In these arguably rough economic times, there are many ways a business could decide to use its purchasing power. We are not here to critique another enterprise or their processes as they tend to speak for themselves. However, we are a newer company with a different perspective. We will outline what we prioritize as a business and how we choose to use our purchasing power. Our gemstone product purchasing and pricing decisions are founded on equality and fairness for all.
On the world stage, there are abuses of labor and land abounding. We seek to support people and systems that do not knowingly destroy the land or treat their workers unfairly in any way. We may not know every single instance that exists in this moment, but as we learn, we promise to make any necessary changes to prevent our purchasing power from enabling such practices.
Many conflict gemstones are on the more precious end of gemstones such as the well-known diamonds as well as rubies, sapphire, garnet, jade, lapis lazuli, and moonstones. Myanmar is known to produce conflict gemstones. They also supply much of the world. The easiest way to avoid conflict gemstones is to avoid purchasing stones on that list. As that list grows or shrinks, it is on us to try to stay on top of this information.
Are some of our products on that list? Sadly, yes. Only recently have we become aware of how many are on that list. As such, we will not be purchasing more of those stones until we can verify the sources and practices. We cannot, in good conscience, continue to purchase and sell these stones. Feel free to share any knowledge you have on conflict stones here.
Furthermore, we hope to help everyone rise together. This means that if a competing business has been able to properly vet and prove that they have purchased conflict-free lapis, for example, we support our customers in purchasing from that business and we also support the other business in gaining a new customer. Let’s build each other up one purchase at a time!
Did you know that we hand-pick each piece we sell in our gemstones category? The only exception to that is bulk items such as tumbles, chips, and raw gemstones. We take great care and pride in doing our best to bring our customers the best pieces at the best prices. Connecting back to conflict gemstones, this also means that we will work diligently to select pieces that are not amongst the known gemstones and minerals. In the end, we wrap our business model around ethical transactions for both our customers and any vendors or mines we may purchase from.
It would be flat lie to say that we do not seek to profit from our endeavors. However, profiting and growing in business can be done ethically. Aside from ensuring that we do our best to uphold ethical consumerism as a business entity, we can also do our part to lessen the load on the many people struggling financially today.
There are two ways in which we approach this: choosing vendors who do not overcharge and our retail pricing structure. We research our vendors and their prices. If the vendor is overcharging, we can neither make a decent profit, nor pass down the savings to our customers—which we do. Also, there are markup norms in many business niches. However, norms are just what they seem—the most common—but there are no set rules on pricing retail items. A business can choose to break the pricing norms and make less profit (through lower markup or other means) than another business would. Another way we break the retail pricing norms is by providing stands that are included with some pieces at cost. We make no profit on those stands, and we are truly honored to do this. Just because we can charge $X for a product, does not mean we have to.
Obviously, pricing below the common markup means a better buying experience for our customers. Yet, you might be wondering what we get out of this as a business. Yes, our profit on each item will be lower. However, our commitment to bringing our customers that best prices will help us to build strong long-term relationships with our customers. Also, as word spreads about our commitment to our customers, we will bring in new customers who are also looking for high-quality products and high-quality shopping experiences. This is the best win-win there is! Happy customers, a happy workforce, and a growing business—what more could you really ask for?
Our gemstone product purchasing and pricing decisions are made based on how we, as consumers and conscientious business owners, would prefer to see things done in Big Business and all over the world. Greed is not the only way forward, though a popular choice. We really can weather these storms together, if we choose. We can work together to make the most sustainable and socially responsible choices for the betterment of all. We can ensure fair pricing and ease the strain, even if only a little, for one another. This is what we, at Mayhem Canyon Mineral Co., choose to do.
Thank you for reading!
