Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1896-08-01
SUSPICIOUS CUSTOMER.
sale Of High Priced Diamond That was
Not Completed.


Not Completed.
"Yes," smiled the good looking
and we'll dressed clerk in n Wash
ington jewelry store, there are
tricks in our trade as we'll as in 9TH
ers."
"I'm really surprised, y responded
the reporter, who had never bought
more than 81 worth of jewelry-
that is, fine jewelry-in his life.
"How can there be?"
"In various ways, and one OF
those ways is the marking up OF
goods on display. Other lines OF
business draw trade by marking
them up. For instance, we will put
q Jewel or some rich article on dis
play which may be worth as much
as $1,000 or $4,000, and we will
mark it $4,000. That draws people
somehow, for they do like to see big
figures. AS to paying that sort OF a
price, that is quito a different mat
ter. People who arc paying those
big prices don t pay them until they
know they are getting their mon-
ey's worth as near as may be. They
are painfully suspicious, too, and
are constantly On the lookout not to
bo caught in any kind of trap.
II remember some years ago l
had charge of n jewelry store for
the summer at u swell resort, and
next door to us was another Now
York firm, whose reputation was
not as good as our own, owing to
the fact that they catered to the
flash trade, while ours was quiet
and swell. They had in their win
dow big diamond for display
marked 81, 500, and one day a rich
woman whom | knew was attracted
by it and wanted to get it for her
husband.
'She was IL sharp woman, not
withstandins she was rich, and she
knew that she could get the stone
for less money and proceeded to dc
it in the easiest way. This was tc
make plump offer for it, and she
went in and laid down $500 on the
counter and said if they wanted to
exchange the stone for tho money
now was the chance and that it
must be done at Cnce.
1.-The clerk hemmed and hawed
awhile, but ut last agreed to trade.
He then took the stone down to the
other end of tho store behind the
counter, stopping a moment to speak
to the clerk, and came up to the Ia
dy on the outside of the counter
with the stone III his hand. She
looked at Linn suspiciously as he
held the stone out to her and shook
her head. Il don't want it, she
said. I'm as sharpas you are, and
would have taken it If you had
handed it 10 me across the counter,
but don't want it now. That end
ed the trade, and the woman left.
"The lady told mo this part of the
story herself, and l felt sure that
the clerk had done just what she
suspected him of doing, and that he
had changed the stone on his way
around the counter. Later saw ono
of the clerks and asked him about
it. He was mad all over and was not
choice of the epithets he applied to
the clerk, who had really acted
square in tho matter and had only
stopped to tell the other clerk of his
good luck in making $500 sale.
The proprietor was hot, too, for,
Notwithstanding the price was
81, 900 under what the diamond was
marked, there was still a oomforta-
BILE profit in it. As to the lady, she
was beyond explana ton, and to this
day presume that she thinks that
jeweler tried to bunko her and did
not simply because she was too sharp
for him. "-Washington Star.