Clasps and findings

[dalia]

Hi all,

i know i haven't posted much here since i joined,
not because i didn't want to but because i didn't feel i had much to contribute.

Anyway, i saw some earlier posts regarding quality clasps and findings,
and i thought i could address some of your needs, being so close to the Israel Diamond exchange and gold manufacturers. By comparing local prices to the prices on the sites of some US vendors i think that both quality wise and price wise there is real value for PG members.

Regards,

Dalia

 

[Caitlin]

Some of the best clasps are being made in Israel. Are you offering to help us get them directly? How would we go about doing that?

 

[Nerida]

Dalia, I buy Israeli made findings in Australia - particulary diamond-set findings. I am happy with my current arrangement, but can vouch for the superior workmanship and styling.

 

[dalia]

Hi Caitlin,Nerida,

Well, from my initial conversation with the manufacturers, they only deal in large quantities and orders and will not be intrested addressing multiple small orders. My idea (i am thinking outloud here) is maybe to concentrate monthly orders from PG members and then suply it as 1 big order to the manufacturer, if we can find enough PG members willing to do that. Once i receive the order i will break it down to PG members orders and ship it out. Makes any sence? Meanwhile i have received the pictures of the available findings and my husband uploaded them to his Picasa account.
After a deeper check prices are at least 15% lower on any item then the US or Euro vendors and even bigger differences on diamond clasps.
The disadvantage is that since it's not a shop but a factory they don't have it in inventory so the production takes about 3-4 weeks.
Do you think it can work?

 

[pearlescence]

Hi Dalia,
any good source of findings is interesting - but as to prices note that we will have to pay duty and taxes on any imports which would probably wipe out any savings
Where are the pix?
Cheers
Wendy

 

[dalia]

Hi Wendy,
i am not sure about the EU, but i know for sure that Israel and the US have a trade agreement, so there is no taxation on Israeli products exported to US, given they are made in Israel.I will check tomorow regarding EU agreements.

Meanwhile here is the link:

http://picasaweb.google.com/ilia1313

i haven't assigned captures to all the clasps yet but it should be done in a day or 2...

Cheers,
Dalia

 

[Caitlin]

Jeremy is out of the country, so he may not have read any of this yet.

This proposal is interesting, but I am not sure how to make it work. We don't advertise, buy or sell directly in threads, but let the customer approach a seller through the PM system and not the reverse.

The easiest thing to do seems to be able to buy clasps from a finding house, like Bella's where it is not crucial you order way ahead of time or be sure to pay for everything you order 6 weeks out in front.

If anything went wrong in something traded through the P-G, it would mess with our reputation and friendships and perhaps even get legal repercussions. We are meant to be a learning site about pearls and many certainly share experiences buying from various dealers, but we avoid advertising our stuff is for sale in the threads. In fact offering anything as being for sale is a breech of etiquette. When it is selling pearls, it is usually spamming. (I except amateurs- people who have a set of Grandmother's pearls and want to learn about and/or sell them.)

This case does not quite fit that mold. Right now, no one is buying or selling, just discussing an idea for getting clasps at a good deal, but I am not sure we have workable ideas either.

I praise you for your cleverness and enterprise, and maybe you can find a way to make it work.

Also, you have a lot of photos of clasps and no way to sort them into smaller groups. That drove me nuts after just a couple of pages. At Bella, for instance, I can sort by metal, types of clasps, toggle, magnetic, etc. I want shopping to be easy and fast.

 

[jshepherd]

Those pieces are all KGH. We've been customers of theirs for years. They produce good quality findings. The prices vary with the price of gold, though, so they change (literally) every time we order.

I think it would be pretty easy to see a difference in cost from a findings house here in the US. KGH is a manufacturer and works on small margins. That's why they expect larger orders and have a sizable lead time. They supply a lot of pieces to companies like Bella's in Los Angeles and those companies add probably 25-30%.

We still buy a lot of clasps and findings from Bella's because they are immediately available, even though we could save $$ if kept enough ample stock in every style direct from KGH. But then the cost of holding that stock is high, and there is the volatile price of gold again...

 

[dalia]

Jeremy is correct, this is KGH. Regarding the price changes they change everywere with the gold price moves.
This solution doesn't fit everyone, but i still think there is great value here for members who want to order high quality gold clasps at low prices but can't do it directly through the manufacturer. Israel export is tax free to the EU and the US, except the VAT.
This will be my last post on the subject as i want to follow the forum's policy. Intrested members are welcomed to send me PM.