The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1871-11-09
How Advertising Don't Pay.

The expressions Advertising don't
pay" "Don't see that advertising does
any good" &C., are familiar to the ears of
the solicitor of advertising for newspa-
per columns.
The real business man, however, never
makes use of such expressions. for the
reason that he patronizes the only legiti-
mate and judicipus means of advertis-
ing, and such as always pays. He gives
his advertising to the newspapers, and
steers clear of the numerous clap-trap
humbugs presented before him daily by
Tom, Dick and Harry, each of whom has
either some new fraud, or some played
out dodge that is new to somebody. One
has business guide, the advertising
pages of which he generously offers for,
say ten to forty dollars each. They gen.
orally stick for big prices, stating that
an immense edition is to be printed,
when in reality there are usually issued
Just one copy to each Advertiser, as proof
that the contract has been fulfilled (O
As an inducement to others, the getter-
up of the fraud displays to his intended
victim several orders for pages from
shrewd business men. "Here's Smithers
tS Son take full page" says he, "and
here's another full page order from
Clingtight & Grabem, the bankers"
Very nice bait this, and of course de-
ceives many.
The outside, covers, and binding are
generally sold to all who will engage
them, each person so engaging OF course
getting what he pays for in horn).
Business guides and street directories
| are not the only means employed by
these tramps; city maps, street guides,
&C., stuck around with business cards,
are hung up in few barber shops, the
proprietors of which allow their walls to
be thus disfgured. These frauds are
highly puffed up by the agent, who ar
CUES that as everybody shaves, conse-
quently everybody will see these cards !
for the printing and hanging up of
which he modestly charges his dupes
from two to ten dollars each; i'll fact, he
has no established price; if he cannot
get ten dollars, he generously comes
down to five or even two dollars, and
will often accept of even single dollar,
rather than nothing. Another and IA
vorite dodge which wakes up scmi-occa-
sionally, is that of the hotel mirror, and
another the post-of1ice thermometer and
barometer, which indicates the same
temperature and weather throughout
| the year.
These latter are well known to most
of our city readers, and are another spe-
| cies of card fraud, being surrounded with
dozen or two business cards, and then
hung up for few days, long enough to
admit of the dues being collected by the
enterprising agent. Willard's Hotel, of
this city, furnishes an example of the
above. Shortly before the closing of
the hotel the proprietor informed us that
actually cord or two of this trash, for
which somebody had paid heavily, was
cellar of the building.
Who are the supporters of these frauds
To say that all who are represented in
such are deficient in business qualifca-
tions 80 far as advertising is concerned,
would be assuming a good deal, and
would be saying what we do not by any
means desire to be understood to mean.
We do say, however, without fear of
successful contradiction, that the very
few advertisements of shrewd business
men which are displayed in the frauds
of which we write, are not ordered by
the parties at all, but are simply bait at
which others bite.
The swindlers who "make their swag"
off of these frauds, are, generally speak
ing, without permanent location, their
home being "under their hat" and their
Office in their breast pocket; they stop
long enough to do a place pretty thor
oughly, and when out of territory to
operate in, pull up stakes, and seek new
fields to conquer, leaving behind them
numerous unpaid bills for rent, board,
printing, clothing, whiskey, &C., not to
mention unpaid wages and commissions
to canvassers employed by them to So
licit orders.
These vagabonds are the persistent
foes of all legitimate advertising me-
diums, and make it part of their bust
ness to depreciate and misrepresent
newspapers whenever occasion offers.
This they call business tact.
1t is fact we'll worthy of note that
nearly every business man who CON-
plains that advertising don't pay, is a
patron of these wandering humbugs and
advertising tramps, and ample proof
that the kind of advertising patronized
by them don't pay, is to be had by the
appearance of closed doors, and shutters
ticketed REMOVED Ito a cheaper place.
or CLOSED, (for want of custom).
Newspapers, hand-bills, and posters
are the only judicious modes of advertis.
ing, and THEY ALWAYS Washing
ton Standard.