In writing this post, I was TRYING to find a nice balance between providing enough of an explanation to help address some questions or concerns … while also respecting that old adage of KISS (which is “Keep It Simple, Stupid!”)! But. I’m thinking that’s KISS thing hasn’t really been accomplished, because it got more complicated than I’d have thought.
I suggest you read on.
In this particular posting, let’s assume that, when I refer to “Trollbeads,” I am referring to “Authentic, Genuine, Original” – and neither “knock-offs” or “fakes.” If I address anything that is talking about “knock-offs” or “fakes,” I’ll state that. Directly.
If you’ve read any of my blog postings, you should already know that I am neither a Trollbead Retailer, nor an employee of Lund Trading. I’ve never talked to or met the folks over there. But, maybe they’ll hire me some day. :-) Anyway, like I said, I research a LOT. And I retain what I learn.
If you read nothing else in this post, read this: stop sitting around and moaning about prices and blaming the US Retailers for what you think are unfair prices.
Instead, I have two suggestions for you:
- Read on and get an overview of basic sales policies and the costs of both production and distribution; and
- Don’t forget to look at the current exchange rate between the US Dollar and … just about any other country in the world. In that comparison, the US loses in just about every head-to-head battle.
If they operate like most other well-run businesses, Lund Trading has a basic policy for “fair trade” among their authorized retailers. What that means is, in the interest of being fair to all US Retailers, the prices are already determined by a contract between Lund Trading and the US Retailers. No lows, no highs, no sales. The price just IS what it IS. Every US Retailer is treated as equal. And, neither these US Retailers, nor Lund Trading, are trying to “rip anyone off.” It’s a business, folks; not a charity.
I encourage you to please read this very very carefully – maybe twice – and to stop bad-mouthing US Retailers or Lund Trading. I’ve seen a number of unfortunate accusations flying around that are founded on nothing other than speculation and inaccurate and inconclusive logic. With a strong dose of uneducated self-righteousness thrown in a few screams of “I want mine cheap! You’re cheating me!” All this does is stir up the resentment in the world for the rest of us Trollbeads buyers.
Unfortunately, most such “assumptions and accusations” are truly ignorant; because people don’t really understand either the basic economics of supply and demand; and manufacturing, distribution costs and pricing policies. (BTW – just to be clear, “ignorant” does not mean “stupid.” Ignorance is the basic lack of knowledge, education or training about a particular subject. Stupid is a term used to imply that someone is foolish, dull or senseless.)
So, here we go. And I want to RESTATE that I am talking about Genuine, Authentic, Original, Legitimate, Real, Honest-to-Goodness Trollbeads.
Almost all of them are MADE IN CHINA, folks. Yes. China. Designed in Denmark, manufactured in China. That does NOT mean they are “fake or knock-offs.” “Made in China” IS a real and authentic Trollbead. Keep reading.
Glass I Trollbeads (and many of the Gold and Silver Trollbeads) are made in China. Not designed in China – manufactured in China. Since labor in China is so much more cost-effective, the labor part of the process is contracted from the people in Denmark to China. If each Trollbead were actually physically manufactured at Trollbeads Denmark; you can best believe that the costs would skyrocket and the prices would rise to a level that is entirely unaffordable for most customers.
After the Trollbeads are created, cleaned (and, in the case of the glass beads, had the silver core inserted) they are packaged and prepared for shipment. They are then sent directly from China to both the US Distributor of Trollbeads (Lund Trading) and to Trollbeads Denmark. There is no middle-man or additional step to be accounted for to impact their pricing in the US. To explain it directly, their route, after packaging, is this: China to Lund to US Retailer; or China to Trollbeads Denmark to European Retailers. Therefore, the pricing appears to be “across the board” similar if not exact (especially, if you ignore the impact of the phenomenally low value and exchange rate of the US Dollar).
Now I want to talk about the Prism Trollbeads, since it seems that those particularly are a bit of a lightening rod right now. The Prism Trollbeads are not only designed in Denmark, but they are also manufactured in Denmark. This means that the distribution goes through more steps before arriving in the hands of the US Retailers – and also passes through a very bad financial exchange rate (bad from the US viewpoint). Trollbeads Denmark already has them in their hands and can obviously sell them at any price they’d wish. Distributed from Denmark, to Lund Trading, and then to US Retailers causes the prices to be a bit higher – not only because of the shipping and distribution costs, but because Lund Trading has to pay an incredible amount for them. Nothing is free, although it would be really spiffy to think it would be.
Now, before I go any further in explaining the Prism prices, let’s talk about that lovely little thing we all know and love (ha) and call the US Dollar. Anyone else notice how the Federal Reserve lowered the short-term interest rates for the sixth time in six months, by ¾ of a percentage? They are trying to increase consumer confidence and spending to help stabilize the US financial market. That means they want to improve the exchange rate for foreign countries.
As I write this, the current exchange rate between the US Dollar and the EURO, which is the currency most used in Europe) is pretty scary. To explain that, the conversion is like this:
30.00 USD = 19.1370 EURO
30.00 EUR = 47.0293 USD
25.00 USD = 15.9491 EURO
25.00 EUR = 39.1911 USD
(I suggest that it might be interesting to you to see what the exchange rate might be at the time you are reading this.)
So, exactly what does that mean, anyway?
The bottom line is this: because the US Dollar is so weak overseas, it is quite possible that Lund Trading is spending more by bringing the Prism Trollbeads to US for the US Retailers than they can recover through distribution.
Most especially when you consider that there are shipping, packaging, processing and distribution expenses to add to that bottom line.
Those of us that love Trollbeads should be ringing the bells of joy and thanking both Lund Trading and our committed US Retailers and offering our solid respect and appreciation for forging on ahead and bringing the Prism Trollbeads to the US, in spite of the financial obstacles.
Neither Lund nor the US Retailers deserve to be the subject of our disdain and mistrust. If you choose to buy directly from Trollbeads Denmark instead of one of our dedicated US Retailers, you can look in the mirror and thank yourself for helping to bring the US economy and US dollar even lower.
