Hi all ---

I need some help/suggestions with what is an appropriate protocol for pricing on what I'm calling, for lack of a better idea, a third party commission. I sell jewelry through some local retailers, and my standing policy is to charge keystone (50% retail) with a minimum order for all wholesale purchases. Now a customer from one of these stores wants to commission a necklace and a pair of earrings directly through me, but wants to include the retailer in the loop. Here are the pricing problems as I see them:

 
1. I'm doing all the work. The customer isn't going through the retailer at all, but is going back and forth with me directly, involving considerable time.

2. The order is very unlikely to meet my minimum wholesale order requirement, so even if the retailer bought the pieces from me directly then turned around and sold them at the usual mark up, it won't make my minimum, and I don't want to get in the habit of selling wholesale in piecemeal. Especially not at this price point.

3. I don't typically sell unique pieces to this retailer, who has a lower-end clientele and has never bought anything much over $100. There is going to be sticker shock if I have to price these pieces at keystone. I assume the customer is also not taking this fact into account.

My question is, what do I fairly owe this retailer? My inclination is to do this entire deal myself, charge the customer as I deem appropriate, and give the retailer some sort of finder's fee. So what would be a fair finder's fee? And if the customer insists on purchasing these items through the retailer, do I arrange some other terms --- besides keystone, say a 70/30 split? --- with the store to account for my extra work? Or do I just charge the retailer more for these pieces than I would the customer directly and if the customer balks at the cash register, too bad for the retailer?

Help!

 hmm, that is tricky. I am glad you are not going to cut out the store because this is their customer and you need to support your channel. have you asked the store what they think is fair? they might be happy with a small finder's fee. a finder's fee seems to be right since you are doing all the sales work, which is what they are supposed to do to earn the 50%.

My neighbor does custom tile painting.  The tile store gets a referral fee of 10-15%.  That's it.  The rest of the transaction is strictly between the artist and the customer.  The customer buys the tile from the tile store and delivers it to the artist to be painted and fired.  Price for artwork is agreed to before the customer buys the tile from the tile store.

I'm with jilla here, just give them a commission of 10-15% 

Talk to the store and see what they think, tell them that is your normal way of proceding with this, as if you've already done this a thousand times.  

HAHA ,interesting