More About Consignment!

First of all, sorry for neglecting this series regarding consignment. I have received really positive emails from fellow jewelry designers and other artists stating that this series has really helped them to learn a great deal about consigment and how it "really" works!

I have been just a wee bit busy with a new (non-jewelry!) project, Jet-Chef.com! Jet-Chef.com is an innovative directory of caterers, personal chefs, florists, and other vendors who can provide inflight catering and services to private jet owners and jet charter industry! Go to the Jet-Chef blog to check out more information!


Furthermore, I want to take a moment to brag a bit...

One of my blog posts is featured in the Summer 2008 issue of Artful Blogging! Yup! On the "Buzz" page, page 3 in the issue. I am so proud! This publication is so amazing and so inspiring (and not just because one of my posts is featured!). This is a magazine that reads like a highend, ultra expensive coffee table books! Go to www.stampington.com for more info on ordering Artful Blogging!


Enough about me...Moving on to Consignment, and the Big Questions!

First Big Question: Does this boutique/retailer have a consignment contract?

I typically ask this before the first meeting, and if they have one, I ask if they can scan or fax a copy of it to me prior to our meeting. Sometimes, they will say it is proprietary and they only share that with the artists that they consign with. That is fine. Just remember, the more details that they are willing to share up front with you, the more likely it is a professional retailer with whom you want to do business.

If they provide a copy to you at the meeting, ask to read through it with the owner/manager. This is pretty standard practice, and hopefully you have set up enough appointment time to do this. If not, let them know that you will need to review it when you get home before you make any decisions. If any retailer is troubled by this request, that can be a question mark. Having the chance to read it quickly through with the owner/manager gives you both the opportunity to clear up any questions or concerns on the spot.


Remember, this is your opportunity to make sure that their terms meet your expectations. Yes, you want to sell your product, yes it feels amazing to be recognized and have your work validated in this manner. But, you have to make sure that it is a solid business, that they are flexible and understanding of your desire to get all of the facts. Truly, top notch retailers will respect you MORE for asking these questions and being involved, they will recognize you as not only an artist, but also a business person.

Not all terms may be negotiable. They may tell you the contract is the contract, period. Does that fit your goals and needs? Again, the sense of urgency to get your product and artwork into the retail marketplace is only known truly by you. You may feel that your desire to get your "foot in the door" outweighs your desire to be flexible. There is nothing wrong with agreeing to their terms, as long as you truly do understand them and are willing to live up to those terms!

So, what do you do if they do not have a contract? You can bring a copy of a contract that you have created, and discuss those terms with them. Feel free to contact me at kelly@kamacejewelry.com if you have any questions or would like to see a sample contract. You should have a contract, or this series of questions and suggestions with you for your meeting, as a back up plan.

This is always a great reason to have a laptop or mobile device upon which you could have a copy of a contract that you would like to propose to them to use for your consignment arrangement. That could be immediately emailed to them, and even printed during the meeting for review.


You can always create after the meeting your own "working contract". Throughout the meeting you should have been taking notes and keeping track of what you and the owner/manager agreed upon. After you get home, you can recap what has been discussed. Tell the owner/manager that you would like to send them an email or snail mail copy of your notes for their review. Request that they initial or sign the notes, as this will be your "working contract". Type it up with two initial fields at the lead of each bulletpoint. Initial one set, and they will see that as a good faith effort on your behalf to also commit to what they had told you were their expectation!


Bottom line, if the boutique does not have a contract, you do not have a contract, and they do not want to sign any kind of recap...then what???
I would suggest that you continue on your search for another boutique/retailer. That is solely my suggestion, but one that I know would have been a handly concept for people that I know that entered into consigment agreements with just a friendly handshake. Obviously if you know the owner/manager well, he/she is a neighbor, in your carpool, go to your church, or is your brother or sister-in-law...that is one thing! But the bottom line is that you need to protect your brand, the investment in your inventory and your sanity with some form of written agreement.

Next question in the series...How about some references???

Consignment...continued!

I wanted to start this next installment with a warm thanks to the great response that I have received to the first posting about consignment. I received many wonderful comments and emails thanking me for this information and asking me to continue with this informative series. I love to share my experience and knowledge with others, and if any of this information assists you, please let me know. I would love to share that with other readers, and highlight your business successes on this blog!

Interesting side note: I have been in contact with boutiques interested in my jewelry, including some with whom I have done wholesale business in the past. With the current state of the economy, many smaller boutiques are taking a much more careful and cautious approach to how they manage their inventory and are incorporating CONSIGNMENT into their inventory plan. This is a business practice that may just be growing, and one that we as artists will need to understand and embrace to continue to drive our sales and exposure!

Here is the next installment in the Consignment series...Meeting with the Boutique! Please note that this series is also being posted on my Retail Training Consultants blog! Next installment: The First of the "BIG QUESTIONS"!



The Meeting! (drumroll, please...)

When you have a meeting scheduled, be prepared. You have every right to negotiate as much as the retailer does! I know many artists who have felt that it is up the retailer to set the terms, and they put their art and their livelihood in the hands of that retailer. That is pretty naïve, and I have heard nightmare stories come out of such arrangements. You are also in control, remember, it is your product that will make them a profit! This should be a two way conversation!

Come prepared with the following:

Samples. Bring as many as you can, with a strong representation of your work, the colors/gemstones/mediums you work in and with the variety of techniques that you may incorporate into your work. Make sure that they are professionally presented, I have heard horror stories about necklaces tangled in bags, earrings that are mismatched...not the impression you want to leave! Fetpak and other suppliers have wonderful sample cases, roll bags, portfolios, and other clever ways of keeping your samples safe and well-presented.

With jewelry, it is great to show them on displayers, if you can bring some along. It can also really showcase the jewelry if you have velvet or leather mats to lay the pieces on. It also shows the care that you take with your product, and that it is truly special.

Put the jewelry on, invite them to try it on. Jewelry is a visceral sale, and when people try on jewelry they are much more likely to buy it, including boutique owners and managers! Do you have a friend who would be willing to be a model for you? Bring them along, and have them help showcase your work!

A portfolio of your work. This could include digital pictures, postcards or catalogs you have printed. If you are featured in blogs, have screen prints, or screen prints from being highlighted or featured on other websites. If you have been featured in any print advertising, editorials or articles, this is a great way to showcase the newspaper or magazine articles. Yes, this is your opportunity to "brag", and this is a professional way to do so! A nice portfolio is a strong impression!

A new way to showcase your work is to incorporate one of the digital frames that you can plug in and have pictures of your work (and even music) scrolling across the frame. Upload your favorite pictures, set it to flash from picture to picture at the time interval that you set, and some offer you the ability to add effects. It is a high tech way to showcase your work, and the digital frames are now very accessible in price. Use it later at jewelry parties and shows too!

Price sheets. Try to use item numbers for your produdct if possible, as this makes it much less confusing for you and the retailer. While I love to have unique and interesting names and descriptions for my pieces, each one has a unique item number that makes it easy to track and communicate to retailers.

Also, be sure to note any volume pricing that you may offer, or any pricing variations between styles. For example, if I do a necklace in freshwater pearl, it is priced differently than if it is in gemstones. Be prepared to answer if you are flexible in your pricing. Also, be prepared and answer what your average price is, what the average mark up of your work is, and what other retailers are carrying your work.

Blank invoices. They should be pre-printed with your logo and business info on them if possible. This conveys that you are an established business, an invoice pad from an office store does not.

Invoices will be crucial should they want to keep any samples as well to show the owner, other partners, etc. You should never leave any samples without some kind of paper trail! Also, they may wish to create an order on the spot, and this way you are ready to write it up!

Pens, pencils, calculator, stapler, paper clips, etc. I have a small pencil bag from Staples that I carry supplies in that can assist me with writing up an invoice, with all of the supplies in miniature. Cute, and still usable! That way, I can streamline my supplies, and still get the job done!

Technology. Better yet...if you have the technology that makes price sheets, invoices and office supplies a thing of the past, go for it! I have brought along my laptop, and from one piece of technology, I can show them my website, my blog, my portfolio, my price sheets and type up the invoice and email it to them before I even leave the boutique! Whew!

I also have a PDA that can do pretty much all of the above, just on a smaller screen. Ditto for an iPhone. Be savvy with the technology that you use, it can make the meeting much easier, take much less time, and truly show them how much you respect their time and how quickly you can react to their business needs.

Recommendations from customers or other retail partners. This is a great way to show a steady track record with other customers, and that you are reliable and credible.

Good luck with your meeting! Feel free to share with me what worked, what you did differently, or any other advice you would offer for meeting with retailers!

Next posting: The first of the "BIG QUESTIONS"!

Consignment: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

I started a post on my other blog, Retail Training Consultants, after being asked in many forums about my experience with Consignment. I think that consignment can be a great way for an artist to get exposure and business. Consignment, however, in many of the forums and communities in which I am involved has really gotten a "bad rap".
I decided to write a series of the kinds of questions you should ask yourself about a potential consigment agreement, as well as general issues surrounding how to make a consignment agreement work for you. Here is the first installment, more to follow! Please feel free to post your input, and contact me at kelly@kamacejewelry.com if you have any specific consignment comments that you would like added to this dialogue. I will also be posting this series as an ebook soon! Enjoy!


I see countless forum posts about consignment and whether or not it is the right fit for that artist. Consignment is not for everyone, but more and smaller retailers are moving in this direction. It reduces one of their big expenses—inventory, and makes them far more flexible when they can move in and out of goods more quickly. The retailer avoids markdowns, dealing with worn or damaged goods, and provides fresh, new merchandise to returning customers. What a great deal for the retailer, right? Well, consignment can also be an amazing deal for you, if you are prepared, if you are informed and if you ask the right questions and get those answers in writing! You, too, can profit from consignment relationships!

First of all, what is consignment? Consignment is defined by Wikipedia as:

the act of consigning, which is placing a person or thing in the hand of another, but retaining ownership until the goods are sold or person is transferred. This may be done for shipping, transfer of prisoners, or for sale in a store (i.e. a consignment shop). In the context of sale, it is usually understood that the consignee (the consignment seller or the party to which goods are sent) pays the consignor (the person with items to sell or the party by which the goods are consigned) only after the sale, from its proceeds.

Consignment can be a complex business relationship. You are putting your work in the hands of the retailer to sell, but no transfer of money is completed until the item is sold. This can feel a bit scary. You release your hard work and passion into a bit of an unknown business arrangement. I know many artists who just “REFUSE” to do consignment because they feel that they deserve to be paid in a wholesale arrangement for their work. That is fine, that this their business plan and the way that they wish to do business. If, however, they see how many galleries and boutiques are moving into the consignment direction, it may be a business practice that they will have to adjust to! And, let’s face it, that may also work for a well-established artist. But, if you are not that nationally recognized artist, you need to find alternative venues to showcase and sell your work. Do your due diligence and you can ensure that you are indeed putting your product in the right hands!

I have found with my business, K. A. Mace Jewelry, that consignment as been profitable for me. However, early on, I was on my own to figure it out. Not as many jewelry designers were on the internet, a fraction of the forums and community groups existed, and to be down right honest, with less public information, other designers were not as upfront with their experiences. Now that the internet has opened up the flow of ideas and information, more and more designers are openly discussing and publishing what has and has not worked for them.

One of the great “perks” to consignment is that it is a way for both the artist and the retail to initiate and develop a working relationship. The relationship needs to work for you, as the artist, just as much as it needs to for the retailer! I have found new wholesale customers through a “trial run” of consignment, I had customers that became repeat customers through my website, I made great business relationships and enjoyed traveling to do trunk shows and appearances. It can be really rewarding in many aspects for an artist to sell through consignment, you just need to be armed with the facts.

This is a basic checklist of questions that I have prepared for myself. By no means do they cover every single aspect of consignment. And, please note that this is from my perspective as a jewelry designer. Other art forms may have other dynamics not noted here. If you find that you have additional perspectives, please feel free to share them with me at kelly@kamacejewelry.com. The more comprehensive this list, the more we help all artists find the right place to sell their product and drive the handmade movement!

First of all, no matter who starts this relationship, ensure that you have shopped the boutique/retailer as a customer yourself. Have you heard of “mystery shoppers”? Well, this is what you need to do for your own goods!

* What is the shop really like from a customers’ perspective? Bring a friend along, ask them for their thoughts. If you are concerned that you will be recognized, or have an appointment later in the day, have a trusted friend or associate do the shop for you!

* What is the “feeling” you get walking around and observing how they do business?

* Is the shop clean, floors, windows, the display mirrors? This is how they will keep your product, after all!

* Is the shop open the hours that they post? This is important as I have found smaller boutiques to be closed at certain times that seemed inappropriate to me, and it concerned me about the overall traffic that my goods would get if they had an associate that closed the store for her lunch when others could have stopped in over their lunches!

* What is the staff like? Ask questions and test their knowledge of the goods in the store. Where are they? On the floor, at the register? Are they approachable? Do you get a sense for the owner/manager being involved?

* What are the displays like and what condition are the displays in? Do the displays match how your product should be displayed? Is there a consistent branding to the fixtures and displays?

* Are the prices reasonable, are the price points in your range? Several times I would walk in and the prices would be much lower than I expected and I felt that it would be difficult for my jewelry to compete.

I also call the retailer, ask questions on the phone. Are they pleasant, helpful, and professional? Remember, you are working hard to build your brand on your artwork, where you retail or consign your product becomes an extension of you! If you have your product there and someone were to call asking about your merchandise, you would want to know that it could be sold over the phone as easily as if that customer were in the store!

If the consignment shop is not in my local area, I often ask for pictures of the boutique, and see how they present themselves to me. I have sometimes been lucky enough to have friends in the area that would do the scouting for me, and it helped me a great deal to make sound decisions.

Next topic...Preparing for the Meeting with the consignment retailer!