The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-01-22
Bad Business Methods which Result
i'm Heavy Loss of Trade in a Pop
uIOus and Growing Region.
IRON AND HARDWARE CHANCES
THE COAL TRADE OF SOUTH AMERICA
AND WHAT 1T is WORTH.
Some Queer Frauds in Trademarks
Our Poor Packing and Ignorance as
TO South American Trade.
1899, by Frank G. carpenter.)

Copyright, 1899, by Frank G. Carpenter.l
| BUENOS AYRES, Dec. 10.-"One reason
why the Americans have no more trade in
South America is because their business
methods are bad"
These were the words of a commercial
traveller who goes regularly to South Amer
lea as the representative of some of the
biggest firms of the United States. He sells
a half million dollars worth of goods every
| year and is well known in every South
American capital. Said he:
ITO show you what 1 mean will give
you few personal experiences. do busi-
ness both on salary and commission. have
| several different firms and can add others
who have specialties which do not conflict
with those 1 already represent Last year
I thought I could sell American shoes in
| the Argentine and Chile Before / left Chi
| cago I called on manufacturer there. a
man who makes about 10000 shoes a day,
| and presented the field to him. He replied
| that he did not want South American trade
| and that he was satisfied with the United
States. 1 pressed him, however, and he
| finally told me he would pay me a commits
sion and give me box of samples. When
I arrived at Buenos Ayres I called upon
the largest shoe man of that city, and upon
my requesting him to como to the hotel to
/
lean shoes were no good and that he could
not sell them. offered to take carriage
and drive him to the hotel, but he would
not even come to look.
| Il then went to a shoe manufacturer. a
man who makes hundreds of thousands OF
shoes every year, and presented the case to
him. He replied:
Why, my dear sir, make shoes myself
and my profits on the making of them
But said I, L can sell you better shoes
! than you are making at a less price than
| you can make them. I know your shoes
and know L can offer you a better article
at a price much below what your shoes
actually cost you. Now, my hotel is only
few doors away. I have brought these
samples eight thousand miles to show them
70 you and 1 think you might come there
and look at them 1t will not take you half
| an hour, and if after you have seen them
/ you don't want them L will thank you all
the same
Como no? Why nob said he. 7 will
come
"He did come and I showed him the
shoes. When 1 got through he replied:
Well, sir I came here for politeness sake
only, for L did not think you had anything
! 1 wanted. l believe, however, your shoes
are better and cheaper than any we have,
and that certain styles of them will sell in
! Buenos Ayres. I am ready to talk BUSH
ness. am sure can handle at least zoo
eco pairs Of these shoes a year, and that it
will pay me to sell out my factory and put
my money at interest. 1 will make a de-
| post in the bank to guarantee payment.
and on the basis of that you may order a
! certain number of shoes, and as / sell them
! from time to time will make remittances
| to Chicago, and at the end Of the year we
! can balance our accounts
He then gave me a good order. / sent IL
! on to the Chicago shoe man and asked him
to cable me when the first consignment OF
| goods would be shipped. No cable came
was just ready to go to Chile, but I wadted
from day to day for two months when an
answer came by mail that the shoe COM
pany, in view Of the war with Spain. did
| not want any South American business ex-
cept upon payment Of cash in New York
| against its bills of lading. OF course the
deal fell through. The Argentine shoe manu.
! facturer was a man of large property. He
has been in business for years and had a
high commercial standing
| WINDY IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE.
Another experience I had was with a
windmill man." continued the commercial
traveller, "a man whose orders were about
as windy as his mills"
/ ACu hllOW WIldI ueeQ there Is IN the Ar
! gentine for windmills. The demand is in
creasing throughout the southern parts OF
! America, and the windmill business is worth
/ culdvating. 1 saw this and called upon the
men who are at the head of one Of our
| biggest windmill establishments. They
! doubted my statements but said they would
| be glad to have me sell on commission. I
| asked them for model of the mill to carry
| with me, but they replied that they could
| not bother to make one, and that If l could
not sell them from the pictures and cata-
| Iogues [ need not try it. At first 1 thought
1 could not accept their offer, but finally
took the catalogues At Buenos Ayres,
| through my acquaintance there, persuaded
one of the chief importers of agricultural
machinery TO take the agency for the mill.
He ordered one and sold it before it arrived.
! He ordered two others at once and within
! two years sold about thirty mills. This was
during the days of the recent business de-
| preston, when the Argentine farmers had
very little money. 1t was, 1 thought, very
good Well all L received for those thirty
mills was my commission on the first mill,
! which amounted to less than S15
Later on 1 made a contract with the
| Buenos Ayres firm to take one hundred
mills year, and was told that / might
order twenty mills to be shipped at once.
/ Windmills, you know, run into a lot OF
money. and the BuenOs Ayres people wanted
sixty days credit, so that they should not
/ have 10 pay for tie goods before they GOT
them. The American windmill man objected
to that and telegraphed that they must have
| the money in New York before the mills
were shipped
''rhe Buenos Ayres firm. which was one
Of high standing, did not like this but final
| ly telegraphed that they would pay the cash.
/ To this no answer came for fourteen days.
and at that time cable was received stat
/ ing that the windmill men could not cable,
/ but would write explanations I waited six
/ weeks for that letter, and witli 1t came a
1 formal contract for I'D mills year, dated
/ four months back and not mill Yet
shipped. BY this time the season for selling
windmilis had almost passed and few more
mills could be sold that year.
When / showed the Argentine firms the
letter and contract they threw the thing
up at once. saying they could not trade
with people who did business that say.