Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1889-01-04
wmERE OLD SHOES GO.
Money In CASTOR FOOfzear-A Big
second Dealers Talk.

sharp-looking man by q rapid motion of
the eye.
"And what is his business %
Second hand shoes, and there's big
money in it, too, 1 can tell you." On
being iudiciously approached the sharp
looking man proved ahable and com
municative. 81 imagine" said he,
that few people have any idea of the
extensive trade that is annually done in
secondhand boots aud shoes in this
country. | suppose you think, as most
people DO, that mono but the very
poor people would cOndescend to wear
the leit-of shoes of other folks. In
all cities and large towns you may
notice shops for the sale Of secondhand
boots and shoes. At some time or
another, | dare say, You have had q
shabby-looklng man call at your house
and inquire If you had any cast-oT shoes
to sell If YOU have ever given the mat
ter a passing thought, no doubt the
shabby man and the secondhand shoe
store are connected in your mind. You
conclude that the itinerant purchaser of
cast-oG footwear sells the result of his
days tramp to those who keep the second
hand shoe shops. and from that source
alone he derives his supply.
Nothing of the kind. sir; nothing OF
the kind. The few people in my line Of
business-for thank goodness. our trade
ia not as yet quite as oyercrowded as
most others-furnish q vast majority OF
the secondhand shoe stores with their
TIL. loo i. ,rr..rf.ra .f fwfr 10
IN New York, and as We are the biggest
people in our line nesrlY all the 'coliec-
tors in that city and for miles around
bring the best Of the contents Of their
Dolly bags 10 Ia. IT'S no use bringing
the rubbish, as they know we don't nam
die IT. We keep bred examiners men
who know all about shoes worth know
iuR-and they earn every dollar We pay
them in examining shoes and boots from
s A. ". to 6 p. VI. every day OF the
week except Saturday
"ln tins way We buy from LOCO TO
$500 pair a day. The best Of these, say
about one half, are cleaned, paired, and
90 into stock, classified in qualities, and
as nearly as possible in sizes. Tho re-
moinder go into orr repairing depart
ment, where they are reSoied and hoeled
and subsequently nearly all exported.
We have also collecting agents. not buy
ers Of private people, bat agents who
purchase on our account from Tie coll
lectors hore in PhiIadelphia. Boston,
Baltimore, Chicago, and a fow other
cities. From these sources we gather
about as many as we do in New York.
All the country stuff is treated the same
rs that which comes 10 us direct from the
collector.
Altogether we do a pretty extensive
business, sending out daily more boots
and shoes than most Of the manulactu-
rers, but then, you see, there are not q
dozen people in oar business all told,
and shOemakers wholesale aud retail,
are numbered by the thousand. We
never buy shoe that has the slightest
cut or crack IN the uppers. az tins would
uecessitate patching, and Che sort OF
people who buy high priced secon1-
hand shoes would not look at
dlsigured pair Still these have
a marketable value, and the col
lcctor can give n quarter for a slightly
Graz ked pair and resell 10 the 'restorer
or dealer IN much-W0rn, secondhand
shoes mt a profit, and he will retail them
for from Is cents 10 Sl.jJ after be has
fixed them up. OF course this sort Of
stun Is only patched mp. Ii don't pay
forrcsoling and heclnQ We only deal
IN mems shoes. There is no market for
second hand women's footwear of good
quality. You cannot get the ladies TO
wear left.o!f shoes, anyhow. You might
KS well ask them to wear secondhand
cloges or discarded bangs"
la this city the retail trade in second
hand shoes of fine grade and IN good
condition does not flourish 10 auy great
extent. Worn loot-gear OF this charac-
ter. however, is to be found In a few
dIngy-looking shops in the neighbor-
hood OF Sixth aud Spruce streets and
along South street by those who have no
prejudice against wearing . dead men
shoes or encasing their pedal eKtremi-
ties in the cast-of soles and uppers OF
fashionable folk In one OF these cstab-
lisLments m teusible purchaser was
shown secondhand shoes OF all styles
and sizes, ranging IN puce from
SL50 TO - a pair. an these goods were
evidently OF fine make. The leather
was soft and pliable, the stitching close
and fine. ana. although the "uppers'
bad evidently already done good service,
no cracks were observable But oil the
style and finish was confined 20 the
uppers, Tor in every instance the shoes
had been resold and heeled in q rough
and-ready fashion. Several pairs still
bore the names Of well-knoWn New
York and London makers, while be-
tween the heel and toe OF one shoe the
name Of " Helbestern, Paris, was still
clearly to be made out /
One dealer said that high-priced
secondhand shoes actually lasted longer
than new ones sold at about the same
price. The hest second-h hand goods, he
claimed. were the cast-Ohs of wealthy
people who would not wear a shoe an
hour after it had lost its shape, and con-
sequently the uppers were III many cases
really as good as new.
Another class of people, he said, were
regular customers az his shop, whose
feet we're 50 tender that they could not
weara new shoe underany circumstances.
Some OF these unfortunate folks would
spend an hour at time IN trying on
forty or fifty pair Of shoes, until at last
they found one exactly suited to the
unhappy idiosyncrasies OF their "Po0r
feet. =" THIS particular dealer IN " dis
carded understandings does not han
die any Of the much-worA and common
lines OF secondhand goods. He buys
the shoes just as they are purchased by
tue wholesale dealer in New York, and
keeps two men constantly employed III
residing and heelng his purchases be-
fore retailing them to that eccentric por-
ton Of the community whose patronage
be enjoys. !
On cambridge between Fifth and
Eighth streets, as also on South and
Loan bard, dingy-looGing stores abound,
where the lowest grades Of secondhand
shoes are displayed in proiusion, and
find a ready sale. Here the prices range
from about 70 cents to g. The prInci-
pal patrons Of these stores appear to be
very poor, Who, while having no predl-
lection for cast offs, Are only too often