The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1879-05-30
KNOWING HOW TO BUY.
Some Hints for Saving Time and Get
ting Good Bargains.

Some Hints for Saving Time and Get
ting Good Bargains.
81 have just as much room, burn just
as many lights, and keep just as many
clerks as during the era OF high prices
and big profits" said a Detroit merchant
the other day. "Rent Is down and sal
aries are down, but until discharge half
my force shall have to cry hard times +"
And when will that time come?'
''Never. Look around at the crowd
in the store. Here are fifteen lady GUS
toners, distributed from the silk count
er back to the calico. 1t looks like a
busy day, but l will take S. bill for
all the money these fifteen ladies pay
over the counters. 1t is fine day They
are out to get the sunshine and Kill time.
| must keep a force of at least seven
| clerks to pull down goods for these non-
paying visitors, and perhaps seven more
to wait upon customers who don't know
what they want If they did know three
clerks could do the work of seven or
eight"
"How many people do you meet in a
week who know just what they want to
buy?"
IF meet one single person even l
put down long mark" he replied.
We do not believe that any business
man will dispute the assertion that one
third of the employees of every house
could be dispensed with if people exer-
cised the simplest rules of common sense
in purchasing goods, but people never
will.
Now then suppose Mrs. A wants a
| brussels carpet. She goes into a carpet
| store, is shown scores of patterns, asks a
thousand questions and buys blind fold
ed at last. She forgets or more likely
does not realize the fact that she kncws
nothing of the goods in the first place
How can she? The carpet man does
know all about 1.-THE makes it bus
mess and a study. He can select colors
better suited for the room and furniture
than she can, and would be glad to. But
she wont let him. She would bother
around for weeks, and likely be dissat-
| isfied at last. The common sense way
would be to say to the dealer:
"GO and measure my room for brus-
sells carpet. / want the prevailing col
Ors, so and so. / want to pay about so
much per yard. l want grade of goods
you can warrant"
The dealer, thus placed on his honor
and good taste, would give her the best
carpet she ever had in her house.
Last fall carriage halted before a
| Woodyard-avenue dry goods store and a
1
tleman said to the chief clerk:
MY wife wants twenty yards of black
silk worth about 81 per yard. We de
pend entirely on you to select it,
In seven minutes the silk was cut.
wrapped and paid for, and is the best
piece of goods the lady ever had. Had
she spent week at the stores she might
not have done so well-certainly no bet
ter. No lady need to fear to buy goods
the same way. The merchant selects
only what he can warrant. and if there
is big end in the bargain she gets it.
Some men will enter butcher shop
and paw over hundred pounds of meat
to buy two. Others will look in and
say:
zones, want two pounds of best
sirlOin-send it up"
The butcher sends sirlOin and nothing
else, but the man who selects a neck
peice will not be told by the butcher
that it is not sirloin unless asked.
There are men who continually com
plain of having been cheated in clothing
They cheat themselves. They paw over
bolts of cloth without the least knowl-
edge of fast colors and fast shades, and
finding something to suit, they bargain
with the tailor. The tailor has not been
asked if the goods are sponged and the
colOrs fast, and he does not deem it his
duty to interfere with the choice of a
customer. Other men enter a shop and
say;
II want suit of blue, indigo color, good
weight, and English or French make
Take my measure and select the goods
yourself"
If the tailor wants that mans custom
the cloth and the making will be honest
and firstclass. 1t will be the same what
ever you buy. The tradesman who has
long in trade. Ninety-nine out of hun
dred will select better goods than Gus
toners can, in quarter of the time, and
with eminent satisfaction to all parties.
detroit Free Press,