The times., 1897-11-07
STAMP CLEARING HOUSE
Novel and Important Feature in
the Retail Trade.
THE GREEN TRADING STAMP
Subs tantiaI and Steady Growth
some Fncts Regarding the Re-
liability OF the Trading stamp
Euierprise-It Is a Strong Rival
of the &. =. Postage stamp.
lFrom the New York World.l }

(From the New York WOrld.l
The United States postage stamp no
longer enjoys a monopoly in being the
stamp most frequently called FOR. 1t has
a rival for popularity, there is new
one on the market. 1t is the Green
Trading stamp given by the retail ner-
chant 10 has patrons, ana with which they
outan usefui, ornamental aud valuable
premiums.
Inss stamp is a happy device for draw
ing and n0luIng trade, and is meeting with
"A popularity sucn as was never accorded
any plan oil like nature. That there never
has been a more honorable or More at
trACtIve plan presented Tor tie pUri Os e Is
evidenced by the fact that within com
paTatiyely snort time IL has attained pro-
portions OF such enormous magnitude as 10
astonish the retail world The amount OF
new trade that has come TO merchants since
they displa yed in their windows the sign
We Give Trading Stamps has been n
eye-openeT. The impression made by the
trading stamp company has been effective,
anu tHe public have grasped the fact that
It costs no more TO buy where tradlng
stamps are gwen The unWieldy, cuuber-
some premluni plan hitherto n vogue has
given way TO a system which does away
with the objectionable features " form er
plans. The merchant likes it, because it
entails no stupeHtlOus amount OF labor and
its benefits are direct and can nulative, The
customer likes IL because IL costs nothing
more, and when he gets his book full
of stamps he gets something worth ha wing.
The stamps cost the customer nothing,
and what is better still the goods need not
all be purchased at one store i'll order TO
get the stamps, but may be sc cured from
the butcher, the baker. the grocer, the dry
goods merchant or any other dealer who is
member of the association and whose
ceives from the merchant one stamp for
every ten cents worth OF goods purchased.
These are pasted in a book given by the
stamp company, and when the book is full
or, in other words, contains stamps repre-
senting SS9 worth of purchases, the owner
carries it TO the stamp oompany's store and
selects a premium. The purpose of the
stamp company is TO form Clearing House
for number of M erchantsin different lines
Of trade who give out the Green Trading
Stamps.
The fact that the merchant gives out
these stamps is guarantee OF hls fair deal
ing, as only those whose methods are
known to be honorable are admitted to
membership. 0ftentimes when a merchant
does not give the green trading stamps aud
makes some excuse, even though his name
appears in the book, it is because he is not
/ longer considered worthy or has violated
some rule which feTfeits his me mbership in
the association of responsible retailers.
The acceptable merchant secures the
green trading stamps from Messrs. Sperry
" Hutchinson, of No. $50 Broadway, New
York, the originators and owners Of ali
the copyrights under the laws OF the United
States. He is charged each week for the
stamps given out, no money being paid in
advance.
In each town where the green trading
stamp system is established whole pages
are taken in the newspapers TO enumerate
the local merchants participating i'll II, and
III thoroughly explaining the method. In
/ this way, the people learn where STAMPS
are given, and very naturally patroniZe
such stores, and the dealer who gives
out trading stamps easily and readily at
tracts customers who are, perhaps dealing
at stores where stamps are not given
This system has been organized in sew
enty cities throughout the Union, including
Brooklyn, Jersey City, Newark, PhiIa-
delphia, Baltimore, New York, PittsbuFg.
Cleveland, Detroit, Denver, as far West
as san Francisco and to the South as
far as A tlanta, In the busy New England
towns, such as Providence and Boston,
the trading stamp is to be seen. Its
popularity is always increasing, and the
company is daily in receipt OF Inquiries
and applications from merchants in lmost
every trade center. They are likewise con-
stantly receiving letters from merchants
commencing the system and expressing
the highest salts faction at tile success of
the enterprise means OF drawing
trade.
In fact it has become such fad in many
places that merchants who do not get them
are loud In their denunciation Of the plan,
using every endeayor to decIy it. Some
OF them have even organized fake Con-
Germs, putting out stamps which are not
redeemed IN order to shake the confidence
OF the people In the whole business The
failacy of such effort becomes all the more
apparent when 1t is shown that Messrs
Sperry & Hutchinson have already over
half a million dollars invested in the
business, aud their financial reliability