The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1881-08-18

sists in y still further very ;great re-
ductien. (eonditional) even from the
revolution prices, while, at the same
time, the average quality of the books
will cotinue to be materially inn
proved.
HOW CAN THESE THINGS BE?
To attempt an impossibility could
of course result only in failure, and
it would be useless, in our own inter-
est, or in that of the many thousand
customers who have shown us such
earnest favor, and have given us such
great patronage, to announce or
promise what could not be performed.
We have dealt frankly with our Gus
toners in giving facts concerning
costs and profits in the past, and We
do it now, by giving facts and fig
ures illustrating how We can afford
to still further reduce prices.
FACTS AND FIGURES.
Please note, at the start, our apol-
ogy for not having done heretofore
what we now propose to do and con-
slider
lst-We published our first book
only 50 long ago as January, 1879.
Previous to that time we were entire
ly without experience in book pub
fishing. What knowledge we had
of the business was gained in news
paper publishing, and in booksclling.
2d-Wc were also at that time al
most entirely without capital, and
until 80 late as February, 1881, VIC
laborcd under the difficulty of being
without capital even approximately
adequate for the magnitude of the
enterprise We were undertaking.
3d-Our entire scheme was in OPP
position to all previous methods Of
publishing and book-selling. And
from the beginning to the present,
we have had the combined bitter op-
position of almost the entire book
publishing and book-selling classes
of the United States.
4th-Starting thus, with a mini.
mum of knowledge, and less capital,
and with such immense opposition,
We thought it best, in the interest of
both the reading public and our.
selves, that we undertake too little,
rather than too much; partial success
would be better than total failure.
5th-In spite of our want of re.
sources and of experience, and III
spite of opposition, aud with the ne
cessity of organizing aud training
our new. forces, and necessarily try
ing many experiments all of which
no one could expect would be uni
formly successful, we have from Jan
uary l, 1880, to June 80, 1881, man
ufactured and sold nearly 100000
volumes of standard books, fol
which We have received the consid
cradle sum of $7O9,52I.S2.
6th-In circular issued in Janu
AIRY of the present year we made
the following statement: "The public
have so long been taught to believe
books to be expensive luxmies and
low prices impossible, that. incrcdul
lily has from the first been the great
est obstacle to the progress Of the
Literary Revolution. It was easier
to make good books cheap than i
was to make people believe it could
be done. We could readily have
made prices even Flower than the,
Fhave been, but for the terrible tn,
We have been compelled to pay te
this Incredibly"
We have during this period, from
january l, 1880, to June 80, 1881
paid for advertising, the large sun
, Of $l4O,s7s.o3. This immense item
necessarily has to come out Of til
Iprofts ,re make OF, the books sold.
7th-Although our scheme origin
! ally embodied the principle of sell
ing directly to the consumer, and do
ing away with the exorbitant cost o
middlcmen, we have not undertake,
to put aside the bookseller and tn
! book agent altogether, because {
: large portion of the book-buyers o
the country have got into the habi
of looking to them for their supplies
= and if we were to supply the want
: Of such customers at all, we wer
, compelled to do it through these 0,
binary channels. But we have en-
deavored to induce or compel thes
middlemen to work, as we have bee1
: doing, on lmore reasonably small
percentage of profit (the immensel
increased sales at the reduced prices
even with the smaller commissions
really give the bookseller large
net profit than he formerly had)
, Accordingly, we have during this pt
e Rod, from January l, 1880 to June
\ 1881, allowed to the booksellers an
. book agents commissions averagin
about Is per cent. of our total n
ceipts. In other words, in addition
Ito the $7O9,521.32 we have receives
from the public for our books, tn
e public has also paid to the middle
f men the large sum of $l77,3sO.3
! simply for handling these books
making the total cost of the book
to the consumer $ss6, 9Ol.65.
+ 8th-From these statements 20
0 can readily see that if
From the total amount
which the public has
paid for our books. SS0s, SOIL
al Wededuct the amount
u We have paid for adj
al vertising these books, 9140,6sS.o8
And the amount paid
:. to middlemen for
handling tho books. 177,3008
We have q total deduction Of. .$3ls, $780,:
And Q remainder Of. $568, 642;
+ Thus it is evident that if the publ
d had bought these books directly fro,
les, the unnecessary expenses of az
vertising, and Of paying middleme
ylfor handling them, being avoided
o the books would have cost them onl
q S5ss, $3.50, being almost SO pc
vInon< 1ooa then tho lQQR O0l Ak whic