Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1884-03-06
HENRY JACKSON,
Dealer in Names
"Won't you explain ?" said the young

Wont you explain Z" said the young
man.
II buy and sell the addresses of the
people in all parts of the United States
and Canada There are hundreds of bus.
mess men who reach their customers by
circulars, as well as by advertising in the
newspapers. Thus book publisher gets
out new book which he wants to sell
| through agents. He is anxious to learn
the names and addresses of all the men
and women in the United States who sell
SUBSCRIPTION books. He also wants the
names of those who sell other goods in
the same way, because they are very
! likely to drop the other article for the
sake of the new book. Then he wants
the addresses of the people who have
never acted as agents, but who want to
try to see what they can do. He adj
vertises for agents in variety Of papers,
at pretty heavy expense. 1t costs him
several cents for every letter Of inquiry
about his book that he receives. To
that letter of inquiry he sends his
elaborate circulars. I come TO the
relief of the publisher by selling him
very large number Of agents addresses
at small part of the cost ofgetting them
| by advertising"
GLOW do you get them?"
! "You see, every publisher has list of
agents whom he has employed at one
time and another. Nearly every one
will send me copy of his list for con-
sideration. The combined copies make
formidable pile of manuscript. Then
there are the novelty men, who accu-
mulate large lists of names of agents.
Agents form one line of special names
Invalids form another"
"DO yon mean sick peOpleW
/ NIOE
has lot of people who are always buy
ing medicine. They are the most val
liable lot an advertiser can reach. The
consumption-remedy circular gives them
hacking cough and hectic flush. The
blOOd-puriher circular flushes them with
eczema. So it goes through the list Of
chronic and acute ills that flesh is hei1
. to. They will buy anything from bee.
and bark to a steam atOmiZer to doctor 8
sprained foot All these people at one
time or another write to some advertis
ing doctor or vender of the elixir of life
| ] buy the names from the advertiser
classify them according to the number
of times the names have been used by
medical men and the last diseases thai
, afflicted the writer's, and sell them oveI
and over again. Sometimes I sell the
original letters outright. The careful ad
Vertiser sometimes varies the character
of the circulars sent according to the
characteristics Of the letter-writer, ever
writing a personal letter in some cases.
What other classes have your
1.-TWO general classes. One for the
sharper and one for the general adver
: tiser. The latter class is cosmopolitan
1t includes all others, really, but it il
made up mostly of farmers. For instance
!, in New York, Rochester, and DetrOi
Il
farm seeds. They get hundreds of thou
sands of letters every year. To those
addresses circulars of all kinds of farm
and household goods, books, jewelry
that man or woman doesn't need .bu
is sure to want, can be sent with grea
, profit. The names for the use of sharp
ers are the most profitable of all, anC
yield the largest returns of all concerned
except the ones addressed. Once we ge
a name on that list we know it will PAL
out till the man dies. The addresses o.
all people who buy tickets in lotteries
who write to dealers in facsimile green
backs, and who write to other advertis
, ers who offer to give something for moth
: ing, are very carefully arranged by them
Z selves. They are usually very smart IL
their own conceit, but they nibble at 8
bare hook"
"What prices do these names bring p
81 have got as high as $25 a. thousand
for names for sharpers' use. Good list
!: of habitual invalids are worth all the
I way from $40 to $40 a thousand. Agent
are so easily obtained that $40 is q biz
{ price; from So to So is ordinary. General
use lists copied off the letters bring from
So to So where they have not beer
z mailed to more than twice. WheI
l mailed to oftener, and where a year O
two old, they get down to 81 thousand.
: "Are many in this business of yours :?
'Not continually. They drop in, max
: good thing, and straightway begin
q mailing circulars on their own account
I The number of actual addresses handle,
: by me In one year has never exceeds
l 100000, but it has crowded that fgur
, closely"