Jewelers can reap a windfall with weddings, considering engagement and wedding ring sales plus gifts. But too often they focus on the engagement ring alone, standing by while the couple choose plain wedding bands instead of engraved or diamond versions or, worse yet, letting them slip away to buy their wedding bands elsewhere.

"The plain ring robs you, not of margin, but of profit dollars," says Cap D'Amato, vice president of sales at Frederick Goldman Inc., New York City, who spoke at last summer's JCK Show Conference in Las Vegas. Among his suggestions:

• Put plain rings under the counter (case space is too valuable for $100 sales).
• Increase or correct your engraved wedding ring selection.
• Merchandise your engraved and platinum wedding rings separately to give customers distinct options.
• Eliminate commissions from plain wedding rings and increase them for engraved rings.
• Pay a bonus when an associate sells an engraved or diamond wedding ring at the same time as the engagement ring.
• When selling an engraved ring to the groom, suggest the bride get the matching ring.
• Always show diamond wedding rings first, engraved rings second and plain rings last.
• Demand sales training from your supplier of gold and platinum wedding rings, everything from manufacturing to selling procedures.

Meanwhile, D'Amato offers the following factors that couples consider when buying wedding rings, based on a survey by Frederick Goldman Inc.:

• Home • Ask the Expert • Brainstorm • Stats • Site of the Week • Consumer Press Scan

• Your Business On-Line • Calendar • Magazine & Site Archives • Staff • Site Map

• Professional Jeweler Events • Guide to Electronic Services

• Classified On-Line • JA Certification Study Session