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Sell Overstock 12-18 Months Old Via ‘Silent Auction’ Program | March 07, 2021 (0 comments)
Sherman Oaks, CA--In response to a group of Sales Strategy articles published on March 6, Steven Steinberg shared these detailed instructions we felt jewelers could benefit from, given dated inventory uis everyone's problem.
Silent Auction Program
This promotion was given to me a number of years ago
by an account of mine in the NorthWest. The accounts
that used it were very successful, and ultimately found
this useful in selling off merchandise that was in the store
for longer than they were comfortable with. In my
opinion it’s a win-win program.
The silent auction is a program that runs 365 days a year. It's designed to sell
off items that are between 12 and 18 months old, as well as develop store
traffic.
Let's first talk about the physical layout, and the items you will need for
setting up the program. You will need a designated showcase, or at least half a
showcase positioned well inside the store, preferably close to the back counter.
You will want to display no more than 15 to 20 items at a time. You will need a
"tent" card in front of each item. The "tent" card will show the style number,
the original price, cash price, as well as the opening bid. The cash price, as well
as the opening bid will be based on X number of points over your cost. It’s
been recommended that the opening bid be a little lower than the cash price.
If a customer is concerned about losing the bids, they can opt for the cash price
on the spot. The opening bid is written on a form (that you can have printed locally). It will contain a place for NAME, PHONE NUMBER, ADDRESS, as
well as E-MAIL ADDRESS. The e-mail address will provide you with a
vehicle to announce special promotions, as well as an opportunity to preview
new items that were brought in for Xmas, as well as special events. The completed form is then placed in a small box.
At the end of the week, the box is emptied, and the highest bid for each item is drawn. A call is made to each of
the winners, and invited back to the store, where they can pay for their items.
One of the critical points of this program is to be honest with your customers,
by telling them why this program was developed. Most retailers will advise their
customers that they need space in the store to introduce new items.
Since the store policy is to place items in the silent auction case that are between 12 and
18 months old, your customers have a chance to partake in the pricing. You will
also want to emphasize that there is nothing wrong with the jewelry they are
choosing, and will still be guaranteed against manufacturer's defects.
Initially, you will want to think about advertising this program through
whatever media that has been successful for you. At first you may want to "tag"
on to whatever advertising you are now doing. The foot traffic that develops
from this program is terrific. You also need to know that there are a percentage
of sales that will occur from your regular stock, jas a result of having people
that came in just to bid on the silent auction.
Good luck. Should you have any questions about this program, please feel free to call me. My cell number is:
818.203.2971, or stevenm43@att.net. Steven Steinberg isd the owner of Creative Marketing Services in Sherman Oaks, CA and does jewelry industry recruiting exclusively for sales reps