Comments on: Gallery Requested a “Pick Box” – What Is It, and How Should I Handle It?

By: Angela Darmali

Angela Darmali — Wed, 18 May 2016 03:44:14 +0000

Hi Darlene,
maybe you can send photos of your work through Whatsapp, and communicate with your prospective clients.

By: Alice

Alice — Wed, 18 May 2016 02:36:05 +0000

I would never sell on consignment first of all. I’ve been burned by 3 different businesses even though I’ve had records of every piece I’ve sent. It’s vital to take pictures of every item that goes out of your house. Because I had pictures, one shop finally paid for my items I had in their shop. Somehow they had “disappeared”. Otherwise I’d have been duped by 4 shops. One shop sold out to someone else and she had no record of my items. Thankfully, I didn’t have a lot at any of these shops. It would have cost more to go through legal channels than I would have gotten in return.

By: Virginia Vivier

Virginia Vivier — Tue, 17 May 2016 17:54:18 +0000

I agree completely with Rena! Your Etsy shop photos are very clear regarding the size and materials of each piece, so it would be very easy for him/her to ask for specific items, rather than a “grab bag.”

I recently sent a sample of one of my hand-painted items to a shop owner for wholesale sales, and they sent it back damaged! I have also experienced 3 high-end resort gift shops in Scottsdale, AZ that sold every single one of my pieces and didn’t tell me. I took me a year of very inconvenient visits to track down the owners, but I finally got payment. So, Rena is very wise and offers excellent advice.

By: Sande Gene

Sande Gene — Tue, 17 May 2016 17:29:01 +0000

I photo every item I create and keep it off line in a cloud storage area. Such as drop box, Then you could invite others whom want to consign with you to look at your jewelry and tell you which pieces they would like to sell. For me, I can switch items back and forth between my web site and my drop box as I deem necessary.

By: DARLENE

DARLENE — Tue, 17 May 2016 00:54:34 +0000

Thanks so much, Rena, for your thorough advice and resources. This helps tremendously!

By: Rena Klingenberg

Rena Klingenberg — Fri, 06 May 2016 22:30:43 +0000

Hi Darlene, I wouldn't feel comfortable sending my actual jewelry pieces for their consideration - unless I already had an extremely good relationship and track record with the gallery, and felt that the contact person there was very responsible, trustworthy, and professional. I've had too many experiences with galleries / shops trying to get away with not paying for wholesale or consigned items, particularly when they're located in another state or town. If I couldn't take a selection of my jewelry to show to the gallery in person, I would prefer to have the gallery choose items from my jewelry website, line sheets, or lookbook. If you have good photos and descriptions of your items (and all the photos I've ever seen of your work are excellent), the gallery should be able to make selections from your photos. As an added incentive, you might offer the gallery an opportunity to exchange any of your pieces that haven't sold from the gallery within a specified period of time (provided that the pieces they return to you are still in mint condition). You may want to consider making jewelry line sheets, or making a jewelry lookbook of your available pieces for them to choose from. If you do decide to send your actual jewelry pieces to a gallery or shop, make sure to have a signed agreement from them about the terms of their receiving and considering your jewelry. And keep good records of the pieces you send - and the pieces you get back. If you don't have a system for keeping track of pieces you send to the gallery, you may want to try one of these ideas: Keeping Track of Your Jewelry Consignment Inventory. Let us know how this situation turns out, Darlene - and wishing you all the best! :)