The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1884-04-25
DEALING IN NAMES.
Lists of Invalids and Dupes Bring
the Highest Price.
The TrafI1c i'm Exchanging Names Of
Likely Customers In Various
Reputable Lfnes---Letters
to Quack Doctors.
New York Letter. I

to Quack Doctors.
New York Letter.
A PLEASANT, gray bearded gentleman sat in
a Sixth avenne elevated train, talking to a
younger man. A reference to the occupa-
ton of the elder man made him say:
"Mine is an unusual business See here"
He pulled out card. If his name had
been Henry jackson, the card would have
read: "Henry jackson, Dealer in Names"
won't you explaina" said the younger man.
IT buy and sell the addresses of people in
all parts of the United States and Canada.
There are hundreds of business 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 sub
scription boGIrs. 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
nhe,wants the addresses of the people who
ay@ never acted as agents, but who want to
Sy it to 4see what they can do.
He advertises for agents in a variety
of papers, and at a pretty heavy ex-
pense. 1t costs him several cents for every
letter of inquiry about his book that he re-
ceives. To that letter of inquiry he sends his
elaborate circulars. ! come to the relief OF
the publisher by selling him a very large
number of agents addresses at a small part
of the cost of getting them by advertising"
"How do you get thems"
"You see every publisher has list of agents
whom he has employed at one time and an
other. Nearly every one will sell me copy of
his list for consideration. The combined
copies make formidable pile of manuscript.
Then there are the novelty men, who ac-
cumulate large lists of names of agents.
Agents form one line of special names. In
valids form another"
ado you mean sick people?"
"Not necessarily Every community has a
lot of people who are always buying medi-
cines They are the most valuable lot an
advertiser can reach. The consumption
remedy circular gives them a hacking cough
and a hectic flush. The blood purifier circu-
lar fiushes them with eczema. So it goes
through the list of chronic and acute ills that
flesh is heir to- They will buy anything from
beef and bark to a steam atomizer to doctor
a sprained foot. All these people at one time
or time or another write to some advertising
doctor or vender of the elixir of life
buy the names from the advertisers, classify
them according to the number of times the
names have been used by medical men and
the last diseases that afflicted the writers,
and sell them over and over again. Some
times sell the original letters outright. The
careful advertiser sometimes varies the char
acter of the circulars sent according TO the
characteristics of the letter writer, even
writing a personal letter in some cases."
'What other classes have you!"
1.-TWO general classes One for the sharp
ers and one for the general advertiser. The
latter class is cosmopolitan. 1t includes all
others, really, but is made up mostly of
farmers. For instance in New York, Roches-
ter and Detroit are several firms of dealers in
garden and r farm seeds. They get hundreds
Of thousands of letters every year. To those
addresses circulars for all kinds of farm and
household goods, books, jewelry, anything
that man or woman doesn't need but is sure
to want, can be sent with great profit. The
names for the use of sharpers are the most
profitable of all, and yield the largest returns
to all concerned, except to the ones addressed
Once we get name on that list We know it
will pan out till the man dies. The addresses
of all people who buy tickets in lotteries,
who write to dealers in fac-simile greenbacks,
and who write to other advertisers that offer
to give something for nothing, are very care
fully arranged by themselves. They are
usually very smart in their own conceit, but
they nibble at a blre hook"
"What prices do these names bring~
II have got as high as S25 a thousand for
names for sharpers'use. Good lists of habitual
invalids are worth all the way from $40 to
$50 a thousand Agents are so easily OBJ
tanned that $40 is a big price; from S. TO S. is
ordinary General-use lists copied off the
=. +o ,,,ha box
not been mailed to more than twice. When
mailed to oftener than that, and where year
or two old they get down to 81 a thousand"
"Are many in this business of yoursg'
"Not continuously. They drop in, make a
good thing, and straightway begin mailing
circulars on their own account. The number
of actual addresses handled by me in one
year has never exceeded 100000, but it has
| crowded that figure closely"