‘Don’t Apologize for Your Prices’: Jewelers on Selling Gold Right Now

Here’s what the Brain Squad said, when asked “What’s your best advice for other jewelers selling gold right now?”

“BEING IN THE INDUSTRY, we panic at the increase in the gold price and the effect it is having on our buying. The consumer isn’t aware of how much more a chain costs today compared to last year. They just need a gift. Present it with your normal markup and don’t sweat it. We tend to worry about things beyond our control. Jewelry isn’t like milk and bread — items people buy regularly and can see the increase. It’s all in the presentation. If you are apologizing for your high prices, you’ll never make the sale. In October our 14K sales were up 422% and our 18K sales were up even more!” — Jon W., Virginia Beach, VA

• “SELL! Gold is at an all-time high. MELT your old heads, unused findings (think barrel clasps, omega backs, add-a-beads). Recycle, reinvest and renew your showcases. Work with higher-yielding recyclers too for 99% returns. My best advice for jewelers buying gold right now is: be transparent, be specific, and be accurate. I’m currently buying anything above 10K that’s clean meltable weight but I’m aggressively prioritizing 14K and 18K because the margin is more predictable. I quote spot price openly, telling the customer exactly how I determine their payout: karat verification, current spot and my buy rate. By photographing every piece or pile on the scale before it leaves the counter, first it protects the store and second it adds instant confidence for the seller. And here’s another technique that’s working: I always ask the customer if there’s anything in their pile that they think is worth saving. Showing we are willing to pay more for something resalable — that exchange builds trust, positioning us as the expert who knows the difference between ‘scrap’ and ‘a piece with value.’ This clarification is building long-term buying loyalty for us.” — Denise O., La Grange, IL
• “At first, we were surprised at how few of our customers realized gold prices had shot up. They seem flummoxed about why we couldn’t offer discounts off our suddenly higher prices. After enough media coverage, most people seem to have received the message. Our smarter customers are selling their crappy gold jewelry and having existing pieces redesigned. Our sillier customers are buying lightweight gold jewelry ‘as an investment.’ Our scarier customers are asking for custom pieces in silver, instead of gold, which really isn’t our wheelhouse: the same amount of labor at a much lower margin. Our advice to other jewelers? This is new territory for everyone, so nobody is really in a position to give advice, other than, ‘have a martini.'” — Gretchen S., Sherman Oaks, CA
• “The increased price has sparked interest and most people feel it will continue to rise, so use this as a subject to create urgency and sell what you have or new items without focusing on the increased costs.” — David B., Calgary, AB
• “Buying gold off the street, pay a reasonable price. The amount of time you hold the scrap depends on your carrying ability (savings, working capital). If you have to hold a certain amount of time due to the rules of your location, you can see a certain drop in prices without losing money. At $4,000, if you are paying 60% you can go as low as $2,400 before losing original capital, not including cost of doing business.” — Edwin M., Brainerd, MN
• “We have an Excel spreadsheet that prices based on the gold market. We buy any kind of gold and all silver. We pay about 65% at time of market and offer 10% more if it is spent within our store.” — Tim W., Yorktown, VA
• “Well, I have been thinking to myself that people are still ordering and choosing to buy at this price — perhaps we are selling ourselves short. Too many competitors race to the bottom. What is the threshold of price? Consumers were buying in October here and across the country. Many of us have a higher average retail simply because gold is up, but what was our potential before?” — Natasha H., Bend, OR
• “My advice is to not start out with an apology when showing gold jewelry. Price isn’t always the top issue for shoppers.” — Bill E., Terre Haute, IN

“We do not talk about the price of gold with our customers. Most of them do not know what the price of gold is — they just know they need a present and she wants gold!” — Tim S., Mobile, AL

• “Don’t dwell on the price of gold. We all remember when gold was $1,500/ounce and a cute little 2-gram pendant chain was $150, but those days are long gone. Stay positive and project confidence in what you are selling!” — Gary Y., Ames, IA
• “Anyone in business for a long time has already gone through this before. It is just a different year/name. Keep your head high, serve the customer like you always do. We will get through this one step at a time. Focus on the good and eat more chocolate.” — Ellie M., Michaels, MD
• “If you sell it, make sure you are charging enough to be able to replace it.” — Bob M., Barrington, IL
• “Gold is solid, something everyone likes and wants. It’s going to always be in demand. I believe we need to stop worrying so much about it and sell our services and the jewelry experience — that’s what is really selling right now. And if you love your job, it should come naturally easy.” — Sherrie S., Tigard, OR

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• “What’s old is new again. We’re handwriting tags for our gold chain with weights and selling based on the day’s replacement cost.” — Stew B., Natick, MA
• “The items purchased earlier this year at lower gold prices are technically on sale in our store, as we reprice when they are reordered. This has been an incentive for buying.” — Katrina S., Racine, WI
• “We let everyone know that gold is at an all-time high. We have decided to lower our margin on all gold products. We traditionally did a 3x markup on gold earrings and chain. We have cut that margin to find price points we believe will still sell.” — Christopher S., Wexford, PA
• “I did not retag my older inventory purchased at cheaper gold prices, but I am not going to offer any discount on those pieces. I make sure to tell the customer that the price is a lot less than current prices.” — Liliana M., East Patchogue, NY
• “I am not raising prices on gold that’s in the store. It’s a selling point. Use customer’s recycled gold in their custom pieces, which saves them money and they love that.” — Monica L., Fond du Lac, WI

“Buy what you can to achieve a reasonable profit and send it to the refiners as soon as you can. The wild fluctuations in the price can easily burn you if you are too close in your margins.” — James D., Kingston, NH

• “Create high-end custom work where the metal price is secondary.” — Klaus K., Bristol, RI
• “I accept old gold in two ways: for credit towards a custom order, or to be used directly in casting the piece. I did not do this before!” — Eve A., Evanston, IL
• “Mark it up! Folks are buying like crazy.” — Alan P., Wilmington, NC
• “It hasn’t been a big issue. I guess when you want to get engaged, you pay what it takes to get it done.” — Laurie L., Omaha, NE
• “I think we have to price it fairly to sell it. You will sell more than you would if you 3x the cost.” — Karen H., Batavia, IL
• “Keep as current as you can and don’t worry about selling techniques. These are the prices.” — Bob G., Zionsville, IN
• “We have unloaded a few pieces by doing a 24-hour 40% off sale. I hate to do it, but don’t like to watch inventory grow hair either.” — Cliff Y., Lowell, MI
• “I’m using a slightly lower margin for gold chain but keeping my usual margin for all other items.” — Dianna Rae H., Lafayette, LA
• “Gold earrings still sell. Gold semi-mounts with lab diamonds sell and bring up the price of lab diamonds while being closer to the price of engagement rings with natural diamonds in the past.” — Dorothy V., Tallahassee, FL

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• “We have lowered our margins on items priced over $2,000 wholesale. We are also investing in silver collections, but we are still selling a lot of gold.” — Betsy B., San Francisco, CA
• “We reprice things we need to reorder all the time, such as wedding rings and chains. We periodically look at our estate jewelry to see if it needs to be repriced or simply scrapped.” — Georgie G., Palo Alto, CA
• “Order only best sellers. Special order all others.” — Mark R., Seneca Falls, NY
• “Doing heavy gold pieces by special order, do not stock.” — Christine M., Boyertown, PA
• “We’re buying chain/earrings as needed. Since we custom design and cast in-house, we’re not as affected by shortages and can adjust our prices accordingly.” — Beth C., Dublin, OH
• “We focus a lot of our buying on samples, so that we can order things specific to our customer’s needs. With all of the changes that customers request, it is difficult to stock a live piece that serves as a sample.” — Cheryl K., Lincoln, NE
• “Saying they are pre-price-hike if they are, and offering 10K which is what we never did before!” — Susan E., El Paso, TX
• “I would have said price with a significant cushion anticipating prices continuing to rise, but then the last few weeks have shown some stabilization. Who knows?” — Jeff M., Knoxville, TN