Membership Information

Dear Potential Member,

Following is an outline of the workings of this organization.

This group is the most prestigious and largest independent jewelry chain organization in the country.

At this time we have 100 members with approximately two hundred and seventy-five (275) retail jewelry outlets and annual sales volume of over 1 billion retail dollars. All of our members are highly respected, well established with many fruitful years in the jewelry industry. Their buying power and our ability to negotiate for the very best terms, prices and services with all types of vendors enables a member to compete or beat any other competitor. This makes it possible for the member to give his customer the best products, service and guarantees no other jeweler can match. Enclosed is our membership list of retailers. We encourage you to call any one of them to understand a retailers perspective of the organization.

What differentiates us from most other buying organizations is that we do not accept any “kickbacks” from authorized vendors. All cost savings and rebates go directly to our retailers.

The only expense that you will have as a member is a monthly fee of $575.00 per month. The other expenses you will be responsible for is that a representative of your company must attend our 2 annual shows.

Your business has to do a volume of 2 million dollars or more a year. Your credit rating must remain in the first or second column with J.B.T. or have a favorable D & B rating. A credit and ethics committee made up of existing members and the CBG, Inc. office monitors all our members.

We have two (2) Buying Shows and general membership meetings per year. One in Dallas
in January and one in Vegas prior to JCK. You or a representative from your company must attend both shows.

One of the most important items about CBG membership is our Roundtable Discussions. We have discussed such topics as:
Relieving Distressed Inventory
Employee Compensation Plans
Best & Worst Marketing Campaigns of Last Year
Surviving a recession
Cost saving ideas

Purchasing power is important but sharing information and ideas with 100 other owner operators is invaluable.

At this time there are approximately 150 recognized authorized vendors to the Continental Buying Group. These vendors extend further than just basic jewelry merchandise. We go into all types of retailer requirements, including items such as boxes, safes, showcases, premiums, bank services, marketing, etc.

Continental Buying Group Office Provides:

* 100 geographic exclusive retail members

* 275 stores

* 1 billion dollars in annual sales

* Negotiate the lowest possible prices (usually on a cast/contract or cost plus basis) that are equal or better than the majors

* Loose diamond volume rebates

* CBG office readily available for any special requests/hard to find diamonds. Think of the office as an additional employee

* Better rates and exclusive marketing materials from G.E. Capital

* Better rates on credit card transactions from Solupay

* Special pricing on boxes, bags, displays, jewelry cleaner, etc.

* Roundtable Discussions / Retailer Networking

* 2 private buying shows yearly

* Check total weights on select C.B.G. vendors annually

* Make sure our vendors are complying (with signed contracts) i.e. Patriot Act, Conflict Diamonds and we have an attorney on retainer

• The “Buzz” newsletter

• Commandments/Guidelines/Expectations of ethics within the organization. These commandments for both retailers and suppliers are attached.

* We travel to almost all jewelry shows including Basel. We also travel worldwide in researching and developing new merchandise i.e. Basel, Israel, etc.

* Bring direct diamonds to your store Israel / Indian / Canadian / Russian

* Each member receives a general information disc that lists every vendor and their deal. The members must honor all deals made with a vendor. All credit terms must be honored and paid as agreed. If an individual company negotiates for specific terms and is accepted by the vendor, the office must be notified so a dispute does not occur later on.

* Eight to ten (10) bulletins per year are sent providing you with all pertinent information and specials being offered by our suppliers.

* Vendors also have to fill out an Invoice Verification form which tells you that you are
Receiving the correct deal.

* We will negotiate any problems between authorized vendors and group members.

We do not require a member to sign any type of agreement/contract. The Continental Buying Group is in its 30th year and has increased its membership every year it has been in existence. I strongly encourage you to call one of our existing members.

Any member can give up their membership by simply notifying this office. We ask only that
all information, books and current newsletter/bulletins be returned to our office.

It is the opinion of the writer that membership benefits far outweigh the $6900.00 annual cost of this program. Not only have we negotiated the lowest possible prices (usually on a cast/contract basis) for the merchandise but have worked out many volume rebate programs (especially with all our loose diamond suppliers). Most of our membership receive rebate checks that more than pay for their dues. Dollar for Dollar and two to one stock balancing is offered by many of our suppliers. Memo programs are also available. Invaluable information is exchanged with the leading jewelry retailers in the United States and Canada.

Thank you and looking forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely,

Andie Weinman, President
Joe Murphy, Chief Operating Officer
Continental Buying Group, Inc.

For additional information, call us at (954) 964-2660 or fill out an online information request.