Wichita eagle., 1889-01-12
MONEY IN OLD SHOES.
SECOND HAND DEALERS WHO
ABOUND IN LARGE CITIES.

People with Tender Feet.
| a sharp looking, well dressed man sat in
the Bingham house smoking cigar and
reading a newspaper.
That's the biggest man In his line of bust
ness in this country" said the clerk, indicat-
I ing the sharp looking man by rapid motion
| Of the eye
"And what is his businessT
Second hand shoes, and there's big money
| in it, too, can tell you"
On being judiciously approached the sharp
| looking man proved affable and communica-
| tive II imagine" said he, ''that few people
| have any idea Of the extensive trade that is
| annually done in second hand boots and shoes
| in this country. suppose you think, as most
| people do, that none but the very poor people
would condescend to wear the left off shoes
| of other folks. In all cities and large towns
| you may notice shops for the sale Of second
| hand boots and shoes. at some time or
| another, dare say, You have had shabby
| looking man call at your house and inquire
| if you had any cast off shoes to sell. II you
have ever given the matter a passing thought,
| no doubt the shabby man and the second hand
| shoe store areconnected in your mind. You
conclude that the itinerant purchaser of cast
tramp to those who keep the second hand
shoe shops, and that from that source alone
he derives his supply.
COLLECTOR AND CUSTOMER.
Nothing of the kind, sir-nothing Of the
kind. The few people in my line OF business
for, thank goodness, our trade Is not as yet
quite as overcrowded as most others-fur-
nish vast majority Of the second hand shoe
writ tbair no baa tarS
of my firm is in New York, and as we are
the biggest people il our line, nearly all the
collectors in that city and for miles around
bring the best of the contents Of their daily
bags to u.s. Its no use bringing the rub
bish, as they know we don't handle it. We
keep bred 'examners-men who know all
about shoes worth knowing-and they earn
! every dollar we pay them in examining shoes
and boots from a. N. to 6 p. N. every day
of the week except Saturday.
I'm this way we buy from 1000 to $500
pairs day. The best of these, say about
one-half, are cleaned, paired and go into
stock, classified in qualities and as nearly as
possible in sizes. The remainder go into our
repairing department, where they are resoled
and heeled, and subsequently nearly ali eA-
ported. We have also collecting agents, not
chase on our account from the collectors
here in Philadelphia, Boston, Baltimore, Chi
cago and few other cities. From these
sources we gather about as many as we do in
New York. All the country stuff is treated
the same as that which comes to US direct
from the collector
Altogether we do pretty extensive bust
ness, sending out daily more boots and shoes
If
you see, there are not a dozen people in our
business all told, and shoemakers, wholesale
and retail, are numbered by the thousand.
| We never buy shoe that has the slightest
cut or crack in the uppers, as this would
necessitate patching, and the sort Of people
who buy high priced second hand shoes would
not look at distigured pair. Still these have
a marketable value and the collector can
give quarter for a slightly cracked pair
and resell to the 'restorer' or dealer in much
worn second hand shoes at profit, and he
will retail them at a profit of from 70
cents to $3.50 after he has fixed them up.
OF course this sort of stuff is only patched
up, it don't pay for residing and heeling.
We only deal in mems shoes. There is no
market for second hand women's foot weariof
good quality. You cannot get the ladies to
!
well ask them to wear second hand gloves or
discarded bangs.
THE TRADE IN PHILADELPHIA.
In this city the retail trade in second hand
shoes of fine grade and in good condition does
not flourish to any extent. Worn footgear
of this character however, is to be found in
a few dipgy looking shops in the neighbor-
hood Of Sixth and Spruce streets and along
CIR hr-4 no hos !
against wearing dead mems Shoes" or en-
casing their pedal extremities in the cast-off
soles and uppers of fashionable folk. In one
of these establishments an ostensible pur-
chaser was shown second hand shoes of all
styles and sizes, ranging in prices from 81. so
to S. pair. All these goods were evidently
Of fine make. The leather was soft and PHI
able, the stitching close and fine, and although
the "uppers had evidently already done good
service, no cracks were observable. But all
the style and finish was confined to the
"uppers," for in every instance the shoes had
been reSoled and heeled in a rough-and-ready
fashion. Several pairs still bore the names
of well known New York and London MAX
ers, while between the heel and sole of one
shoe the name of Helbestern, Paris" was
still clearly to be made out.
One dealer said that high priced second
hand shoes actually lasted longer than new
ones sold at about the same price. The best
second hand goods, be claimed, were the cast
OTIS of wealthy people who would not wear &
shoe an hour after it had lost its shape, and
consequently the uppers were in many cases
really as good as new.
Another class of people, he said. were regu-
lar customers at his shop, whose feet were so
tender that they could not wear a new shoe
under any circumstances. Some Of these
unfortunate folks would spend an hour at
time In trying on forty or fifty pairs Of shoes,
until at last they found one exactly suited to
the unhappy idiosyncracies Of their poor
feet" This particular dealer in discarded
understandings" does not handle any of the
much worn and common lines OF second hand
goods. He buys the shoes just as they are
purchased by the wholesale dealer in New
York, and keeps two men constantly en-
ployed in residing and heeling his purchases
before ret;siling them to that eccentric por
ton Of ths community whose patronage he
enjoys.-Fhiladelph Times
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