Brain Squad” members share their thoughts on stone inventory

[h2]Yes, I Do [/h2]

It’s got to be fun for them to come in the store and see/touch the diamonds, or else they can just pick up something online. — Laura Stanley; Stanley Jewelers Gemologist, North Little Rock, AR

If I don’t have a selection in the store, once they walk out there is no way I can tell if they’ll really be back. — Dorothy Retzke; Krystyna’s Jewelry, Chicago, IL

By keeping loose diamonds, we are able to not only make and close the sale but deliver the finished product to the client in an hour or less.— Gayle Chinn; Chinn Jewelry, Royal Oak, MI

We have vastly expanded our wallet via a partnership with a local wholesaler on a memo basis, by having over 150 diamonds on hand. Sales have quadrupled. — Rex Solomon; Houston Jewelry, Houston, TX

Would you go to a dealership to buy a car that doesn’t have any cars? — Sue Parker; Nyman Jewelers, Escanaba, MI

How can one instill faith in the customer if you can’t show them now what they want to buy?— Gary Youngberg; Ames Silversmithing, Ames, IA

It’s nice to be able to offer multiple stones in the same price range so that he can choose between a smaller, higher quality stone, a larger, lower quality stone, or a mid-range “happy medium.” 95 percent of the time, when educated correctly, the consumer will choose the happy medium.— Ken Hulke Jr.; Caruso Jewelers, Braintree, MA

Almost all of my loose inventory is diamonds I’ve bought over the counter.— Chris Jacobs; Jacobs & Spadea Jewelers, San Diego, CA

[blockquote class=grey]We keep a large selection of loose and mounted diamonds in our store. Bridal is 40 percent of our volume. We are serious about selling diamonds. This is a great way to kill the mall stores.— Woody Justice; Justice Jewelers, Springfield, MO[/blockquote]

We make our own diamond stud earrings and they will sometimes sell two pairs within a week so you always want to have a backup set of stones, whether they get set into studs or used elsewhere. When it comes to male customers who need a last minute gift idea for their significant other, there is nothing else like a pair of diamond studs to fill the bill. — Paul Q. LeMay; Golden Enterprises, Bracebridge, ON

I still keep some loose diamonds in stock, but I’ve found they sell better and faster when you mount them up. All my center diamonds in my rings can always be taken out and set into another ring! — William Draeb; Draeb Jewelers, Sturgeon Bay, WI

If you don’t have it in stock you can’t sell it. If you always have to get memo you don’t look like you are a player in the diamond business. — Robert T. Mullen Jr.; Mullen Bros., Swansea, MA

We are a destination store in a resort community. We have one shot at making the sale. If we have diamonds, we sell diamonds and don’t have the luxury of ordering in memo goods. — Don Goodman; Diamond Jewelers, Gulf Shores, AL

[h2]No, I Don’t [/h2]

I don’t keep them because it costs too much to lay in stock, and why bother? I can order anything I need and have it here overnight. — Adele Garland; Carl’s Jewelers, San Diego, CA

[blockquote class=grey]I tell folks that we can sell it cheaper by not owning it. We still sell a lot of diamonds. — Jeff Dennis; Jeff Dennis Jewelers, Gardendale, AL [/blockquote]

Through Polygon, we can get any stone overnight. It saves money not having it tied up in stock.— Meg Rankin; J. Rankin Jewelers, Seattle, WA

I try to make my product look more unique by not having massive quantities of my only top-quality goods.— Daniel Spirer; Daniel R. Spirer Jewelers, Cambridge, MA

We act as a diamond broker and get exactly what the customer wants for each call based on an initial consultation.— Miranda Schultz; Timeless Gems, Los Angeles, CA

All our diamonds are mounted in semi-mounts or as solitaires. We find our customers have a hard time visualizing what a loose stone will look like in a semi-mount. — Jim Truax; Butler Truax Jewelers, Selma, AL

[span class=note]This story is from the November 2009 edition of INSTORE[/span]