January 16, 2024 • 42 mins
Michael follows up with Justin VanMatre of National Rarities to unpack a year of unprecedented growth and treasure hunting by hitting the sweet spot with Independent Jewelry stores through their estate buying events.
We also run through a session of "Would You Buy This?", putting Justin’s expertise to the test with one-of-a-kind items that might just cross their path.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome back everybody to In the Loop.
What is up everybody?
My name is Michael Burpo.
Thanks again for listening toIn the Loop this week.
I'm joined by Justin Van Maeterfrom National Rarities and they
do estate buying events atdifferent retail jewelry stores.
They come in, they do all themarketing and they promote the
(00:23):
event and then they do all thebuying and then they cut your
percentage check for commissionand for anything that's bought
at your store and it seems likea really great and effective way
for stores to kind of drum upsome interest or get some foot
traffic or just increase theirclient base and sometimes in
like a weird part of the year.
So we have actually already hadJustin on, I believe, twice
(00:45):
before once to talk about whatan estate buying event is like,
and then another time we had himat the client workshop and we
just did a short interview withhim there as well.
This time we're talking allabout how 2023 was for them and
they continue to grow, but wealso talk about trends on things
that they purchase often, aswell as how that changes every
(01:06):
year.
I also do a little segment onwould you buy this, which is all
the things I've seen on likeantique roadshow or at different
online events and I ask, wouldthey be willing to purchase it
if it got brought in at one ofthe shops that they're in?
And it's a really fun talk.
Justin's great on the mic soit's always fun talking to him.
We have all their informationin the show notes below, so if
(01:28):
you're interested, make sure youcheck them out and mention that
you heard about them from Inthe Loop and makes us look
really good.
Thanks and enjoy theconversation.
Bye.
This episode is brought to youby Punchmark, the jewelry
industry's favorite websiteplatform.
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(01:48):
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(02:10):
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Thanks, and now back to theshow.
Welcome back, everybody.
(02:32):
I'm joined by Justin Van Maeterfrom National Rarities.
I think third time that you'repeering on In the Loop.
How are you doing today, justin?
Speaker 2 (02:40):
I'm doing great, always love joining you on here
and looking forward to anothersession.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
Heck, yeah man, I'm super excited.
National Rarities, I don't knowif burst onto the scene
recently, but last year I feellike that's kind of you guys
were really all the buzz.
What was 2023 like for you guysover at National Rarities?
Speaker 2 (03:03):
Yeah, it's been an incredible year for us.
Year over year, business grewover 100%.
This was the second year in arow that that's happened for us
and we're just looking atoverall growth.
That's considering our numberof partners, the spend per event
, which we'll get into some ofthose things a little bit later
(03:24):
in the session, I'm sure.
But employee-wise, just in thelast two years, we've gone from
36 employees to 128 employees.
So onboarding in that has beena fun element to the business
and we really see just a hugerunway, not just next year but
(03:48):
really over the next 10 to 20years, with the amount of wealth
that's being transitioned downfrom the baby boomer generation
to the millennials, generation Xand all the above.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
Man, that's so cool and it sounds like you guys
aren't ever going too deep intothe well.
It seems like everything isvery sustainable as far as a lot
of stores run.
This.
They plug it in once every twoyears, once every year, once
every three years.
They have their own system,depending on what kind of
environment or community thatthey're a part of, and it seems
(04:22):
like it just plugs right in andthey build around it and it's
just one way to activate theircommunity.
So I love hearing that, butperhaps maybe just to set it up,
in case our listeners didn'tlisten to our first conversation
could you give the elevatorpitch for what National Rarities
is, so that if people aretuning in for the first time,
they know who you guys are?
Speaker 2 (04:44):
Absolutely so.
Just to touch real quick, mostof our partners are doing
anywhere from two to four eventsa year.
Oh wow.
So it's amazing how much stuffis out there, which is what
really the company's built offof this service and getting into
that element of things.
Essentially, national Raritiesis an event-based estate buying
(05:06):
company.
We partner with jewelry storesacross the country.
That is 100% of where we do.
Our events is with independentjewelers across the country and
essentially what we do is we setup three to four day buying
events during the middle of theweek, either Monday through
Wednesday or Tuesday throughThursday, and we come in, we
(05:28):
handle all the paidadvertisement, we pay for all of
it.
So there's no risk or upfrontcosts or any costs at all
associated for the jewelerpartners that we have, and over
those three days we sit down andwe make no pressure offers on a
wide range of items.
Most people out there have apretty good idea of where to
(05:50):
sell gold and jewelry.
They know to go to their localjewelry store.
Maybe there's a coin shop intown and of course we buy those
things too.
But what separates us from theother competitors out there,
what separates us from thejewelry store and their typical
business is we're buying thingssuch as artwork, designer
(06:13):
handbag, antique toys.
So when you get into thosetypes of items, really there's
only a couple avenues to sellthose items besides what we do,
and that's online being thenumber one.
But when we're talking aboutthe baby boomer generation,
we're talking about those peoplethat don't necessarily want to
(06:36):
sell something on eBay or trustthe process, because it is a
challenging process for a lot ofpeople do and quite frankly,
I'm 40 years old myself and I'venever sold anything on eBay.
I'd rather walk down the street, walk into a jewelry store that
I trust and know and get a fair, competitive offer.
(07:01):
So there are some areas and usworking across the country.
There's access in some areasfor the local antique shop and
those types of things, butbecause we have specialists in
such a wide range of items, itallows us to really be
specialist in different thingsthat not every antique shop is
going to be a specialist in.
(07:22):
We have a number of sevengraduate gemologists on staff
and some of those importantthings that really elevate us to
the level that brings estatebuying to the level that jewelry
stores can expect, and then, atthe end of the day, if we make
a purchase, we cut them a checkright then and there.
And at the end of the threedays we cut a check for 10%
(07:47):
commission to the jewelers aswell and essentially why our
partners continue to work withus is the foot traffic coming in
.
We're seeing that growth justfrom foot traffic alone, the 10%
commission, the freeadvertisements feature in their
logo and overall just generatingrevenue within the store during
(08:08):
midweek and offering additionalservice to their customers.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
Man.
It just seems like it reallyslots in really nicely and I'm
kind of trying to give moreoptions to our listeners and to
retailers in general, that it'snot just about having discounts
at their store I mean, you candiscount yourself to death at
some point and I think it'sabout, at a certain point,
(08:33):
activating your surroundingenvironment or your clientele or
community, whatever you want torefer to it as and having that
as having you know these event,estate buying events, having
that as part of the arsenal andactivating these clients is
definitely, really, reallyimportant.
So definitely love having someof our clients or our listeners
(08:55):
starting to use you guys.
Could you maybe start shiningsome light on how this past year
looked as far as just some rawdata?
For example, can you share howmany, how many events you guys
did, maybe just in the US?
I don't know if that'ssomething you guys are forced to
write with.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
Yeah, of course.
So we are US based only, but weare expanding into Canada in
2024.
So we're excited to grow intoCanada and see what's out there
as well.
But from that standpoint, wedid 444 events this year.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
Wow, that's huge man.
Good congratulations, soexciting.
Yeah, thank you.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
So our heaviest week this year we did 16 events in
one week.
Holy smokes when we talk aboutour growth and number of people
and that we really about 80% ofour whole team of that 124
people is operational based.
They're the specialists thatare going out on the road and
(09:58):
buying these things and theyreally what's great for us from
a hiring process.
These are art majors, historymajors.
These are the people that havespecialized in these different
products for a number of yearsand now are finding an
opportunity to go out intoacross the country and feel
(10:20):
history or feel art in theirhands.
So that's really that's theexciting part for us.
So, yeah, 444 events and withthat just getting into the
number of people that we saw, weincreased the number of people
on average that we saw from 96people in 2021 to 108 in 2022.
(10:48):
And in 2023, we were seeing 136people on average per event.
So cool, yeah.
So when you add all that up,it's just, it's exciting,
because a lot of our partnersthat we've worked with for a
number of years, dating back to2009, the same things always
(11:09):
said is where does all thisstuff come from and how does it
keep coming in?
And just to continue to seegrowth in places that we go two
to four times or maybe even more.
In Las Vegas, we went eighttimes to a store and seeing that
the events are actually growingand it just tells us that we
haven't even tapped into thewhole, really just macro level
(11:36):
of what is out there and whatpeople are looking and meeting
this service.
That's what's exciting to us.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
Man, it's like antique roadshow, but only the
exciting parts.
That sounds really, really cool,I guess.
Maybe what demographics?
You mentioned the baby boomersa couple of times.
What demographics do youtypically see coming through the
store?
I imagine it's the older people.
When I think of a state jewelry, I think of older people, but I
(12:06):
wonder, is it also people thatmight be younger, for perhaps
millennials, that are beingwilled or bequeath pieces of
antique jewelry or furniture orwhat have you, and then turning
them in?
I imagine that could also be apossibility.
What are you seeing as far asfolks that are coming through?
Speaker 2 (12:25):
Yeah, it's definitely a mix.
You really touched on both ofthem.
Especially, we added designerhandbags this year and designer
handbags has really startedtargeting that younger
demographic as well.
But you're really, when you'retalking about when people are
looking to sell something,especially when we're talking
(12:47):
generally across the country,they've had an opportunity to
really accrue these items overthe years.
So they've collected them overthe years, if it's coins or if
it's jewelry or artwork,whatever it may be.
So that collection over theyears is either going to be
somebody in the baby boomer or50 to 80 year old range, so it
(13:10):
is going to be the youngergeneration that it was passed
down to and now they're justlooking and figuring out what to
do with it or even learn aboutit.
Just because grandpa or grandmaor mom or dad was a coin
collector, art collector orantique toys or a train
(13:33):
collector over these yearsdoesn't mean that the kids know
anything about it, or care.
Or care Absolutely.
So just being able to informthem and talk to them about what
they have and sometimes it hasa lot of value, sometimes it
doesn't.
So the conversations are, hey,this doesn't have resale value,
(13:59):
but if they're sentimental valueto you, you absolutely should
hold on to it, pass it down tothe next generation, whatever it
may be.
So those are the funconversations that we have, and
so, yes, it's a range, but that50 year old person that has
expendable income and thatreally, for a lot of our stores,
(14:23):
is the shopper of a statejewelry still too that is the
sweet spot.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
Nice, justin, we're going to take a quick break and
then when we come back, I wantto hear, I want to do a quick
rapid fire on will you buy this?
So stay with us everybody,we'll be back in just one minute
.
This episode was brought to youin part by National Rarities.
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(14:51):
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(15:34):
Slash pages.
Slash host dash and dash event.
It's going to be in the shownotes below, or reach out to
Justin Bandmater by emailingJustin, that's J-U-S-T-I-N at
nationalraritiescom.
Let them know that in the loopsent you Thanks back to the show
.
(15:59):
All right, everybody, and we'reback, still talking with Justin
Bandmater from national rarities.
So I want to ask you, justin,would you buy this?
So I watched a lot of antiqueroadshow and I am.
I just moved to a new city soI'm constantly looking on
Facebook marketplace andsometimes I'm like man, really
you're trying to sell this onFacebook marketplace.
So I wanted to ask you wouldyou buy this?
(16:21):
So you already mentionedpocketbooks.
I wanted to ask antique wallets.
Is that something you guyswould purchase if it was in good
condition?
Speaker 2 (16:33):
Yes, absolutely, especially if there's some kind
of history to it, story to it,if there's a large brand behind
it, of course.
But absolutely, we love theantique.
When it comes to the wallet,authentic leather, those types
of things, yes, what aboutengagement rings?
Speaker 1 (16:57):
Perhaps the engagement didn't go off
according to plan.
Would you guys take secondhandengagement rings if, for example
, someone bought it at adifferent store and they weren't
able to get a full money return?
Speaker 2 (17:09):
Absolutely.
We buy engagement rings.
We, like most jewelry storesout there.
We do not buy the lab-growndiamonds.
We can buy the rest of the ringor if it is your mind diamond,
we buy that.
We buy quite a bit of it.
We saw some great growth inactually our diamond business
(17:31):
this year as well, interestingAll right, here's a hard one.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
What about trading cards?
So, for example, antiquePokemon cards, antique Yu-Yoh or
Magic the Gathering cards.
What about that?
Speaker 2 (17:44):
So we are not quite into the trading cards, the
Pokemon and Magic Gathering yet.
However, it is on our radar.
We are always looking to expand.
We do get into sports cards andthat, so that is part of what
we purchase.
But hopefully, when we havethis conversation again, maybe
(18:08):
later in the year or in 2025,I've got a different answer for
you there, awesome.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
What about furniture, for example?
Maybe it is an antique chair,armchairs, or maybe it is just
like a nice piece of writingdesk or something like that.
Speaker 2 (18:24):
Furniture is not one thing, but we stay away from
furniture.
We are traveling across thecountry, we are shipping
everything home and furniturereally just does not fall within
our wheelhouse, typicallybecause, and due to size, there
are smaller items and we havebought a few higher end rugs and
(18:45):
those types of things, butoverall, generally furniture is
not something we purchase.
Speaker 1 (18:51):
Okay, I got two more for you.
What about and I saw this oneon an episode recently what
about like classic, for example,bicycles?
I saw something it was like Ithink it was called a roadmaster
or something like that when theclassic ones with a Yu shaped
handlebar.
Is that something you guyswould purchase?
Speaker 2 (19:12):
We've had a couple of opportunities.
We don't see it very often, soI would say that is in the gray
area, in the gray area Nice.
Speaker 1 (19:22):
I love that.
And then the final one I guessI wanted to ask about what you
guys are doing we touched on itlast time about classic weapons.
So these are guns, huntingrifles, things like that.
Do you guys do buybacks, forexample, with more war related
weapons like AK47s, things likethat, how I know?
(19:44):
It's like a per store basis,but what is the current state on
that for national rarities?
Speaker 2 (19:50):
Firearms is something that we a couple of our stores
we still work with purchasefirearms, but we have limited
the number of firearms.
Especially what we see from afirearm standpoint, though, is
more of your vintage firearm,civil war those types of things.
We get a little bit of thenewer ones, but 10 towards the
(20:13):
vintage, especially when itcomes to swords and those types
of things.
Yes, we, absolutely.
We still buy quite a bit of thesword.
That sounds sad, Even get intothings like old spears, and just
I mean there's some really neatmilitary items that have come
our way through the years.
We actually have a team ofabout well, a team of three of
(20:36):
our military leaders that I tellyou what.
I see the excitement on theirface every time these things
come through, and it's fun towatch.
Speaker 1 (20:45):
That's so cool.
I love that One that I actuallyjust thought of.
Just maybe this will start tosegue into what gets traded the
most.
I was curious about, forexample, like specific objects
that might require paperwork.
So, for example, let's just say, Rolexes Everybody knows that
(21:05):
or even just tutors or morehigher-end watches A lot of the
times those require paperworkwith them or original box or
things like that.
I know that's true for sneakers.
I was going to ask aboutclassic or high-end sneakers,
but what has to happen with?
Will you guys only purchasethings that we have original
(21:25):
papers or boxes, or is that kindof up to the buyer's discretion
?
Speaker 2 (21:32):
Yeah, it's up to the buyer's discretion.
We have a watchmaker on staffand we have Rolex high-end watch
specialists in that as well.
So when it comes to it, no, itdoes not require box and
paperwork.
But, as everybody knows, boxand paperwork adds substantial
value to those items.
So it's considered in thepricing, of course, and I think
(21:57):
that that's consistent foranybody buying those high-end
watches across the market.
If you have it, absolutely makesure you're bringing it in when
you're looking to sell it,because it's amazing what
difference in price that box andpaperwork can provide.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
Yeah, it's so funny I'll never forget.
Bought my first pair ofsneakers immediately through
away the box.
My friend was like, let me seea pic, show me a pic.
He's like, no, put them on thebox, I already threw it.
He's like, well, you can'tresell those anymore.
I'm like, okay, I guess I justlearned something right there.
So let's talk about what getstraded the most.
So what is making up the bulkof the actual events?
(22:33):
Dollars, is it just, I imagine?
In my eyes, I imagine beinglike old bracelets and necklaces
that are heavy gold and perhapshave gone out of style.
There may be the two likeornate or whatnot, but they're
still made of a lot of gold.
Am I wrong on that?
What's makes up the bulk?
Speaker 2 (22:52):
You know it varies across the country.
But yeah, when you're talkingabout what we see, you're
talking about right around 50percent is outdated jewelry,
those types of things.
A little bit smaller percentage, of course, is going to fall
into your fine jewelry,resaleable side of things that
we build our estate out of andresell online.
(23:15):
But really a good portion ofthe number of items that we see
come through are coins a hugecategory for us sterling
silverware sets, but then thebulk of the really the third
number of items is a pretty evenmixture of artwork, antique
(23:39):
toys, and then we get into themiscellaneous right, and
miscellaneous could be books andjust an old train set and those
types of things as well.
So it's a mixture across thecountry.
You know, when you're going intosome higher end socioeconomic
(24:00):
areas, higher demographics, fromthat standpoint we tend to see
you know larger diamonds and thefine jewelry and carier and
Tiffany and Co and that type ofstuff.
But when you're out in yourrural areas, what's neat about
those rural areas is sometimesyou just see coin collections
that have been handed down formultiple generations yeah, crazy
(24:22):
.
And the artwork that maybe wassitting in the attic that they
didn't know had value, and youknow that gets into like a
Salvador Dali whole suite ofprints that we purchased and
resold and I think it resold for$42,500, which was record
(24:48):
breaking for that suite ofprints.
So for us to be able to comeacross that within a jewelry
store add an event, I meanthat's special and it's just fun
for us, it's fun for thejewelry store, it's fun for the
person that brought it in andreally did get some dollars and
that sounds amazing.
Speaker 1 (25:08):
Exactly, Exactly Now, I guess, are you able to share.
I mean, you just mentionedthose Dali prints.
That sounds amazing.
What's like?
What was?
Can you share with the mostexpensive item that was perhaps
brought in last year, or maybe acouple of items that might have
been at the very top?
Speaker 2 (25:28):
Yeah, so we buy large diamonds.
So you know, we had a couplelarge diamonds this year.
We had a little over 10 and ahalf carat round.
It was KSI2, right around$96,000.
And then we had a 13 carat hairshaped and that was right at
(25:50):
$82,000.
Speaker 1 (25:51):
So 13 carat.
Speaker 2 (25:53):
Oh my God, that's like a rock, that's a rock, so
you know.
From that standpoint, you knowthe diamonds are typically going
to be those higher end ones,and that's what's great about
our partnerships too.
Is some of our partners?
Right?
They do a little bit of buying,but it's not easy to cut a
(26:16):
check for those amounts, right?
Yeah, not many independentjewelers have that kind of cash
laying around and that, andthat's where we can come in and
support them, not just duringour events, it's year round.
If something like that walks inthe store and you know there's
value, instead of being like, oh, I've got to let this go
(26:37):
because I can't cut a check forthat amount, we can make it
happen and still bring in thejeweler on the upside of it too,
which is great, man especiallybecause they get a commission
check on it.
Speaker 1 (26:49):
I mean that's probably very exciting for them.
Speaker 2 (26:50):
Probably makes their day, the commission check the
service that you're providing tothe customer and that it's
definitely all encompassing it.
It's a win-win for everybody,which is great.
Speaker 1 (27:02):
Yeah, just the experience and everything is
pretty exceptional.
So definitely commend you guyson that.
We're going to take one morequick break and then when we
come back, I want to talk aboutmaybe the how.
Items fluctuate from year toyear.
So what was most common back in2021 when you guys were just
getting started, as opposed tomaybe last year?
So stay with us, everybody.
We're just going to take onemore quick break.
(27:24):
Thanks, all right, everybody.
Trade show season is here andour first stop this year is
going to be RJO Palm Springs.
If you're going to be in thatneck of the woods from January
27th until the 29th, make sureyou make an appointment to visit
Punchmark.
You can go to punchmarkcom,slash appointments or just visit
(27:47):
punchmarkcom and look in thetop right corner for book my
appointment, fill out theinformation and mention that.
In the loops on you hear allabout our latest and greatest,
from page speed updates to ourintegrations with new diamond
dealers and premium vendors.
It's going to be really fun atRJO.
Make sure you stop by and sayhi to everybody.
Thanks and back to the show.
(28:09):
All right, everybody.
Still back with Justin vanMaeter from National Rarities.
So, justin, one thing I wantedto ask about is how do things
fluctuate year to year?
So you guys mentioned 2021, thenumber of people, but also how
(28:32):
the events were going.
So it seems like things aregrowing, but I'm also curious
about what kind of items aregetting brought in back then as
opposed to perhaps the last year.
I can only imagine that there'sprobably some seasonality to
things as, for example, diamondsgo in and out of like the size
of diamonds go in and out ofVogue, or perhaps jewelry styles
(28:52):
.
What have you seen as far astrends throughout the year?
Speaker 2 (28:57):
Yes, I mean, you know the trends are always changing.
What's been interesting overthe last you know handful of
years is it seemed like COVIDand the pandemic really
accelerated the way trends went.
You know we saw a lot of thatin the watch industry.
You know we saw the high endthe Rolexes especially just take
(29:18):
off during COVID and the lastthree to four years.
Just the price points that someof these watches were selling
out was insane, and we saw thisyear really a return to normalcy
when it came to the Rolexmarket, and so that, to me, is
the biggest trend that stood out.
(29:39):
You know, when we're talkingabout the steel sports models,
those are the ones that reallykind of held value, more so than
some of the other models outthere.
But what we're seeing is reallythe Rolex resale is getting
close to that 2019 market, soit's almost like we bumped it
back five years.
So I guess when we're talkingabout trends, that's the one
(30:03):
that stuck out the most is froma, from a amount of how much it
grew over a two to three yeartimeframe, and coming back down
to earth.
You know, artwork is another onewhere, if you look over the
last 15 years, artwork has justhad a steady decline in value
(30:24):
per piece until you get intoyour really niche.
You know high end that's tendto still grow and have value out
there.
But when you're talking aboutyour mid range prints and that,
it's been on a little bit of asteady decline in value as
people are putting a little bitmore value to items that they
(30:49):
can wear jewelry, clothing,those types of things compared
to what they can hang on theirwall or showcase in their house.
If you think about sterlingsilverware just for example,
where it's come over the years.
You walk into the home of theyounger generations.
It's a little bit moreminimalistic and they don't have
(31:11):
the China cabinets and thosetypes of things.
Speaker 1 (31:14):
It's true, that's a good point.
Speaker 2 (31:16):
As we see trends.
The trends are into thewearables and the jewelry and
the value in there, and then thetrends of the things that are
collectible and hanging on yourwall, and that a little bit of a
decline.
But you know, it's going to beinteresting over the next few
years, as things continue tolevel out from COVID, if we see
(31:39):
a little bit of a spring back onsome of those items as well.
We're forecasting for a littlebit of it, but only time will
tell.
Really.
Speaker 1 (31:49):
Yeah, do you know what's so funny?
You mentioned watches.
This is just on the side.
I think one of my predictionsfor this year is I think that
this is the year of the GrandSeiko watch.
The reason why is because, ofcourse I don't know if you
follow baseball, but ShohaiOtani just obviously signed the
biggest deal of all time for anathlete, for the Dodgers.
(32:12):
People that are listening Ihope you already know If you
don't get up on your currentevents but Shohai Otani is fond
of apparently gifting peopleGrand Seiko watches as presents
for his managers and things likethat, first friends, and for
some reason I think that thatsort of ripple.
I'm predicting a big rippleafter that.
(32:33):
So I'm going to keep an eye on.
Speaker 2 (32:36):
If it doesn't happen in the US immediately, it's
happening in Japan.
I'm based in St Louis, so Ibelieve he gifted one of those
to Lars Newpar because he playedon the Japanese team in the
World Series.
Speaker 1 (32:48):
That's the exact video I watch and I'm like, oh
man, I'm researching GrandSeiko's.
I'm like I kind of want one ofthese now.
So perhaps we can talk about.
Maybe some of these people thatare listening are interested in
having an event one day.
So what have you seen storeowners do that have contributed,
(33:09):
perhaps, to an effective sale?
I know that you guys handlepretty much everything when it
comes to marketing and promotingand stuff like that, but what
about things like is it good tohave food at the events?
Is it good to have, for example, beer or alcohol or wine or
things like that?
What have you seen thatcontributes to an effective
estate bank event?
Speaker 2 (33:31):
As you mentioned, we come in and we handle that paid
advertisement.
So when it comes to thatstandpoint, of course, any
suggestions or things thatyou've seen work for previous
events just making thoserecommendations to our marketing
team can definitely have animpact.
Taking advantage of the freemarketing.
We have many of our stores thatjust do a great job with social
(33:54):
media.
They're doing a great job withtheir social media or are on
their online website and puttingup the web banner and those
little things or utilizing theirtext messages and all the areas
that are relatively free, andwhen we see somebody go live on
Facebook, we've always seen abig bump from that.
Speaker 1 (34:17):
That's a good point.
Speaker 2 (34:19):
When it comes to the event itself, we really want to
make sure that our stores areable to operate business as they
normally do.
We want them to engage withevery customer that's coming in
for our event and engage withthem as if they are a customer
walking through their doors.
The stores that do that are theones that are taking the
(34:41):
clients that have just come into sell something and turning
them into their clients.
What's interesting about ourevents is about half of the
people that come in for ourevents have never been in the
jewelry store before.
That's crazy.
So when you can imagine, 136people on average are coming
into the jewelry store, that'sabout 68 people that have never
(35:04):
been in your store before.
And if you treat every singleone of them as if they were
coming in to purchase something,even if it's as simple as
offering to clean their ring ortheir bracelet just those little
things engaging from thataspect is the long-term revenue
generator that you want to getout of the event.
(35:25):
And we have a couple stores that, yeah, they do a great job with
little things.
Just thinking about BBK up inMichigan, One of our clients
Good guys, yeah, the smell ofthose fresh cookies coming out
of their back room and havingthe champagne just out there on
the sales floor, and just littlethings like that.
I think, overall, anytime youcan create an experience or add
(35:50):
a smell to it, you know thoseare the little things that
people remember and so we alwaysencourage our partners to do
stuff like that.
We have another store out inthe LA area that has a Margarita
machine, so they just have funwith it.
So ultimately, you know youmentioned Antiques Roadshow and
(36:14):
it is an event, it's a serviceand ultimately we want to just
create an environment alongsideour partners that fits their
customers and fits what theywant their product to represent.
And if that means the cookiesor the champagne coming out, if
that means a Margarita machineor if that means just being
(36:36):
extremely professional andpolite and asking them if they
need the ring clean, that'swhere we want to mold our events
to fit really the identity ofthe store.
So we encourage our partners toreally Do what you think works
for you and we're in fullsupport of it from that end.
Speaker 1 (36:56):
Yeah, I mean just having an experience.
I mean you put your fingerright on it.
When you think about the mostpositive brand kind of equity
out there, and I think of likeDisney World, I think about just
amusement parks in general orlike some of my favorite shops,
and you're right, there is likea lot more than just what the
products that are being offeredthere in associated with it.
(37:19):
In my mind but I think ofDisneyland it's not even really
about the rides themselves, it'salso about the environment and
the space and the smells and thesounds and the life that comes
from the space.
That is kind of just evenoutside of just the rides, which
is what is actually beingmarketed.
So I totally agree and I lovewhat you said about having it
(37:40):
adapt and mold to match theidentity of the store.
I think that's what it reallycomes down to is understanding,
first of all, what your store'sidentity is.
Are you young and fun?
Are you very high class andserious?
Are you comfortable andapproachable?
All these terms are things thatbrands and style guides and
just designers love to eat up.
(38:01):
But having these additionalassets like what you were
talking about, event by events,match that style guide, is what
really pushes things over theend.
Also probably makes it so thatthey can have a couple of events
in a row and not make it feellike, oh, they're doing a state
buying more than they areselling jewelry.
(38:22):
Instead, the jewelry store ishaving another awesome event, so
I totally agree with you thatsounds great.
Speaker 2 (38:30):
And some of our partners.
They're building on top of it.
They're building their ownevent or sales a week or two
after and they're utilizingtheir four walls marketing to
get those people that are comingin for our event to get them
back in the door.
Is it as simple as just puttingtogether a wish list and those
(38:52):
types of things?
And who's?
Is it your husband or wife?
You want me to send this wishlist off of Nice?
A lot of our partners.
They've been doing this foryears and generations and
they're really, really good atwhat they do, and this is just
another opportunity to highlightwhat you're great at.
Speaker 1 (39:12):
Nice man.
I love that, justin, and that'skind of my.
One of my big pushes for thisyear is going to be is that
jewelry stores especiallyindependent retailers is
actually the correct term I'mgoing for here are unique and by
nature, and I'm hoping that ourlisteners can lean into that
(39:33):
uniqueness of it and really kindof allow that feeling to spread
to everything that they do,whether it's their website,
whether it's their in-storeexperience or events like you're
just talking about.
I think really leaning intowhat makes you unique is going
to be kind of one of my bigpushes for this year for our
listeners and for independentretailers as a whole.
(39:53):
So I love that you guys areaiding in that, justin.
Where can people find out moreabout national rarities or reach
out to you if they'reinterested in having their first
national rarities event attheir store?
Speaker 2 (40:04):
Very easy.
If you want to reach out, myemail address is JustinJUSTIN at
national raritiescom.
Feel free to just shoot me aquick message.
We can set up a time for aquick phone call or you can get
on our website, that's justwwwnationalraritiescom.
Speaker 1 (40:27):
Awesome, and make sure you mention it in the loop
and let them know that we sentyou.
And then, Justin, I got to knowif you guys ever see any really
six sneakers in a size of 11.5,.
Make sure you just give me acall.
I'll see if you can just buythem.
Put them aside for me, We'llfigure something out.
Speaker 2 (40:46):
I'll make sure we'll be heading to almost every major
show this year, right, ijo, rjo, jck, centurion, all the above.
So if we come across them, I'llmake sure we bring them so you
can try them on for size.
Speaker 1 (41:00):
Oh man, I would love that.
That would make my dayEverybody.
Thank you so much, justin.
I really appreciate your time.
This is really great.
We'll have to have a follow upto hear about how 2024 goes for
you guys.
I predict even more amazingstuff.
It seems like you guys are on areal fast track to the top, so
I appreciate you coming onEverybody.
Thanks so much for listening.
We'll be back next week,tuesday, with another episode.
(41:22):
Thanks Bye.
All right, everybody.
That's it for the show.
Thanks so much for listening.
This week's episode was broughtto you by Punchmark and produced
and hosted by me, michael Burpo.
My guest this week was JustinVarenmater from National
Rarities, and you can learn moreabout them in the show notes
(41:44):
below.
Reach out to them.
Let them know that in the loopsent you makes us look really
good.
This episode was edited by PaulSuarez with music by Ross
Cochrane.
Please, please, please, ratethe podcast on Apple Podcasts or
on Spotify, wherever you listento your podcasts, and leave us
feedback on punchmarkcom slashloop.
(42:04):
That's L-O-U-P-E, and let usknow what you think about these
interviews.
Thanks, check back next week,tuesday, for another episode.
Bye.
Welcome back everybody to In the Loop.
What is up everybody?
My name is Michael Burpo.
Thanks again for listening toIn the Loop this week.
I'm joined by Justin Van Maeterfrom National Rarities and they
do estate buying events atdifferent retail jewelry stores.
They come in, they do all themarketing and they promote the
(00:23):
event and then they do all thebuying and then they cut your
percentage check for commissionand for anything that's bought
at your store and it seems likea really great and effective way
for stores to kind of drum upsome interest or get some foot
traffic or just increase theirclient base and sometimes in
like a weird part of the year.
So we have actually already hadJustin on, I believe, twice
(00:45):
before once to talk about whatan estate buying event is like,
and then another time we had himat the client workshop and we
just did a short interview withhim there as well.
This time we're talking allabout how 2023 was for them and
they continue to grow, but wealso talk about trends on things
that they purchase often, aswell as how that changes every
(01:06):
year.
I also do a little segment onwould you buy this, which is all
the things I've seen on likeantique roadshow or at different
online events and I ask, wouldthey be willing to purchase it
if it got brought in at one ofthe shops that they're in?
And it's a really fun talk.
Justin's great on the mic soit's always fun talking to him.
We have all their informationin the show notes below, so if
(01:28):
you're interested, make sure youcheck them out and mention that
you heard about them from Inthe Loop and makes us look
really good.
Thanks and enjoy theconversation.
Bye.
This episode is brought to youby Punchmark, the jewelry
industry's favorite websiteplatform.
Whether you're looking forbetter e-commerce performance,
(01:48):
business growth or campaignsthat drive traffic and sales,
punchmark's website andmarketing services were made
just for you.
It's never too late totransform your business with a
user-friendly, point-of-sale,integrated website platform
designed for growth and results.
Sign up for your free demotoday at punchmarkcom.
While enjoying this week'sepisode, take a moment and leave
(02:10):
us a star rating on the Spotifymobile app or, if you're on
Apple Podcasts, leave us a starrating and a review.
It's the best way to help usgrow and to show that you're
really enjoying the show.
Thanks, and now back to theshow.
Welcome back, everybody.
(02:32):
I'm joined by Justin Van Maeterfrom National Rarities.
I think third time that you'repeering on In the Loop.
How are you doing today, justin?
Speaker 2 (02:40):
I'm doing great, always love joining you on here
and looking forward to anothersession.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
Heck, yeah man, I'm super excited.
National Rarities, I don't knowif burst onto the scene
recently, but last year I feellike that's kind of you guys
were really all the buzz.
What was 2023 like for you guysover at National Rarities?
Speaker 2 (03:03):
Yeah, it's been an incredible year for us.
Year over year, business grewover 100%.
This was the second year in arow that that's happened for us
and we're just looking atoverall growth.
That's considering our numberof partners, the spend per event
, which we'll get into some ofthose things a little bit later
(03:24):
in the session, I'm sure.
But employee-wise, just in thelast two years, we've gone from
36 employees to 128 employees.
So onboarding in that has beena fun element to the business
and we really see just a hugerunway, not just next year but
(03:48):
really over the next 10 to 20years, with the amount of wealth
that's being transitioned downfrom the baby boomer generation
to the millennials, generation Xand all the above.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
Man, that's so cool and it sounds like you guys
aren't ever going too deep intothe well.
It seems like everything isvery sustainable as far as a lot
of stores run.
This.
They plug it in once every twoyears, once every year, once
every three years.
They have their own system,depending on what kind of
environment or community thatthey're a part of, and it seems
(04:22):
like it just plugs right in andthey build around it and it's
just one way to activate theircommunity.
So I love hearing that, butperhaps maybe just to set it up,
in case our listeners didn'tlisten to our first conversation
could you give the elevatorpitch for what National Rarities
is, so that if people aretuning in for the first time,
they know who you guys are?
Speaker 2 (04:44):
Absolutely so.
Just to touch real quick, mostof our partners are doing
anywhere from two to four eventsa year.
Oh wow.
So it's amazing how much stuffis out there, which is what
really the company's built offof this service and getting into
that element of things.
Essentially, national Raritiesis an event-based estate buying
(05:06):
company.
We partner with jewelry storesacross the country.
That is 100% of where we do.
Our events is with independentjewelers across the country and
essentially what we do is we setup three to four day buying
events during the middle of theweek, either Monday through
Wednesday or Tuesday throughThursday, and we come in, we
(05:28):
handle all the paidadvertisement, we pay for all of
it.
So there's no risk or upfrontcosts or any costs at all
associated for the jewelerpartners that we have, and over
those three days we sit down andwe make no pressure offers on a
wide range of items.
Most people out there have apretty good idea of where to
(05:50):
sell gold and jewelry.
They know to go to their localjewelry store.
Maybe there's a coin shop intown and of course we buy those
things too.
But what separates us from theother competitors out there,
what separates us from thejewelry store and their typical
business is we're buying thingssuch as artwork, designer
(06:13):
handbag, antique toys.
So when you get into thosetypes of items, really there's
only a couple avenues to sellthose items besides what we do,
and that's online being thenumber one.
But when we're talking aboutthe baby boomer generation,
we're talking about those peoplethat don't necessarily want to
(06:36):
sell something on eBay or trustthe process, because it is a
challenging process for a lot ofpeople do and quite frankly,
I'm 40 years old myself and I'venever sold anything on eBay.
I'd rather walk down the street, walk into a jewelry store that
I trust and know and get a fair, competitive offer.
(07:01):
So there are some areas and usworking across the country.
There's access in some areasfor the local antique shop and
those types of things, butbecause we have specialists in
such a wide range of items, itallows us to really be
specialist in different thingsthat not every antique shop is
going to be a specialist in.
(07:22):
We have a number of sevengraduate gemologists on staff
and some of those importantthings that really elevate us to
the level that brings estatebuying to the level that jewelry
stores can expect, and then, atthe end of the day, if we make
a purchase, we cut them a checkright then and there.
And at the end of the threedays we cut a check for 10%
(07:47):
commission to the jewelers aswell and essentially why our
partners continue to work withus is the foot traffic coming in
.
We're seeing that growth justfrom foot traffic alone, the 10%
commission, the freeadvertisements feature in their
logo and overall just generatingrevenue within the store during
(08:08):
midweek and offering additionalservice to their customers.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
Man.
It just seems like it reallyslots in really nicely and I'm
kind of trying to give moreoptions to our listeners and to
retailers in general, that it'snot just about having discounts
at their store I mean, you candiscount yourself to death at
some point and I think it'sabout, at a certain point,
(08:33):
activating your surroundingenvironment or your clientele or
community, whatever you want torefer to it as and having that
as having you know these event,estate buying events, having
that as part of the arsenal andactivating these clients is
definitely, really, reallyimportant.
So definitely love having someof our clients or our listeners
(08:55):
starting to use you guys.
Could you maybe start shiningsome light on how this past year
looked as far as just some rawdata?
For example, can you share howmany, how many events you guys
did, maybe just in the US?
I don't know if that'ssomething you guys are forced to
write with.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
Yeah, of course.
So we are US based only, but weare expanding into Canada in
2024.
So we're excited to grow intoCanada and see what's out there
as well.
But from that standpoint, wedid 444 events this year.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
Wow, that's huge man.
Good congratulations, soexciting.
Yeah, thank you.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
So our heaviest week this year we did 16 events in
one week.
Holy smokes when we talk aboutour growth and number of people
and that we really about 80% ofour whole team of that 124
people is operational based.
They're the specialists thatare going out on the road and
(09:58):
buying these things and theyreally what's great for us from
a hiring process.
These are art majors, historymajors.
These are the people that havespecialized in these different
products for a number of yearsand now are finding an
opportunity to go out intoacross the country and feel
(10:20):
history or feel art in theirhands.
So that's really that's theexciting part for us.
So, yeah, 444 events and withthat just getting into the
number of people that we saw, weincreased the number of people
on average that we saw from 96people in 2021 to 108 in 2022.
(10:48):
And in 2023, we were seeing 136people on average per event.
So cool, yeah.
So when you add all that up,it's just, it's exciting,
because a lot of our partnersthat we've worked with for a
number of years, dating back to2009, the same things always
(11:09):
said is where does all thisstuff come from and how does it
keep coming in?
And just to continue to seegrowth in places that we go two
to four times or maybe even more.
In Las Vegas, we went eighttimes to a store and seeing that
the events are actually growingand it just tells us that we
haven't even tapped into thewhole, really just macro level
(11:36):
of what is out there and whatpeople are looking and meeting
this service.
That's what's exciting to us.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
Man, it's like antique roadshow, but only the
exciting parts.
That sounds really, really cool,I guess.
Maybe what demographics?
You mentioned the baby boomersa couple of times.
What demographics do youtypically see coming through the
store?
I imagine it's the older people.
When I think of a state jewelry, I think of older people, but I
(12:06):
wonder, is it also people thatmight be younger, for perhaps
millennials, that are beingwilled or bequeath pieces of
antique jewelry or furniture orwhat have you, and then turning
them in?
I imagine that could also be apossibility.
What are you seeing as far asfolks that are coming through?
Speaker 2 (12:25):
Yeah, it's definitely a mix.
You really touched on both ofthem.
Especially, we added designerhandbags this year and designer
handbags has really startedtargeting that younger
demographic as well.
But you're really, when you'retalking about when people are
looking to sell something,especially when we're talking
(12:47):
generally across the country,they've had an opportunity to
really accrue these items overthe years.
So they've collected them overthe years, if it's coins or if
it's jewelry or artwork,whatever it may be.
So that collection over theyears is either going to be
somebody in the baby boomer or50 to 80 year old range, so it
(13:10):
is going to be the youngergeneration that it was passed
down to and now they're justlooking and figuring out what to
do with it or even learn aboutit.
Just because grandpa or grandmaor mom or dad was a coin
collector, art collector orantique toys or a train
(13:33):
collector over these yearsdoesn't mean that the kids know
anything about it, or care.
Or care Absolutely.
So just being able to informthem and talk to them about what
they have and sometimes it hasa lot of value, sometimes it
doesn't.
So the conversations are, hey,this doesn't have resale value,
(13:59):
but if they're sentimental valueto you, you absolutely should
hold on to it, pass it down tothe next generation, whatever it
may be.
So those are the funconversations that we have, and
so, yes, it's a range, but that50 year old person that has
expendable income and thatreally, for a lot of our stores,
(14:23):
is the shopper of a statejewelry still too that is the
sweet spot.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
Nice, justin, we're going to take a quick break and
then when we come back, I wantto hear, I want to do a quick
rapid fire on will you buy this?
So stay with us everybody,we'll be back in just one minute
.
This episode was brought to youin part by National Rarities.
Are you looking to boost yourbusiness with no cost to you or
want a special promotion for thedoldrums of next year?
(14:51):
Look no further than NationalRarities estate buying events.
National Rarities runs threeday buying events from your
store that not only attract newcustomers but also keep your
current ones coming back formore.
Their expert team of buyers areready to visit your store,
handle advertisements, lead theestate evaluations or are easy
to work with.
And it's not just jewelerpurchasing they also buy
(15:12):
designer handbags, artwork,antiques, stuff like that.
These events frequently attracta different type of customer
than your usuals, because whodoesn't love getting a little
cash back?
Elevate your store's reputation, build lasting customer
relationships and become thejewelry destination of your
community.
It's all about simplicity.
They take care of the logistics.
You enjoy the rewards.
Visit nationalraritiescom.
(15:34):
Slash pages.
Slash host dash and dash event.
It's going to be in the shownotes below, or reach out to
Justin Bandmater by emailingJustin, that's J-U-S-T-I-N at
nationalraritiescom.
Let them know that in the loopsent you Thanks back to the show
.
(15:59):
All right, everybody, and we'reback, still talking with Justin
Bandmater from national rarities.
So I want to ask you, justin,would you buy this?
So I watched a lot of antiqueroadshow and I am.
I just moved to a new city soI'm constantly looking on
Facebook marketplace andsometimes I'm like man, really
you're trying to sell this onFacebook marketplace.
So I wanted to ask you wouldyou buy this?
(16:21):
So you already mentionedpocketbooks.
I wanted to ask antique wallets.
Is that something you guyswould purchase if it was in good
condition?
Speaker 2 (16:33):
Yes, absolutely, especially if there's some kind
of history to it, story to it,if there's a large brand behind
it, of course.
But absolutely, we love theantique.
When it comes to the wallet,authentic leather, those types
of things, yes, what aboutengagement rings?
Speaker 1 (16:57):
Perhaps the engagement didn't go off
according to plan.
Would you guys take secondhandengagement rings if, for example
, someone bought it at adifferent store and they weren't
able to get a full money return?
Speaker 2 (17:09):
Absolutely.
We buy engagement rings.
We, like most jewelry storesout there.
We do not buy the lab-growndiamonds.
We can buy the rest of the ringor if it is your mind diamond,
we buy that.
We buy quite a bit of it.
We saw some great growth inactually our diamond business
(17:31):
this year as well, interestingAll right, here's a hard one.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
What about trading cards?
So, for example, antiquePokemon cards, antique Yu-Yoh or
Magic the Gathering cards.
What about that?
Speaker 2 (17:44):
So we are not quite into the trading cards, the
Pokemon and Magic Gathering yet.
However, it is on our radar.
We are always looking to expand.
We do get into sports cards andthat, so that is part of what
we purchase.
But hopefully, when we havethis conversation again, maybe
(18:08):
later in the year or in 2025,I've got a different answer for
you there, awesome.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
What about furniture, for example?
Maybe it is an antique chair,armchairs, or maybe it is just
like a nice piece of writingdesk or something like that.
Speaker 2 (18:24):
Furniture is not one thing, but we stay away from
furniture.
We are traveling across thecountry, we are shipping
everything home and furniturereally just does not fall within
our wheelhouse, typicallybecause, and due to size, there
are smaller items and we havebought a few higher end rugs and
(18:45):
those types of things, butoverall, generally furniture is
not something we purchase.
Speaker 1 (18:51):
Okay, I got two more for you.
What about and I saw this oneon an episode recently what
about like classic, for example,bicycles?
I saw something it was like Ithink it was called a roadmaster
or something like that when theclassic ones with a Yu shaped
handlebar.
Is that something you guyswould purchase?
Speaker 2 (19:12):
We've had a couple of opportunities.
We don't see it very often, soI would say that is in the gray
area, in the gray area Nice.
Speaker 1 (19:22):
I love that.
And then the final one I guessI wanted to ask about what you
guys are doing we touched on itlast time about classic weapons.
So these are guns, huntingrifles, things like that.
Do you guys do buybacks, forexample, with more war related
weapons like AK47s, things likethat, how I know?
(19:44):
It's like a per store basis,but what is the current state on
that for national rarities?
Speaker 2 (19:50):
Firearms is something that we a couple of our stores
we still work with purchasefirearms, but we have limited
the number of firearms.
Especially what we see from afirearm standpoint, though, is
more of your vintage firearm,civil war those types of things.
We get a little bit of thenewer ones, but 10 towards the
(20:13):
vintage, especially when itcomes to swords and those types
of things.
Yes, we, absolutely.
We still buy quite a bit of thesword.
That sounds sad, Even get intothings like old spears, and just
I mean there's some really neatmilitary items that have come
our way through the years.
We actually have a team ofabout well, a team of three of
(20:36):
our military leaders that I tellyou what.
I see the excitement on theirface every time these things
come through, and it's fun towatch.
Speaker 1 (20:45):
That's so cool.
I love that One that I actuallyjust thought of.
Just maybe this will start tosegue into what gets traded the
most.
I was curious about, forexample, like specific objects
that might require paperwork.
So, for example, let's just say, Rolexes Everybody knows that
(21:05):
or even just tutors or morehigher-end watches A lot of the
times those require paperworkwith them or original box or
things like that.
I know that's true for sneakers.
I was going to ask aboutclassic or high-end sneakers,
but what has to happen with?
Will you guys only purchasethings that we have original
(21:25):
papers or boxes, or is that kindof up to the buyer's discretion
?
Speaker 2 (21:32):
Yeah, it's up to the buyer's discretion.
We have a watchmaker on staffand we have Rolex high-end watch
specialists in that as well.
So when it comes to it, no, itdoes not require box and
paperwork.
But, as everybody knows, boxand paperwork adds substantial
value to those items.
So it's considered in thepricing, of course, and I think
(21:57):
that that's consistent foranybody buying those high-end
watches across the market.
If you have it, absolutely makesure you're bringing it in when
you're looking to sell it,because it's amazing what
difference in price that box andpaperwork can provide.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
Yeah, it's so funny I'll never forget.
Bought my first pair ofsneakers immediately through
away the box.
My friend was like, let me seea pic, show me a pic.
He's like, no, put them on thebox, I already threw it.
He's like, well, you can'tresell those anymore.
I'm like, okay, I guess I justlearned something right there.
So let's talk about what getstraded the most.
So what is making up the bulkof the actual events?
(22:33):
Dollars, is it just, I imagine?
In my eyes, I imagine beinglike old bracelets and necklaces
that are heavy gold and perhapshave gone out of style.
There may be the two likeornate or whatnot, but they're
still made of a lot of gold.
Am I wrong on that?
What's makes up the bulk?
Speaker 2 (22:52):
You know it varies across the country.
But yeah, when you're talkingabout what we see, you're
talking about right around 50percent is outdated jewelry,
those types of things.
A little bit smaller percentage, of course, is going to fall
into your fine jewelry,resaleable side of things that
we build our estate out of andresell online.
(23:15):
But really a good portion ofthe number of items that we see
come through are coins a hugecategory for us sterling
silverware sets, but then thebulk of the really the third
number of items is a pretty evenmixture of artwork, antique
(23:39):
toys, and then we get into themiscellaneous right, and
miscellaneous could be books andjust an old train set and those
types of things as well.
So it's a mixture across thecountry.
You know, when you're going intosome higher end socioeconomic
(24:00):
areas, higher demographics, fromthat standpoint we tend to see
you know larger diamonds and thefine jewelry and carier and
Tiffany and Co and that type ofstuff.
But when you're out in yourrural areas, what's neat about
those rural areas is sometimesyou just see coin collections
that have been handed down formultiple generations yeah, crazy
(24:22):
.
And the artwork that maybe wassitting in the attic that they
didn't know had value, and youknow that gets into like a
Salvador Dali whole suite ofprints that we purchased and
resold and I think it resold for$42,500, which was record
(24:48):
breaking for that suite ofprints.
So for us to be able to comeacross that within a jewelry
store add an event, I meanthat's special and it's just fun
for us, it's fun for thejewelry store, it's fun for the
person that brought it in andreally did get some dollars and
that sounds amazing.
Speaker 1 (25:08):
Exactly, Exactly Now, I guess, are you able to share.
I mean, you just mentionedthose Dali prints.
That sounds amazing.
What's like?
What was?
Can you share with the mostexpensive item that was perhaps
brought in last year, or maybe acouple of items that might have
been at the very top?
Speaker 2 (25:28):
Yeah, so we buy large diamonds.
So you know, we had a couplelarge diamonds this year.
We had a little over 10 and ahalf carat round.
It was KSI2, right around$96,000.
And then we had a 13 carat hairshaped and that was right at
(25:50):
$82,000.
Speaker 1 (25:51):
So 13 carat.
Speaker 2 (25:53):
Oh my God, that's like a rock, that's a rock, so
you know.
From that standpoint, you knowthe diamonds are typically going
to be those higher end ones,and that's what's great about
our partnerships too.
Is some of our partners?
Right?
They do a little bit of buying,but it's not easy to cut a
(26:16):
check for those amounts, right?
Yeah, not many independentjewelers have that kind of cash
laying around and that, andthat's where we can come in and
support them, not just duringour events, it's year round.
If something like that walks inthe store and you know there's
value, instead of being like, oh, I've got to let this go
(26:37):
because I can't cut a check forthat amount, we can make it
happen and still bring in thejeweler on the upside of it too,
which is great, man especiallybecause they get a commission
check on it.
Speaker 1 (26:49):
I mean that's probably very exciting for them.
Speaker 2 (26:50):
Probably makes their day, the commission check the
service that you're providing tothe customer and that it's
definitely all encompassing it.
It's a win-win for everybody,which is great.
Speaker 1 (27:02):
Yeah, just the experience and everything is
pretty exceptional.
So definitely commend you guyson that.
We're going to take one morequick break and then when we
come back, I want to talk aboutmaybe the how.
Items fluctuate from year toyear.
So what was most common back in2021 when you guys were just
getting started, as opposed tomaybe last year?
So stay with us, everybody.
We're just going to take onemore quick break.
(27:24):
Thanks, all right, everybody.
Trade show season is here andour first stop this year is
going to be RJO Palm Springs.
If you're going to be in thatneck of the woods from January
27th until the 29th, make sureyou make an appointment to visit
Punchmark.
You can go to punchmarkcom,slash appointments or just visit
(27:47):
punchmarkcom and look in thetop right corner for book my
appointment, fill out theinformation and mention that.
In the loops on you hear allabout our latest and greatest,
from page speed updates to ourintegrations with new diamond
dealers and premium vendors.
It's going to be really fun atRJO.
Make sure you stop by and sayhi to everybody.
Thanks and back to the show.
(28:09):
All right, everybody.
Still back with Justin vanMaeter from National Rarities.
So, justin, one thing I wantedto ask about is how do things
fluctuate year to year?
So you guys mentioned 2021, thenumber of people, but also how
(28:32):
the events were going.
So it seems like things aregrowing, but I'm also curious
about what kind of items aregetting brought in back then as
opposed to perhaps the last year.
I can only imagine that there'sprobably some seasonality to
things as, for example, diamondsgo in and out of like the size
of diamonds go in and out ofVogue, or perhaps jewelry styles
(28:52):
.
What have you seen as far astrends throughout the year?
Speaker 2 (28:57):
Yes, I mean, you know the trends are always changing.
What's been interesting overthe last you know handful of
years is it seemed like COVIDand the pandemic really
accelerated the way trends went.
You know we saw a lot of thatin the watch industry.
You know we saw the high endthe Rolexes especially just take
(29:18):
off during COVID and the lastthree to four years.
Just the price points that someof these watches were selling
out was insane, and we saw thisyear really a return to normalcy
when it came to the Rolexmarket, and so that, to me, is
the biggest trend that stood out.
(29:39):
You know, when we're talkingabout the steel sports models,
those are the ones that reallykind of held value, more so than
some of the other models outthere.
But what we're seeing is reallythe Rolex resale is getting
close to that 2019 market, soit's almost like we bumped it
back five years.
So I guess when we're talkingabout trends, that's the one
(30:03):
that stuck out the most is froma, from a amount of how much it
grew over a two to three yeartimeframe, and coming back down
to earth.
You know, artwork is another onewhere, if you look over the
last 15 years, artwork has justhad a steady decline in value
(30:24):
per piece until you get intoyour really niche.
You know high end that's tendto still grow and have value out
there.
But when you're talking aboutyour mid range prints and that,
it's been on a little bit of asteady decline in value as
people are putting a little bitmore value to items that they
(30:49):
can wear jewelry, clothing,those types of things compared
to what they can hang on theirwall or showcase in their house.
If you think about sterlingsilverware just for example,
where it's come over the years.
You walk into the home of theyounger generations.
It's a little bit moreminimalistic and they don't have
(31:11):
the China cabinets and thosetypes of things.
Speaker 1 (31:14):
It's true, that's a good point.
Speaker 2 (31:16):
As we see trends.
The trends are into thewearables and the jewelry and
the value in there, and then thetrends of the things that are
collectible and hanging on yourwall, and that a little bit of a
decline.
But you know, it's going to beinteresting over the next few
years, as things continue tolevel out from COVID, if we see
(31:39):
a little bit of a spring back onsome of those items as well.
We're forecasting for a littlebit of it, but only time will
tell.
Really.
Speaker 1 (31:49):
Yeah, do you know what's so funny?
You mentioned watches.
This is just on the side.
I think one of my predictionsfor this year is I think that
this is the year of the GrandSeiko watch.
The reason why is because, ofcourse I don't know if you
follow baseball, but ShohaiOtani just obviously signed the
biggest deal of all time for anathlete, for the Dodgers.
(32:12):
People that are listening Ihope you already know If you
don't get up on your currentevents but Shohai Otani is fond
of apparently gifting peopleGrand Seiko watches as presents
for his managers and things likethat, first friends, and for
some reason I think that thatsort of ripple.
I'm predicting a big rippleafter that.
(32:33):
So I'm going to keep an eye on.
Speaker 2 (32:36):
If it doesn't happen in the US immediately, it's
happening in Japan.
I'm based in St Louis, so Ibelieve he gifted one of those
to Lars Newpar because he playedon the Japanese team in the
World Series.
Speaker 1 (32:48):
That's the exact video I watch and I'm like, oh
man, I'm researching GrandSeiko's.
I'm like I kind of want one ofthese now.
So perhaps we can talk about.
Maybe some of these people thatare listening are interested in
having an event one day.
So what have you seen storeowners do that have contributed,
(33:09):
perhaps, to an effective sale?
I know that you guys handlepretty much everything when it
comes to marketing and promotingand stuff like that, but what
about things like is it good tohave food at the events?
Is it good to have, for example, beer or alcohol or wine or
things like that?
What have you seen thatcontributes to an effective
estate bank event?
Speaker 2 (33:31):
As you mentioned, we come in and we handle that paid
advertisement.
So when it comes to thatstandpoint, of course, any
suggestions or things thatyou've seen work for previous
events just making thoserecommendations to our marketing
team can definitely have animpact.
Taking advantage of the freemarketing.
We have many of our stores thatjust do a great job with social
(33:54):
media.
They're doing a great job withtheir social media or are on
their online website and puttingup the web banner and those
little things or utilizing theirtext messages and all the areas
that are relatively free, andwhen we see somebody go live on
Facebook, we've always seen abig bump from that.
Speaker 1 (34:17):
That's a good point.
Speaker 2 (34:19):
When it comes to the event itself, we really want to
make sure that our stores areable to operate business as they
normally do.
We want them to engage withevery customer that's coming in
for our event and engage withthem as if they are a customer
walking through their doors.
The stores that do that are theones that are taking the
(34:41):
clients that have just come into sell something and turning
them into their clients.
What's interesting about ourevents is about half of the
people that come in for ourevents have never been in the
jewelry store before.
That's crazy.
So when you can imagine, 136people on average are coming
into the jewelry store, that'sabout 68 people that have never
(35:04):
been in your store before.
And if you treat every singleone of them as if they were
coming in to purchase something,even if it's as simple as
offering to clean their ring ortheir bracelet just those little
things engaging from thataspect is the long-term revenue
generator that you want to getout of the event.
(35:25):
And we have a couple stores that, yeah, they do a great job with
little things.
Just thinking about BBK up inMichigan, One of our clients
Good guys, yeah, the smell ofthose fresh cookies coming out
of their back room and havingthe champagne just out there on
the sales floor, and just littlethings like that.
I think, overall, anytime youcan create an experience or add
(35:50):
a smell to it, you know thoseare the little things that
people remember and so we alwaysencourage our partners to do
stuff like that.
We have another store out inthe LA area that has a Margarita
machine, so they just have funwith it.
So ultimately, you know youmentioned Antiques Roadshow and
(36:14):
it is an event, it's a serviceand ultimately we want to just
create an environment alongsideour partners that fits their
customers and fits what theywant their product to represent.
And if that means the cookiesor the champagne coming out, if
that means a Margarita machineor if that means just being
(36:36):
extremely professional andpolite and asking them if they
need the ring clean, that'swhere we want to mold our events
to fit really the identity ofthe store.
So we encourage our partners toreally Do what you think works
for you and we're in fullsupport of it from that end.
Speaker 1 (36:56):
Yeah, I mean just having an experience.
I mean you put your fingerright on it.
When you think about the mostpositive brand kind of equity
out there, and I think of likeDisney World, I think about just
amusement parks in general orlike some of my favorite shops,
and you're right, there is likea lot more than just what the
products that are being offeredthere in associated with it.
(37:19):
In my mind but I think ofDisneyland it's not even really
about the rides themselves, it'salso about the environment and
the space and the smells and thesounds and the life that comes
from the space.
That is kind of just evenoutside of just the rides, which
is what is actually beingmarketed.
So I totally agree and I lovewhat you said about having it
(37:40):
adapt and mold to match theidentity of the store.
I think that's what it reallycomes down to is understanding,
first of all, what your store'sidentity is.
Are you young and fun?
Are you very high class andserious?
Are you comfortable andapproachable?
All these terms are things thatbrands and style guides and
just designers love to eat up.
(38:01):
But having these additionalassets like what you were
talking about, event by events,match that style guide, is what
really pushes things over theend.
Also probably makes it so thatthey can have a couple of events
in a row and not make it feellike, oh, they're doing a state
buying more than they areselling jewelry.
(38:22):
Instead, the jewelry store ishaving another awesome event, so
I totally agree with you thatsounds great.
Speaker 2 (38:30):
And some of our partners.
They're building on top of it.
They're building their ownevent or sales a week or two
after and they're utilizingtheir four walls marketing to
get those people that are comingin for our event to get them
back in the door.
Is it as simple as just puttingtogether a wish list and those
(38:52):
types of things?
And who's?
Is it your husband or wife?
You want me to send this wishlist off of Nice?
A lot of our partners.
They've been doing this foryears and generations and
they're really, really good atwhat they do, and this is just
another opportunity to highlightwhat you're great at.
Speaker 1 (39:12):
Nice man.
I love that, justin, and that'skind of my.
One of my big pushes for thisyear is going to be is that
jewelry stores especiallyindependent retailers is
actually the correct term I'mgoing for here are unique and by
nature, and I'm hoping that ourlisteners can lean into that
(39:33):
uniqueness of it and really kindof allow that feeling to spread
to everything that they do,whether it's their website,
whether it's their in-storeexperience or events like you're
just talking about.
I think really leaning intowhat makes you unique is going
to be kind of one of my bigpushes for this year for our
listeners and for independentretailers as a whole.
(39:53):
So I love that you guys areaiding in that, justin.
Where can people find out moreabout national rarities or reach
out to you if they'reinterested in having their first
national rarities event attheir store?
Speaker 2 (40:04):
Very easy.
If you want to reach out, myemail address is JustinJUSTIN at
national raritiescom.
Feel free to just shoot me aquick message.
We can set up a time for aquick phone call or you can get
on our website, that's justwwwnationalraritiescom.
Speaker 1 (40:27):
Awesome, and make sure you mention it in the loop
and let them know that we sentyou.
And then, Justin, I got to knowif you guys ever see any really
six sneakers in a size of 11.5,.
Make sure you just give me acall.
I'll see if you can just buythem.
Put them aside for me, We'llfigure something out.
Speaker 2 (40:46):
I'll make sure we'll be heading to almost every major
show this year, right, ijo, rjo, jck, centurion, all the above.
So if we come across them, I'llmake sure we bring them so you
can try them on for size.
Speaker 1 (41:00):
Oh man, I would love that.
That would make my dayEverybody.
Thank you so much, justin.
I really appreciate your time.
This is really great.
We'll have to have a follow upto hear about how 2024 goes for
you guys.
I predict even more amazingstuff.
It seems like you guys are on areal fast track to the top, so
I appreciate you coming onEverybody.
Thanks so much for listening.
We'll be back next week,tuesday, with another episode.
(41:22):
Thanks Bye.
All right, everybody.
That's it for the show.
Thanks so much for listening.
This week's episode was broughtto you by Punchmark and produced
and hosted by me, michael Burpo.
My guest this week was JustinVarenmater from National
Rarities, and you can learn moreabout them in the show notes
(41:44):
below.
Reach out to them.
Let them know that in the loopsent you makes us look really
good.
This episode was edited by PaulSuarez with music by Ross
Cochrane.
Please, please, please, ratethe podcast on Apple Podcasts or
on Spotify, wherever you listento your podcasts, and leave us
feedback on punchmarkcom slashloop.
(42:04):
That's L-O-U-P-E, and let usknow what you think about these
interviews.
Thanks, check back next week,tuesday, for another episode.
Bye.
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