Memo Price — The Number That Holds When Goods Travel on Trust
Memo Price — The Number That Holds When Goods Travel on Trust
The figure stated on a memo document, payable in full if the consigned stone is purchased
Memo price is the figure written on a memorandum document when a gemstone or piece of jewellery is sent on consignment for inspection or potential sale. The number is the amount the recipient owes if the goods are kept; it is not a starting position from which further discount is expected. In coloured-stone trading, where the same stone may pass through three or four hands before reaching the retail counter, the memo price is the contractual anchor that lets the goods circulate without anyone losing track of value.
Where the number sits in the stack
A memo price is, in nearly all cases, a net wholesale figure. The dealer issuing the memo has already determined what they will accept; the recipient is expected either to honour it or to return the stone. This distinguishes a memo from a quotation in a typical sale negotiation, where back-and-forth on price is normal. Asking for a discount off a memo price is not impossible — for a long-standing relationship and a substantial stone, sender and recipient may renegotiate before the memo converts to an invoice — but it is not the default expectation, and it must be agreed before the memo period closes.
The memo price also serves a practical function for insurance. While the goods are in the recipient's possession, the memo period exposes the recipient to liability for loss or damage at the stated value. Underwriters insuring memo inventory will use the memo price as the declared value for the cover.
Memo price versus invoice price
When a memo converts to a sale, the invoice price should match the memo price exactly unless the parties have agreed otherwise in writing. Discrepancies — a stone re-graded, a description amended, a partial payment plan — must be confirmed by both sides. Unilateral adjustment by either party undermines the trust on which the memo system depends and is grounds for the kind of reputational damage that quietly closes off whole networks.
Where the memo price was set on a stone subsequently reclassified after laboratory examination — for example, an unheated determination overturned, or an origin opinion revised — the appropriate response is for sender and recipient to renegotiate openly rather than for the recipient to mark down the invoice without consultation.
In the trade
For a retailer working memo from a coloured-stone wholesaler, the memo price is the number to quote forward to the client only after a markup that reflects the retailer's selling overhead. For an auction-house specialist or appraiser examining memo goods, the memo price is a useful but not definitive data point about the stone's wholesale standing — the figure tells you what the sender expects to be paid, not necessarily what the open market would bear. For everyone in the chain, treating the memo price as inviolate unless renegotiated is the practice that keeps the whole consignment system functional.