Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1896-12-27
y7r117FTrNc REGISTER SUNDAY DECEMBER 81 1896.
TIE RETAIL TRADE
During the Holidays Appears to b
Generally Satisfactory.
Repo~Sorial Investigation in Repre-
sentative Lines Disclose a Wide
spread Feeling That Business
Was Up to the Mark in This City

Register reporters talked yesterday with
= number of leading retailers as TO the
actual results of the holiday trade so far
and in the great majority Of cases found
that the merchants were well satisfied
with the patronage they received. As is
always the case. even in the most pros
perous times. there was some complaint
but not more than the average amount
and il was offset by statements, in sew
eral lines, by several merchants that the
gross total so far had broken their maj
vidual records. The aggregate volume ol
purelv holiday trade. taking everything
and everybody into consideration, Is per-
hans fully up TO the average for the past
five wears. and under the circumstances
that is very satisfactory
During the investigation number OF
merchants were asked as to the charac-
ter of the demand for goods, with refer
ence 10 whether cheap, medium or high
oualitv merchandise was most in request
and some interesting information was
Diclled up along this line. For instance
one well known retailer sald'
I'm nv line l must confess that the de-
mand was for little things and low priced
goods. and l must also confess that am
very glad it is so. Why? For several
reasons. chief among them being that
there is more money in the business when
it goes that way. In the goods handle
there has for years been decided ana
steady drift in the direction of novelties
at low prices, and this year 1t appears
there are more new and catchy little GIN
cracks than ever before. Now, perhaps
YOU know. and then perhaps you don /
that there is a better margin of proht, as
rule. in say $1,000 worth of small ana
cheap articles. than In two or three or
half a dozen larger things agsregaung the
same value. Then. again. there is less
liability to get caught with a whole lot OF
little things of all sorts and for all uses.
You lay in for the holiday trade, say lot
of extra fine furniture. or some two and
three karat diamonds or some seal skin
coats. or a gross of eight collar plug hats
and ten people will look at and admire
them where one will buy and very likely
in order to sell at all, you Will nave 10
shade the prices until there is no proht
left and then charge it. YOU must sell
the goods. and cut and cut to achieve
YOUR point get rid of half of them, ana
have TO keep the rest in stock, to sutIer
depreciation and loss. Now. with like
amount invested in little things within
the reach of everybody. l have a good
thing, of il. To .-2rt with, there is
much larger percentage of profit on the
goods the sales are cash. and the prices
are so low We get what we ask without
trouble. Then people having so much
money to spend for presents. Ike 10 see
il 20 as far as possible, and come IN mere
and find they can get something lot
everybody out of their allowance, and ten
TO ore they go right through the whole
list. As rule they leave us pretty well
cleaned out. but if we do get stuck, as
the saving is. on any one or two lines, the
original cost was so trihing. in large lots,
and the margin is so good on what we
have disposed of. that we shed compare
lively few tears
I'VE have had an excellent Christmas
trade" said leading bookseller TO re-
porter. Fine editions have gone little
slow. except TO regular buyers Of that
sort of thing. but we didn't stock up very
heavy in that line and so haven't a great
deal of money locked up there. in
medium bindings. sets Of standard au-
thcrs. gift books. cards, calendars and
the full run of fancies, there was good
demand right along. and the volume of
business is rather better than we hoped
for"
THE iewelry trade has been all right
said a gentleman in that line. Diamonds,
which are a great speciality with us sold
readily. and we were enabled TO show our
customers a larger and finer assortment
than ever before. The better grade of
china. and bric-a-brac silver, jewelry of
the medium and better grades, and, i'm fact
our general stock. sold well, and Thurs
days trade was particularly gratifying
We have a record of doing little more
business. i'm the week before Christmas,
but we have also done much worse, and
therefore we are well pleased
st a large confectionery establishment.
two dry goods stores. a cigar store, and
several other establishments. all represen-
totiye of the local retail trade good re-
ports were given the newspaper man.
and in several places the busi-
ness end of Christmas appeared to
be all that was hoped for and
i'm some cases better than was expected.
The year as whole. while perhaps no bet
ter than 1895. is certainly up to the volume
Of that year and Wheeling retailers ana
wholesalers alike will face 1891 with con-
fidence and hope.
WANTS HIS MONEY.