Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1899-05-06
TWICE SOLD GOODS.
A Visit to the Augusta Secondhand
Stores.
There Are to Be Found Articles OF All De'
scriptions.

| the dealer buys everything from
needle to white elephant pom
visiting the interior of one OF THESE
| little establishments one at once lhakes
| up his mind that the promise MADE pE
| the sign is carried out, for now on
earth do they manage to dispose Oh
| some Of the old ''culch'' they have on
hand? 1t is a question that has puz-
zled many great intellect. and the
, said large intellects have failed IN
many cases, to find suitable answer.
| 1t is not perplexing question, now
| ever 10 the dealers, for they say they
never buy anything but there is a call
| for il sooner or later. 1t may nave TO
he kept several months, and again per
| hans il will be sold the next day.
! Then another method is to exchange.
| Il had an article of furniture that !
| was heartily sick of seeing about.
said a dealer to the Journal. the other
evening. and | wondered what | could
do with it. a man came in that very
evening and offered TO exchange a slide
trombone for it. I accepted the offer
| and only one day elapsed before ! sold
the instrument at price in advance
of what ! charged for the original ar
ticle."
The secret of the success which they
have Is that Of buying cheap ana sell
ing cheap. in proportion to their buy
ing price. only Of course they must
have 4 good profit for handling the
goods.
There is also a great point in buying
things in season" said the dealer.
Just ut present there is a great de-
mand for trousers. sold my entir,
stock Ia a man who works on the
Hallowen quarries. He bought them
for some ~ his fellow workers. They
wear out trousers very fast ana the
cheapest thing is just as good as
better one. 10 buy a heavy coat. this
spring would he loading up for next
fall trade. which do not like to do
but | should think all this stun
would 80 begging" said the reporter
| waving his hand over the great col
lection Of the most useless and worm
out things one could imagine.
ION the contrary they are bought
| every day. y man comes in here ami
invariably he secs something that hc
thinks he needs. .ts ID is cheap. he buys
1t. Everything has its value to some
person. even though 70 others IL would
seem as though il We're good only for
tho rubbish pile"
DO you never have anyone who
wishes to pawn an articlc?"
"Oh. Ia he sure. There IL never a
day passes without some person COM
ing in and saying ne wishes 20 raise 4
certain amount NJ money on something
in his possession. AS soon as tel him
| | will not risk it to act as paWr
broker against the city ordinances. he
says he Will sell. II is the same
| thrOus hout. seldom does a time oc-
cur when a man cannot buy what they
say they wish To pawn. This business
is far more profitable to us than a
| pawn business would be in this city"
DO you ever run across any stolen
| property"
Very seldom. In fact in the past
two years | have had nothing but
violin ana another little article that i'll
| was proven We're stolen"
| of what class of people does your
| trade consist principany?"
| II have all sorts Of people to deal
| with. There are many well-to-do peo-
| pie who bring in old things that they
| do not need ana realize something on
them, rather than to throw them away.
Again people buy many staple articles
that | secure in some way and sell for
| about half the price Of the dealers.
All that is needed is little water ana
| soap. and they are as good as new. /
| also sell to the poor people who find
something in my assortment that they
| need and cannot pay as much as the
| new article will cost. We are bene-
factors to the human race. We secure
the articles that people need of those
who have them, and thus both the
! seller and the purchaser are made
| happy; one because he has converted
| into cash something he never expected
to he able to use. and the other because
| ne has what he needs at half the price
! he thought he would have to pay"
These dealers are dead onto the
| curves OF the people who 90 to sell
anything, the same as the pawnbrOk-
ers are acquainted with the ways of
the person who wishes to put anything
| in hook
| Il have coat here that a friend Of
mine wished me TO bring in and raise a
| little money on. Can you use it?" is
what some man will say as he enters
the store and lays down the neatly ar
| idHSeu package. III is perhaps his
/ last years summer coat that he will not
wear. this season, and yet he wishes to
| turn it to some good.
The dealer will look the coat over
carefully. being sure to inspect first Of
all the defects, and never noticing any
of the good qualities-it is a part of thu
business, you know. to do this. He
Will then say that he will give 30 cents
| for the thing, but that he cannot hope
| to make anything out of il at that
| price
The young man will say the friend
| thought perhaps 81 was a good price
| Tor 1t. The friend was right, it would
be a good price, a remarkably good
| one. Finally they will agree on 81
| cents and the young man will go away
happy, while the friend he has bean
talking about which is his pOcketbook
will be feeling much better with q
| cents charged to the profit side of the
| profit and loss account
! How Ike men some animals are :"
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