Mark Perle - Mark & Jean Perle: "The Heart Shaped Diamond From The Cornfield"
![Mark Perle - Mark & Jean Perle: "The Heart Shaped Diamond From The Cornfield"](/jwl/public/res/images/resource-center/case-studies/pog-case-study-mark-perle.jpg)
Sometimes customers don't take us seriously because our store is almost completely surrounded by fields of corn. We're out past the Chicago suburbs in a town of 2,500 – definitely agriculture country. But it's not just farmers. Plainfield is fast becoming a bedroom community for yuppies. Had a guy come in a few weeks ago who'd been looking all over the area for a ninety-point heart-shape diamond.. I could tell from his expression he didn't expect to find anything in my store.
I didn't have a ninety-point heart in stock, of course, but that wasn't going to stop me. I had Poly-Power. I pulled up a list of heart shapes between .85 and .99 on my computer screen. There were about twenty of them, most with certificates. Since my markup was already built in, I printed out the list and handed it over. I think I must have knocked the guy's socks off!
"Uh, I don't get it," he said, puzzled. "How come a little store like this out in the middle of nowhere has this kind of inventory?" I explained how we're part of the Polygon network, which gives us access to inventory all over the world. He took the list and shopped it for a few days, but no one could beat my price and quality. It was an easy sale.
I know the other jewelers around here are scratching their heads, not understanding how I do it. They've even told customers my prices were too low, and there must be "something wrong. Nope. There's something right – Poly-Power! I remember the first month on the system, my close rate on diamond sales went up about 45%. Why? I could sell for less without cutting my margin. Now I even undercut the "wholesalers" in downtown Chicago, and my sales have doubled.
The truth is – even if you're not located in a cornfield – I don't understand how it's possible for jewelers to survive these days and not be on Polygon!
Mark & Jean Perle / Mark Perle
Plainfield, IL
Lifetime member since 1988 / Poly ID 447