How Would You Solve the Mystery of the Manufacturer Miscommunication?

MILA, OWNER OF Halo & Hart, a modern fine jewelry boutique, went to the LuxeVault trade show with two goals: refresh her product assortment and offload $100,000 in aged merchandise that hadn’t moved in over a year.

At the show, she spent nearly two hours with Michael, a sales rep from Orion Goldworks, one of the event’s top vendors. Together, they walked through product options and discussed a potential 1:1 trade. Mila would agree to take on $100,000 in new inventory if Orion agreed to buy back $100,000 of her aging stock.

Mila was clear about her priorities. The buy was conditional. She’d only commit if Orion accepted the 1:1 trade. Michael said he’d pass the details along to his team and follow up after the show. Mila made her selections at the booth but marked “pending 1:1 terms” in her notes. She reiterated multiple times that the deal was not final without written terms. Nothing was signed. She left the meeting assuming a proposal would follow.

Weeks passed. Mila didn’t hear anything from Michael. She moved on to follow-ups with other vendors, expecting that Orion would reach out with a formal proposal. Then the holidays hit, and the order fell off her radar.

Mila began to recognize the precarious position she was now in. She had held back on discounting or clearing her aged inventory during the holiday season, expecting the Orion trade to go through. That decision, made in good faith, now left her with $100,000 in unsold merchandise tying up capital. What was once a strategic move now felt like a costly gamble. If the Orion agreement fell apart, not only would she miss the chance to offload old product, but she’d also be months behind on replenishing her cases. Her sales floor would be thin, her safe overstocked, and her Q2 buying plan was built around an assumption that had never been formally confirmed.

With growing concern, Mila reached back out to Orion. This time, she was contacted by Alexis, an account rep from the fulfillment team. Alexis stated that Mila’s $100,000 order was ready for shipment and asked her to confirm delivery details and payment terms. To Mila’s surprise, the message also noted that Orion could only offer 3:1 terms — a far cry from the 1:1 agreement she had originally discussed with Michael at the show.

Mila immediately flagged the disconnect, letting Alexis know she had never confirmed the order, never received a proposal or PO, and hadn’t spoken to anyone about 3:1 terms. The original conversation with Michael was built around a 1:1 agreement. Without that, she would have made different selections or not placed an order at all.

She asked for a copy of the product list. Alexis confirmed the assortment matched what she picked at the show and said it couldn’t be changed due to tariff issues and gold pricing. Mila pushed back, explaining that the selections were made based only on the understanding that Orion would take back $100,000 in old product.

But Alexis still insisted the order was in the system. From her view, Mila’s show picks were a confirmed order. The only thing missing was payment terms.
Mila re-checked her notes: no PO, no invoice, no formal acknowledgment. Just a meeting, a verbal agreement on intent, and a handoff from sales to fulfillment.

She explained the situation again and asked to scale back or revise the order. The answer was still no. Then the final email arrived:

Subject: Final Confirmation Needed. Order Ships Friday

Body: We’re prepping your LuxeVault order. Please confirm by Thursday.

Mila was now faced with a decision: Accept the order and absorb the cost or walk away and risk damaging a vendor relationship.

Jennifer F.
Colorado Springs, CO

Honestly, this is a huge violation of the handshake code-of-conduct our industry survives on. Without a signature of accepting an order or a deposit paid to confirm the order, the vendor should be left “holding the bag,” so to speak. We recently discovered a longtime vendor decided to change terms without any notification (not even updating fine print on a memo agreement), and when they tried to invoice us for merchandise we didn’t request or approve to ship, we returned their goods and severed the relationship. There are TONS of amazing vendors out there, and for this situation where details and terms mean nothing to the supplier, Mila should hold a closeout sale and use the funds from that to order with a new supplier!

Sherrie L.
Sharon, WI

In writing. No agreement unless it is in writing. If the order ships, refuse it. You got through a season without missing this merchandise, so this vendor is not essential to your business. Had a similar thing happen to me. I looked at a new vendor at a show. The rep gave me an order blank to make notes on, which I took with me. He asked me for one part of the multipart form “so he could judge what customers liked best.” Weeks later, this merch started coming off the delivery truck (lots of it — I noted anything remotely interesting). I told the driver to put it back on the truck, shipment refused. I had discarded all the info on what I decided not to order, so I had to call the show office for the company information (this was pre-Internet). I told the show I was not happy and explained what happened. They were very interested; I got the impression I wasn’t the only complaint. Never saw the company again and was not charged.

David B.
Calgary, AB

Risk a relationship with this vendor? I would punt them to the curb. This is not a vendor you want to work with. I have had almost exactly this happen to me twice! As a buyer, your recourse is to refuse the order. If they insist on shipping, leave it in the box in your safe until they take it back at their cost.
The first time this happened to me, I stopped working with the vendor and I put everything on closeout. A month after Christmas, I melted the balance and never looked back. That vendor still calls me today and wants orders. I don’t return their calls.
Just because it is a show and salespeople may be busy doesn’t give them the right to be “scuzzy” and unethical or a bully.

Bruce A.
Sherwood Park, AB

I don’t see the problem with losing a vendor like this. Reject the order at delivery and find another supplier.

Denise O.
Grange, IL

Trade shows are energizing but risky when handshake deals aren’t clearly documented. Mila’s experience with Orion is a cautionary tale — just like the time we locked in gold pricing at $1,365 pre-COVID, only to receive our order months later at $1,550 because the vendor claimed pricing was based on the shipping date. Without written confirmation, assumptions become costly. Retailers should always follow up in writing immediately after a show. Confirm price basis (order date vs. ship date), conditional terms and next steps. Never assume a deal is finalized unless there’s a PO or formal proposal. Bring your own confirmation sheet if needed — itemized selections, pricing, and any conditions like 1:1 trades.
Avoid basing key decisions (like delaying markdowns) on verbal agreements. Until confirmed, treat deals as tentative. Ask vendors for clarity on who manages the post-show process and follow up quickly to avoid gaps in communication.
In volatile markets, protecting your margins starts with documentation. Clear communication now prevents painful surprises later — and keeps vendor relationships on solid ground.

Brian M.
Shrewsbury, NJ

They mentioned possibly ruining a relationship with her vendor. It sounds like there IS no relationship. A relationship is two parties communicating, which it seems there was none of on the vendor’s side. Michael needs to be contacted and in the conversation. If he doesn’t help, I’d decline the order and have a big sale and give my customers the opportunity to purchase at extremely reduced pricing. I’m done with vendors who only want it one way. After 35 years with my store, maybe I’ve just realized it’s supposed to work for all of us.

Raimie W.
Avon, CT

“Walk away. She was very clear about her needs. I would, however, put in writing the cancellation of the order and the why. She might also want to reiterate her understanding of her request while at the show. One door closes, another opens.”