David Geller

Sell Your Repairs Or Pay the Price

Repairs are sales too. They require the same salesmanship as any other product. And you must price them to make money.

Published

15 years ago

June 3, 2009

David S. Geller Instore June 2009 Issue

IT’S BEEN A pretty typical morning: A gift buyer, followed by an engagement ring tire-kicker and then a “No, thanks, I’ll think about it”browser of diamond studs.[/dropcap]

Of the three, you sold one — the gift buyer. Not a great morning but fairly standard closing ratio — 33 percent, and an average product sale in the store is $450, which is not bad.

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But then come the repair customers — 10 in a row. Watch batteries, ring sizings, prongs and tips, lobster claws, new half shanks, two need new heads, one lost a 5-point diamond. You take out your pricing book and quote people.

But these customers are mean! On being quoted a price, four or five say “OK, when can I pick it up?” But the other five or six actually start yelling at you.

Every repair sale is an argument. But surprisingly, more than 90 percent still tell you to go ahead and fix it. Why is this? It’s because repairs are not price-sensitive, they are trust-sensitive.

So why do they give you such a hard time? Because they don’t understand the pricing of jewelers’ labor multiplied by time and adding in findings.

You don’t do as good of a job selling a repair as you do selling a bracelet or a loose diamond. You think selling repairs is “clerking.”

But you’re wrong. Selling anything in a store requires salesmanship. Think about all of the words that come out of your mouth selling an expensive watch. The same approach is required to sell repairs and custom design.

Ten customers, nine sales, average repair sale is about $100. It required very little inventory to do the job. You have a 90 percent closing ratio, and you’re exhausted because you’re a nice person, but it seems as if all of the customers hate your guts. You think you’re charging too much. You start now lowering your repair prices. You start doing more free repairs.

Ten repair customers walk in, and still nine out of 10 buy. You were correct about lowering your repair prices. Instead of five or six calling you a cheat and a liar, it’s four or five. But now because you’ve tried to take the easy road (lower prices) your repair department is barely breaking even.

This story is from the June 2009 edition of INSTORE.

This Third-Generation Jeweler Was Ready for Retirement. He Called Wilkerson

Retirement is never easy, especially when it means the end to a business that was founded in 1884. But for Laura and Sam Sipe, it was time to put their own needs first. They decided to close J.C. Sipe Jewelers, one of Indianapolis’ most trusted names in fine jewelry, and call Wilkerson. “Laura and I decided the conditions were right,” says Sam. Wilkerson handled every detail in their going-out-of-business sale, from marketing to manning the sales floor. “The main goal was to sell our existing inventory that’s all paid for and turn that into cash for our retirement,” says Sam. “It’s been very, very productive.” Would they recommend Wilkerson to other jewelers who want to enjoy their golden years? Absolutely! “Call Wilkerson,” says Laura. “They can help you achieve your goals so you’ll be able to move into retirement comfortably.”