Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1883-06-30
VIEW ADEkR1uxA1Nrs.


try asking the question.
; Saturday nights a portion of
the store remains open to $50
toaccommodate people occupied
all day. The Clothing for Men
and Boys Shirts and Under
wear-Men's and Boys Hats
Shoes forLadies, Gentlemen and
Children-Traveling Bags and
Rubber Goods are all in full
feather till $40.
| JOHN wANAMAKER
i Man has been defined to be
"an animal whotrades," and this
is true, from the boy who swaps
jackknives tothe millionaire who
trades in railroads and steam
ships. Does a cat trade her
mouse or the dog the bone you
have thrown him? But the busy
world is made to hum with peo-
pie who buy and sell and get
gain. AS a matter not of moral
ethics butof fact, everyone of us
wants a bargain of some sort,
and because the veryname rings
out with a silvery" sound,
most literally, the charm is used
as a gilded bait. Let us stop
and think. What is "a bar
gain?' Does a low price con-
stitute a bargain? Yes and no.
Practical buyers, who "can't at
ford to buy cheap goods" will
tell you that as a rule the cheap
est are about equal in final cost
tothe extravagantly high priced.
Extremes meet.
Does inferior quality give you
a bargain? Well, with tolera-
bic certainty, yes-a bad bar
gain.
A"bargain" naturally Though
no necessarily discredits quail
ity. Damaged or soiled goods
may be a "bargain." A gentle
man bought an overcoat at a
large reduction, with a moth
speck under a lapel, that but
for the mark, he declared, he
could never have discovered.
Broken lots may be a bargain.
Parts of a suit or of sets, sizes
or styles, having sold out OF their
due proportion, the Incomplete
ness of the remainder renders it
necessary to force their sale.
Changing styles form a bar
gain. Dealers dare not hold
goods to the fag end. "Seven-
teen-cent hats did not imply
that there were not many buyers
at so cents, but that it was a
" little late" for the "rush."
A closing:;season often shrinks
the figures to a" bargain" even
on staple goods, the only alter
native being to hold over at the
cost of interest, room and risk.
Forced sales, where some
body loses and the lucky pur.-
chaser gains, is a fruitful source
of bargains in the choicest goods
to houses of heavy trade having
buyers on the alert in all the
markets.
In a word, there are "chances
and changes going on in the
commercial world, giving BAR
gains to the dealer, which he can
legitimately offer his customers
to their mutual profit. But these
must honestly be proportioned
to the bulk of his regular trade.
Beyond this there are gilded
bats of bargains" each one a
delusion and a snare.
Il dealer should be able to
give you reason forhis bargain,
and one, too, that won't insult
your common sense in accepting
it.. A story is told ofa customer.
Everything was "a bargain"
and his asseverations were pro-
fuse as they we're hackneyed
Why, madam, | assure you we
lose money on every piece Of
goods we sell p The ladyasked:
"How can you afford to do
that ?" Measuring his victim,
he replied, with the utmost nom
chalence: But mydearmadam,
think how very many pieces we
sell every day~ With a charm
ing simplicity she assented, with
an "Ah, indeed" So is the as
surance of one encouraged by
| the credn1ifv Of the other