The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-11-14

VI q bCll pll duN OL lllGlii anu luty could be sent just as easily for pen
 ny apiece. As there are 5000 in the lot 1t would mean a saving of just $50 in to-day's postage bill"
 Why the mischief don't you do it, then?" asked the visitor.
 Because we have learned" said the
 merchant "that it doesn't pay. It is one of the economies that don't econo- mize. Nowadays the average busy man
 rarely opens an unsealed envelope
 bearing a recent stamp. He knows without looking further that it con-
 tains advertising matter and throws 1t into the waste basket at once. Even if he opens it he does so with a mind already prejudiced, because the stamps proclaim that the inclosure is printed"
 'But why should that prejudice him?" interrupted the reporter.
 Because it destroys the individual ity of the communication. Every man likes to feel that he is addressed per- sonally, and if he knows in advance that he isn't bad effect is made It Is the difference between talking to l him in his private office and talking to lillii ctS OIe ul et SioNd HUH u pldl- | form. This may seem like splitting
 hairs but advertising has become such an art at present that absolutely
 nothing must be overlooked. We put two-cent stamp on the envelope | which insures 1t at least being opened. l Then we must depend on the attrac- tiveness of the folder to interest the
 recipient
 We have reduced the matter Co a l very exact business basis" continued the merchant. Take, for instance, this
 particular bunch of mail. The folders are gotten up quite handsomely and
 cost us $125 for the 5,000 or 1-2 cents | apiece I calculate that four -fifths of
 them would be thrown away if they 1 went out with one-cent stamps. That would be clear loss of $100 for the in-
 closures, $40 for postage and, say, $15 l for envelopes, addressing and so on making a total of $155. The increased cost of the two-cent stamps is $50, but we are certain that they will land one i of the folders in the hands of each person on the list. The net saving is 1 $105 There is no sentiment or imagin- | d
 clear, cold matter of arithmetic. We | formerly used the one-cent stamp
 wherever we could, but experience and close observation have taught us that | it was bad policy"
 1 The reporter talked to several other business men on the subject and found them of practically the same opinion ! "The change is largely due" said a well known wholesaler, ito the in- creased cost of advertising matter in ! tended for distribution through the mails. Not long ago most business
 houses contented themselves with very
 simple pamphlets giving prices and
 perhaps embelished with few small
 cuts, The whole thing was cheaply gotten up printed on very ordinary
 paper and cost a mere trife The mod
 ern booklet as 1t is generally called,
 is quite a different affair The cover design is drawn by a first-class artist, the illustrations are frequently equal to those of the magazines. and the
 matter is probably prepared by a high priced expert, Needlessly to say, theme
 chanicaI work must be in accord, and
 the expense of such publication is a 1 serious item. Here, for instance, is one of our special catalogues, with pie lures Autographed in six colors The 1 silk ribbon drawn through the back
 alone cost more than the old-time price list all told. When we incur such an
 outlay, we must be reasonably certain
 that the booklet is at least seen by the people to whom it is addressed and
 under the circumstances it would be ! foolish to use one-cent stamp. That
 would at once suggest something
 cheap and common.
 "But we use a two-cent stamp at | present" he continued, Ito carry even a simple little slip giving certain ship ping directions to our customers. Our | idea is that it catches the eye of the
 man we are after. A good many busy
 men have their mail sorted by cCn | fidential clerk before they see it, and
 unsealed envelopes with one-cent postage are apt to be thrown aside then and there as of no importance. If it has a two-cent postage stamp, it is 1 fairly certain to remain in the batch that reaches the head of the house.
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