learned how to spend money at a very early age, from my father who was a Romanian gypsy with seven children.  Needless to say, in the late 30's and early 40's, money was scarce.  One of my earliest recollections was when we were shopping on 47th Street in New York City.  Which, as you might know, is the jewelry center of the world.  My father said, "We are just going to look in the windows for ideas. We aren't going to buy anything down here.  Remember son, you never buy from a middle man. We want to buy jewelry where these shop owners buy it.  I want to go to a place where there are people at a bench making jewelry.  Then I know it's a prime source."  The rest of the day was spent with my father traveling from one musty loft to another, listening to him crying in Yiddish about how poor he was and how wonderful my mother was, and that she deserved something but, "at the prices you're asking, it's taking the food out of my babies' mouths;  I can't do that.  You must make it cheaper."  Well, the lesson I learned was primitive, but it still makes sense.  For more than thirty years I have specialized in selling, quite successfully, to Jewish people.  And, quite frankly, I prefer to deal with Jewish people above any other race.  Why?  They are tasteful, logical, and they understand the methodology of purchasing, which I will reveal to you today.  

The smart shopper is not solely concerned with numbers.  Of course the price is important, but when you are buying, there are other factors which are very, very, very important.  The all encompassing word for those factors is security:  The smart buyer wants to know who and what you are all about because if they are going to buy something as arcane as jewelry or a pre-owned watch they will wonder about authenticity, service, and the seller's character.  The smart Jewish buyer knows, if they are going to invest in something such as a pre-owned watch, to ask, "what does pre-owned mean?"  "How far removed is this timepiece from showroom perfect?"  Additionally, this buyer knows that a watch is a dynamic item.  What recourse does he have if it stops working?  And what if the piece of jewelry he is buying is less than authentic?  Who does he turn to?  If these concerns don't match yours, you are a schmuck.  And, fortunately for eBay, there are a lot of schmucks around.  Oh, and here is another thing, besides honesty and proficiency, the wise buyer prefers to deal with a company owner that is very passionately involved in his or her business.  And, better yet, when his employees have the same attitude.  Why is this? Well, the passionate proprietor lives, sleeps, and eats his business.  He knows where all the bodies are buried.  He probably has a network of vendors that can get him almost anything at the right price in a matter of hours.  And of course, the more options you get handed, the easier it'll be for you to make an intelligent decision.  And, it is a pleasure doing business with a firm where the owner is totally involved.  It's like going into a restaurant where the owner is present, isn't the food always better?

Canine Work Ethics: Capetown has the only security dogs in the country to come to work in a Rolls Royce Corniche

Before making purchases, visit some upscale jewelry stores, such as Neiman Marcus and Tiffany's, and read some of the style magazines such as Town and Country, Vogue, etc.

If you're working with shleppers your going to end up with shlepper jewelry and remember: shlepper jewelry never has a resale value.

At Capetown, we want to give you what you are expecting and we want to exceed your expectations product-wise, and, if possible, to exceed your expectations value-wise.  That old Romanian teacher that I had taught me how to do that.