did because the absence of the interruption of the "just looking" walk-in traffic (as opposed to the I''m actually here to look / buy a diamond traffic generated by serious internet clients) enabled me to focus more on attending to email, checking in diamonds, improving the web site, and actually spending a little quality time with friends and family!

So congratulations on a decision well made Wink, I''m looking forward to seeing a lot more pictures of you and the grand kids as well as a few kayaking adventures!

P.S. Wink ''really'' is an avid kayaker! Valerie and I had an opportunity to visit with Wink awhile back when we were passing through Idaho and first thing in the morning he announces that he''s planned a kayak trip down the river for us... Seemingly undaunted by the fact that it was RAINING cats and dogs! Yes, he even had his bunny slippers on! Okay, I made that last part up!

 

[WinkHPD]

Date: 10/22/2009 11:11:23 AM
Author: Todd Gray

Date: 10/22/2009 8:31:35 AM
Author: Wink

LOL! Not sure why people think I might sit around my house in my boxers and bunny slippers, but that is not what is going to happen. There will not be any clients coming to my home either!

Now there is a visual that I could have done without first thing in the morning, especially before I''ve had a chance to make my first cup of coffee!

Wink and I have discussed this a bit over the past few weeks and I think it is an excellent move on his part, it was a tough decision for me to close the retail store a few years ago despite the fact that I knew that 98% of our sales were occurring online - but I am so glad that I did because the absence of the interruption of the ''just looking'' walk-in traffic (as opposed to the I''m actually here to look / buy a diamond traffic generated by serious internet clients) enabled me to focus more on attending to email, checking in diamonds, improving the web site, and actually spending a little quality time with friends and family!

So congratulations on a decision well made Wink, I''m looking forward to seeing a lot more pictures of you and the grand kids as well as a few kayaking adventures!

P.S. Wink ''really'' is an avid kayaker! Valerie and I had an opportunity to visit with Wink awhile back when we were passing through Idaho and first thing in the morning he announces that he''s planned a kayak trip down the river for us... Seemingly undaunted by the fact that it was RAINING cats and dogs! Yes, he even had his bunny slippers on! Okay, I made that last part up!

LOL! I don''t even have bunny slippers. My then ten year old daughter gave me some Monster slippers for Christmas one year. They looked a lot like the feet on the monsters of Where the Wild Things Are. I wore them out. I was so sad the day the bottoms of the feet finally wore so through that they would not stay on my feet any more. By then my daughter was gone to college and my son was guiding kayakers in Bhutan. (Que music- Memories by Barbara Streisand)

All jokes aside I do want to make one thing clear.

I will not be keeping inventory at my house nor seeing clients there. It is a quick way to live a short life in this business. I will answer emails from there all hours of the day, just as I do now, but all business will be conducted elsewhere. I do not think it is appropriate for me to say where in the forum, I just want it to be clear that it will not be at my home.

Wink

 

[Modified Brilliant]

Best wishes Wink! Change IS good! Especially POSITIVE change!

Jeff (city boy-- no kayak or backpack)

www.metrojewelryappraisers.com

 

[haagen_dazs]

Congratulations Wink
all the best in your company''s new direction

 

[D&T]

congratulations Wink! i''ve been keeping my eye on a RH concave sapphire

and hoping to work with you in the near future

What an exciting time in your life ehh?

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 10/22/2009 3:52:41 PM
Author: Wink

Date: 10/22/2009 11:11:23 AM

LOL! I don''t even have bunny slippers. My then ten year old daughter gave me some Monster slippers for Christmas one year. They looked a lot like the feet on the monsters of Where the Wild Things Are. I wore them out. I was so sad the day the bottoms of the feet finally wore so through that they would not stay on my feet any more. By then my daughter was gone to college and my son was guiding kayakers in Bhutan. (Que music- Memories by Barbara Streisand)

Wink

For Sir Wink.

 

[WinkHPD]

Date: 10/23/2009 12:25:17 AM
Author: haagen_dazs
Congratulations Wink
all the best in your company''s new direction

Your post and Lorelei''s very sweet and kind posting of "The Way We Were" have made me think a little of my "new direction".

A good friend of mine convinced me to spend $3,500 with him to set up a website about three months before commerce became "web legal" way back when. It was www.diamonds.somethinthingorother.com as neither of us were smart enough to know that you absolutely had to have your own URL name to be credible.

On the day we first talked there were about 300 responses to a query about diamonds in what ever search engine we used. Three or four months later when we finally went live there were more than ten thousand and of course today there are many many millions.

Hmm, how many millions you ask. As of 7:25 MST this morning I got the following results.

Diamonds: 44,400,000

Ideal Diamonds 4,660,000 Nice Ice is the 4th organic (unpaid) listing on this search. Pretty darn good listing Todd! Pricescope is in 6th position for this search. Pretty darn good listing Andrey!

Ideal cut diamonds 30,000,000 Nice Ice is #1 in this listing. Incredible Todd! Blue Nile is #2 and you just know that they are spending millions to be there while Todd is not! Pricescope again is #6 in the organic listings, which is pretty phenomenal.

I received a message from a guy in New Zealand on the first day my new site was open who was looking for a diamond and was "Astonished" at how good my pricing was compared to the stores in New Zealand. He never did buy, but I appreciated the message.

The second guy who contacted me later in the day started to tell me about himself and how could he arrange to see this magnificent tourmaline that I had on display on my site.

"The best way," I told him, "would be to turn left on Federal Way, right on Capitol Blvd, then turn left on Front Street etc etc and you will be here in about ten minutes."

LOL, my second contact on the day I opened, and my potential client was right here in Boise. (He did buy, although it would be almost two years before he bought the tourmaline that he originally wanted.)

It took maybe three years before my Internet business was approaching 50% of my overall business, and these days it is 75-80% of my business. Much of my local clientèle is retired now and their children and grandchildren still come to see me for their wedding rings, but only if they did not go out on the web to buy it. I have had three times now someone call me wanting to see a diamond and when I got their address found out they were in Boise and upon further questioning found out that they were either the child of or grandchild of one of my clients.

Today''s youth are more and more turning to the Internet for both their education about and their selection of their jewelry.

Sorry, I keep reminiscing, back to the topic.

Due to the rather distressing economy I needed to look at what my costs were and where my profits were. Given that 75% or more of my business in Internet based and that 90% or more of my costs are local business based I don''t think that my decision constitutes a new direction, but rather the next step in my evolution towards a business that is both profitable, and eventually salable.

When I turn seventy or so, I am going to want to consider retiring, or at least slowing down. How much nicer for both me and my family to have something that will be a piece of cake to sell to anyone who wants to buy a profitable business and run it from any where in the world, instead of just from Boise, Idaho, which admitably is NOT one of the jewelry hot spots in the world. (It is one of the finest places in the world to live and raise a family!)

So, new direction? Not so much.

Listening to my audience and going where they are, ABSOLUTELY.

Man, I love this place!

Wink

 

[diagem]

Date: 10/23/2009 10:04:01 AM
Author: Wink

Date: 10/23/2009 12:25:17 AM
Author: haagen_dazs
Congratulations Wink
all the best in your company''s new direction

Your post and Lorelei''s very sweet and kind posting of ''The Way We Were'' have made me think a little of my ''new direction''.

A good friend of mine convinced me to spend $3,500 with him to set up a website about three months before commerce became ''web legal'' way back when. It was www.diamonds.somethinthingorother.com as neither of us were smart enough to know that you absolutely had to have your own URL name to be credible.

On the day we first talked there were about 300 responses to a query about diamonds in what ever search engine we used. Three or four months later when we finally went live there were more than ten thousand and of course today there are many many millions.

Hmm, how many millions you ask. As of 7:25 MST this morning I got the following results.

Diamonds: 44,400,000

Ideal Diamonds 4,660,000 Nice Ice is the 4th organic (unpaid) listing on this search. Pretty darn good listing Todd! Pricescope is in 6th position for this search. Pretty darn good listing Andrey!

Ideal cut diamonds 30,000,000 Nice Ice is #1 in this listing. Incredible Todd! Blue Nile is #2 and you just know that they are spending millions to be there while Todd is not! Pricescope again is #6 in the organic listings, which is pretty phenomenal.

I received a message from a guy in New Zealand on the first day my new site was open who was looking for a diamond and was ''Astonished'' at how good my pricing was compared to the stores in New Zealand. He never did buy, but I appreciated the message.

The second guy who contacted me later in the day started to tell me about himself and how could he arrange to see this magnificent tourmaline that I had on display on my site.

''The best way,'' I told him, ''would be to turn left on Federal Way, right on Capitol Blvd, then turn left on Front Street etc etc and you will be here in about ten minutes.''

LOL, my second contact on the day I opened, and my potential client was right here in Boise. (He did buy, although it would be almost two years before he bought the tourmaline that he originally wanted.)

It took maybe three years before my Internet business was approaching 50% of my overall business, and these days it is 75-80% of my business. Much of my local clientèle is retired now and their children and grandchildren still come to see me for their wedding rings, but only if they did not go out on the web to buy it. I have had three times now someone call me wanting to see a diamond and when I got their address found out they were in Boise and upon further questioning found out that they were either the child of or grandchild of one of my clients.

Today''s youth are more and more turning to the Internet for both their education about and their selection of their jewelry.

Sorry, I keep reminiscing, back to the topic.

Due to the rather distressing economy I needed to look at what my costs were and where my profits were. Given that 75% or more of my business in Internet based and that 90% or more of my costs are local business based I don''t think that my decision constitutes a new direction, but rather the next step in my evolution towards a business that is both profitable, and eventually salable.

When I turn seventy or so, I am going to want to consider retiring, or at least slowing down. How much nicer for both me and my family to have something that will be a piece of cake to sell to anyone who wants to buy a profitable business and run it from any where in the world, instead of just from Boise, Idaho, which admitably is NOT one of the jewelry hot spots in the world. (It is one of the finest places in the world to live and raise a family!)

So, new direction? Not so much.

Listening to my audience and going where they are, ABSOLUTELY.

Man, I love this place!

Wink

Pure sense...
I wish you best of luck on your ''next step''...

I salute you on your internet marketing experience & knowledge...
Thanks for the interesting info on the #''s above..., I wouldnt even know how to search for them...

 

[Novel]

Congrats, Wink! Good luck!

 

[WinkHPD]

Just a little reality check for those who are interested.

After two hectic weeks of moving and unpacking I am nearly up to speed. I find I actually work more hours per day than I did when with a retail staff. The benefit is that I do it all from my small office and do not have travel time to the store, nor do I have to work only when I am at the store. I can honestly work at any hour of the day and I am tremendously enjoying it.

As I suspected, on most days I am showered and neatly dressed by 7:45 and on my first call by 8, and instead of an hour for lunch it is usually more like ten or fifteen minutes.

The biggest shock to me was having to prepare my own mail and deliver it to the post office and FedEx drop off location. What a gigantic task.

Paying the payroll taxes etc is a breeze now since I do not have any payroll.

I still go to my BNI (Business Networking International) and Rotary meetings each week, so I get plenty of people contact.

The reality is that this was a great decision for me. I am more accessible to my real clientèle and while I am working more hours each day I am able to take time off on the weekends which I have not done much of for some time. I am also getting more done with less busy work.

Anyway, thanks to those who have expressed their good wishes, both on this thread and in private emails. Just thought I would drop a note that it is in fact better than I had actually expected, and I expected it to be good!

Wink

 

[marcy]

Congratulations; sounds like a great change in your life.

 

[Karl_K]

glad it is working out well for you Wink :}

 

[Kaleigh]

Congrats and best wishes to you Wink!! Sounds like a great move to me!!!

 

[Hest88]

Congratulations Wink and this new chapter in your business!

It might make an interesting PS article to hear from vendors such as Tood and Wink who have made the transition successfully.

 

[exoticisabella]

Date: 10/23/2009 10:04:01 AM
Author: Wink

Date: 10/23/2009 12:25:17 AM
Author: haagen_dazs
Congratulations Wink
all the best in your company''s new direction

Your post and Lorelei''s very sweet and kind posting of ''The Way We Were'' have made me think a little of my ''new direction''.

A good friend of mine convinced me to spend $3,500 with him to set up a website about three months before commerce became ''web legal'' way back when. It was www.diamonds.somethinthingorother.com as neither of us were smart enough to know that you absolutely had to have your own URL name to be credible.

On the day we first talked there were about 300 responses to a query about diamonds in what ever search engine we used. Three or four months later when we finally went live there were more than ten thousand and of course today there are many many millions.

Hmm, how many millions you ask. As of 7:25 MST this morning I got the following results.

Diamonds: 44,400,000

Ideal Diamonds 4,660,000 Nice Ice is the 4th organic (unpaid) listing on this search. Pretty darn good listing Todd! Pricescope is in 6th position for this search. Pretty darn good listing Andrey!

Ideal cut diamonds 30,000,000 Nice Ice is #1 in this listing. Incredible Todd! Blue Nile is #2 and you just know that they are spending millions to be there while Todd is not! Pricescope again is #6 in the organic listings, which is pretty phenomenal.

I received a message from a guy in New Zealand on the first day my new site was open who was looking for a diamond and was ''Astonished'' at how good my pricing was compared to the stores in New Zealand. He never did buy, but I appreciated the message.

The second guy who contacted me later in the day started to tell me about himself and how could he arrange to see this magnificent tourmaline that I had on display on my site.

''The best way,'' I told him, ''would be to turn left on Federal Way, right on Capitol Blvd, then turn left on Front Street etc etc and you will be here in about ten minutes.''

........

HAHAHAHHAHA! More like turn left, turn right, turn left, turn right, circle around the building wondering if it''s the right one, circle around the building more because of all the one way streets and lack of parking lot, circle around the building ONCE more to find a parking spot. Wink, I don''t know how you did all these years with your store front because I was ready to scream trying to find it! Glad I did find you though and good luck with your new adventure!

P.S. maybe I''ll see you on the river some day?...I''ll be the one in the cataraft with the FIL who likes to blow "charge!" on his bugle when were coming up to a rapid!

 

[Gleam]

Best of luck to you, Wink!