West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1891-03-26
TIE SAMPLE FIEND.
He Is Not Favorire with Whole
sals Merchants.
Fellows Who send for Samples OF Every
Thing Under the Sun aud Never hoy
Dollars woreh--rbs Habit Has
Eecome u Vice.

Merchants In this city, says tho New
York Sun, arc sorely pestered by cranks
and others who writo letters asking for
samples. Nothing Is too big or too
ANAL for the dends that's what tho
merchants call them) TO ask FOR. ANY
thing OF value. from jewsharp TO q
plano. q shred Of calico 10 roll OF cloth.
package OF oatmeal. bag OF -four,
q paper-ooyercd balf-dimo novel, = gilt
edged Bible bound In morocco. all have
been and are asked for by tho sample
soarchcrs- A Fourteenth street piano
hosse less than week ago got letter
from a dealer In a Western city asking
him to ship sample piano. ~ would
like TO sell the piano you manufacture"
the dealer said, because I have beon
told that IL is tho best. N you will
ship mo ono as q sample. of course
will pay tho freight, and carriage ex-
pcnses in New York n there are any
broadway house got this: .I am
about to lay in stock Of blankets, CON-
fortors and rugs for tho winter. am
going 70 mako special department in
my store this winter for this kind of
gooda havo not bought any OF my
stock yet and am very busy and can't
spare the time TO como to New York and
look at things myself. Won't you please
send mo sample OF each OF the goods
want to buy. and II like them I may
give you an order for all my stock"
Another broadway house got iotter
almost Identical from another person In
another town. In both cases drumners
were sent instead of the samples. The
first request was really from dealer In
dry goods In q small way, and the drum.
mer got an order largo enough TO pay
IN for his trip. The other drummer
had q different experience. When no
got 70 tho town he looked all around for
store kept by tho writor of the note.
Ho didn't find any. He wont 70 the
post-ofiicc, and there learned that the
man he was looking for was clerk In
grocery store. flo was q young fellow
who had recently been married. He
didn't have enough blankets. he said,
and he didn't want to buy any. He
thought that II the firm no wrote to was
foolish enough TO send him supply he
would DO tho gamer. Io didnit 500 any
thing wrong In asking for them. Tho
drummer threatened TO have him or
rested for attempting TO obtain tho
things under false pretcnse, aud tn en-
loft him.
IL Is the demands Of the seekers after
small things that create the most
trouble. Almost all merchants are
willing TO send samples OF their small
wares 70 any ono who has any idea Of
purchasing, but IL IL estima ted that ut
least one-half OF tho requests for samples
come from persons who nevor buy, and
who really have no uso for and don't
want tho samples that thcy ask for.
They Soon % wrlto simply with the
Idea OF getting something for nothing.
The sample habit Is not of recent orr.
gin. Thirty years ago, at On American
Institute fair, man who had patent
-four TO soil made griddle cakes and nuf-
Ems and gavc them 30 visitors as sam
pies That was tho beginning Of tho
thing. Some years lator the proprietors
OF largo retail stores advertised that
they would gladly send samples OF their
wares 20 persona who lived out Of town
and who could not afford TO como 70 New
York. This enabled purchasers to soc
what they were buying before they sent
their money through the mails II was
these advertisements that fully devel-
oped the habit, and whero IL used 10
take few dollars, or at most few hun
dreds, year 10 supply tho demand for
samples, 1t now takes thousands. Largo
houses havo special sample departments
and employ extra clorks In them, keen
ing them busy at all seasons Of the year.
Hundreds of dollars are spent for post-
age alonc, and thousands more for tho
erfW
many houses In this city that receiye
from $1,000 70 10000 requests for SAM
pios year, and there arc several that
receive four and 1vo times that number.
Fully s. per cont. Of tho requests come
from women, and OF those 10 per cont.
are from married women.
The habit docs not seem to have taken
worry strong hold on raen, but lar9o
clothing houses and tailors say that they
get good many letters and spend a
good deal Of money for samples. They
save good deal by cutting up the odd
pieces Of cloth that thoy can not uso in
the manufacture OF tho clothing, and
sending them as samples
The sample habit" said merchant,
With whom reporter talked. has
about reached its greatest development,
think Tho merchants built IL ND and
they win have TO Kill IL OF. II has boz
como too large drain. and Is eating
Into profits TO an alarming extent. OF
course. IL VIII never be got rid OF en-
hrely, for " isn't desirable 70 do so.
Somo method will have 70 DO discovered
~ which tho people who send for sam
pies Of things thoy don't waRt may DO
found out When they are cbOked OF
We won't complain"