The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1889-04-10
BUYING ON MONTHLY PAYMENTS.
Purchasers Pay Wen for the Privilege Of
Securing Goods on Time.

Purchasers Pay Wen for the Privilege Of
Securing Goods on Time.
In a general way the monthly payment
stores afford q good index of the prosperity
Of the middle and lower classes Hard times
and lack of employment invariably make
themselves felt in delay or stoppage of pay
ments, and the duration of stringent circum-
stances can readily be measured by the way
the payments are resumed. A furniture
dealer was interviewed by a reporter:
''What course do you take in case Of delin-
quency in payments"
"There is only one advisable course, and
that is to tide over those who can't take up
their monthly notes. The public, think has
distorted views about tho monthly payment
stores There are, doubtless some sharks
among us, but most of us aim to dc fair,
legitimate busineS charging but 10 per cent.
more for our goods that the men who sell for
cash do Taking back of goods Is always
avoided, for there is no money in sale II the
stock has to DO taken back and turned over to
the auction stores. 1t is only the monthly
payment stores which keep second hand fur
niturs thnt esss, profit by the utter sfetlure cR
| their patrons We have families that we
have carried along year, and ! doubt not
that other monthly payment stores have like
wise. To harass patrons would be to work
against our own interest So far as rates of
profit are concerned, the only element of in
justice In them is one of which the public
rarely thinks. If tho account runs a year the
10 per cont. extra we charge is fair, for tho
risk, the cost of collection, and the loss of in
terest from having money outstanding Is fully
equal to the additional rate of profit we
charge Our margin of profit is computed so
as to include a years interest on the regular
rr.f
greatest number, of our accounts are closed
in a shorter time--six months, say. Thus on
purchase of $50 or SIS worth OF goods, ar
ranged SO as to be settled in six months, the
buyer pays 90 per cent. interest on the
amount of the bill for the whole period, while
he actually makes payment of a sixth Of the
bill when hegets tho goods and a similar pay
ment every succeeding month When the ac-
count runs for a year the burden Is not so
heavy. If people can pay cash they should,
and every honest dealer in our limo Of busi-
ness will tell them so.
at is unquostionably true that the form Of
payment is temptation to purchase beyond
the means to pay. We have no trouble In
selling. Our greatest difficulty Is to keep the
bill down to what we consider q safe limit.
People do not stop to think that they pay for
their privilege Of making installments at
tOteiilbil ilpu IAAt. Ou5 IesiSOn OF UlliS iHCk
of Judgment is probably because women do
so much Of the buying at the monthly pay
ment stores They often fail to estimate
carefully what they can do, and the result Is
that they become q source Of trouble TO
themselves and u.s. Often too, men who
were drawing good salaries at tho time Of the
purchase, get out Of work soon after, and
any miscalculation on their part makes pay
ment an uphill work. The spread OF the
payment stores has been surprising. Almost
every large city now has number Of such
concerns, which seem to do more than
their ordinary share OF business In Chi
cago l doubt IL there are as many
as there were two or three years
ago. Tho reason Of this is not that the scheme
does not work successfully or that there have
sprung up too many for tho population. The
capital required for such q business IS much
greater than that which Is requisite for cash
TRADE. 1t was common practices Cor denlern
10 realize on their monthly mites A. z or 3 lscr
cplit q MONTH They were nnable to carry
their own piper, OF borrow at legal rates md
| the result was that number of concerns have
/ failed during tho Inst year or two think Il
is oil nonsense 20 talk Of the monthly pay
ment stores cutting into the regular trade
| dis0strously. We catch class of patrons
who would not deal ct q cash store, since they
would not DO likely to save up the necessary
money. | believe that monthly payment
stores arc an incentive to thrift and economy,
second only to the building associations. n
Chicago News.