Why Cutting Middlemen Out Is a New Trend in Retail

Learn why buying from the manufacturer or a company that directly orders from the producers is of your advantage. Read how doing so can affect the price, and find a list of stores that use the new retail concept to the advantage of their customers.

Disclosure: This post is sponsored.

Why to Buy from the Manufacturer

Did you know that you can save up to 90% off the retail price of jewelry when you buy online directly from craftsmen and manufacturers? Why? Look at the graphic below. Every middleman, of course, has costs and also wants to make money. Thus, the product gets more and more expensive without getting better or gaining value at all! This means many potential customers – men or women alike – people like you and me – pay more and indirectly help others be employed.

Of course, you can argue that the manufacturer also has some costs that wouldn’t exist when they would use a middleman. For instance, they need people who do the packing to send out the pieces
to you that your ordered. They most likely need a slightly larger warehouse they would need otherwise. If they would use middlemen, products would leave the warehouse in bulks. Sending them directly to the customers, means one at a time. But these costs are all justified costs as part of the direct process from manufacturer to the customer, i.e. door-to-door.

Other Benefits

What else do you gain besides saving money on services that don’t increase the value of the item? You contribute to reducing emissions! The order ships to you directly! No detours to the warehouses of middlemen, and from there no detour to the boutique jewelry stores or online stores. You also avoid the judging looks and high-pressure pitches from store clerks (and on looking customers).

Back Orders Can Be Dealt with Fast

Have you ever waited on a great dress, coat, or what ever because it was on back order? How long was that? Six weeks to three months! In other words, the season was half or totally over! When the manufacturer is also the distributor, the merchandise can immediately be made when the demand arises. No admin sending out a new bulk order whenever they get to it. No delay of similar kind at the middlemen, no delay caused by a transport company who puts the transport at the end of the list because of a better/bigger client. You get the idea.

Being Proud of Their Work

What does a production to customer marketing concept mean? Employees can identify themselves with the product. Even when they only gift wrap the jewelry and prepare the shipment to your home address, they are part of a company creating great jewelry. They can take pride in their company’s products and their own work to get these items to the customers.

Now what about the employee of a middle man? They function as a sort of transition machine. No creation, just (re-)distributing. Their pride is in just doing their jobs right.

Where to Find Merchandise without Middlemen?

While the concepts differ widely, here several companies that I am aware off that, among others, reduce the costs of their products by cutting out middlemen.

• The Pearl Source Inc. Learn more about them in my review of their Akoya pearl necklace.
• Italic, one of my favorites to buy high quality products online.
• Marine Layer. See my review post on the Marine Layer striped Tee to learn more about them.
• Jewel on Fire
• Sungait sunglasses. More on their business concept, and how to get a free pair of sunglasses from them in my review of Sungait eyewear.
• Jord accessories

Why Cutting Middlemen Out Is Beneficial in a Nutshell

Companies who don’t use middlemen can sell high quality merchandise at affordable to people like you and me. The resulting savings can means that you pay up to 90% less than at a retailer.

Diagram: N. Mölders

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