The Opelousas courier., 1882-08-26
Advertising Rates.

Advertising Rates.
The Printers Journal, published al
st. Louis, gives the following timely
warning to the coantry publishers wht
allow advertising agents TO beat them
down in their rates for advertising:
There is matter connected with this
subject that requires more than passing
attention. It is this, that rates fo1
foreign advertising named by ou,
country cousins" are getting down
to an astonishingly low figure. Each
year advertisers, with the aid of the
advertising agents, are cutting prices
down. Three years ago IL leading ad
vertiser in the East paid country pa
pers an average of SIS 90 a year for
running his cut and readers. Each OF
the two years past he has cut the rate,
last years paying but $9.4O. Now ru-
NOR has it. he will again attempt to
break down prices. Assuming that
he paid fair price three years ago,
aud assuming also that he placed his
business in 5000 papers of this class, it
follows that his saving by breaking
prices down has amounted to some-
thing like 100000 for the two years.
If his price three years ago was fair
one, and it certainly was low enough,
then these 5000 papers have simply
lost that amount, being equivalent to
about $1,000 a paper.
A leading advertiser in this city has
recently placed four inch advertise
ment through an agency, in 5000 pa
pers, at an average price of $40 a pa
/ per, ny. AS his commission must
come out Of this the country paper
must put up with the modest sum of
/ SO 80 for doing this business.
An eastern agent is now placing a
display advertisement to be accompa-
MED by two reading notices, changing
weekly. An estimate on the compost
tion shows that it will cest 81 90 year
to set it, The complexities of position
will cause less during the year of at
least twenty five per cent. In the end,
the advertisement worth about $35 90 to
insert year, will not net $1,000. 1t
has been placed in 5000 papers.
Advertising agents lately have re-
solved themselves into dealers i'm sup
plies. Ink worth cents pound they
put in on advertising contracts at 25
cents per pound. Printers material, that
feundries would not use, goes in at full
prices on contracts made at figures.
that were thespaper filled with them at
the same price, would not pay expenses.
Recently patent medicine firm sent
ont men in the middle states leaving
cuts that the proprietor of the paper
might use any time he NEEDED some
| thing to fill ent a column or page They
claimed To other advertisers that tllsy
received large amount of advertising
at no cost whatever except the cuts.
| These illustrations are sufficient to
show that the advertisers are determin.
ed to demoraize rates, and that they
are using every means in their power to
do it. Csantry papers may well pre-
pare for further onslaughts
| 1t is with view to directing atten-
ton to the evils that will follow in the
wake of such state of affairs that
| this article is mainly written. We
think low prices for foreign business in
the first place ID unfair for the local ad-
yertiser. He it is who gives the home
paper most of its paying business. IF
their ia discrimination it should be in
his favor. A lowering of prices to one
class will eventually extend to the
other, and following this mp to its logi-
cal conclusion the futare would have
but slim profits to offer the patient and
Ioverworked local publisher. On other
scores it will operate equally as bad.
If the home sides of ready printed pa
pers keep giving away each year to the
demands of advertisers, it will be but
short time until the knowledge of it
will extend to all other advertisers. In
fact such is already the case, and there
is not ready print establishment in
the country, bnt has felt, in the past
year, the potent influence of these low
prices. They court lower prices
Ready printed sheets are now sold very
low and if the break in prices of adver-
tising continues it is but question of
a short time when prices for these
sheets must go up. We speak author
itatively when we say there is not an
establishment in the west engaged in.
this class of printing but has, during
the past year, felt this almest an i'm
mediate necessity. Thus does the axe
cut both ways. The remedy issmani-
testify in the hands ofthe home offices. No
doubt all of them have had misgivings
about this matter. but lnisgivings will
not remedy it. Let each publisher say
he will have q living price or nothing !;
that he will not fill his paper to over
flowing just TO have the exquisite plea
sure of knowing he has business frem
abroad. Advertisements must go In
the papers and they will go in at de-
cent rates as easily as at poor house
rates. When the united refusals of
5000 newspapers published in the
country come pouring into the offices
of the advertising agent, then will it be
that the advertiser will respect the
country paper and pay his money in at
rates the same as he does 60 the city
daily. Such a movement would put q
ST 600, 900 into the Golfers of these
8, 900 papers in single year and would
start anew the old time respect for the
country paper.
Every class of planning mill work done
at bottom prices at the st. Landry Plan
ing Mill, Washington.