New-York tribune., 1900-12-09
A NEW PRoFEssION SUGGESTED.

The professional shopper-in most cases. we
believe, a woman-has come to fill a useful
function in modern life, and some shoppers have
found the occupation lucrative. They take
orders to buy goods from people who are too
busy TO do their own shopping or from nom
residents who are unable personally to visit the
city. II is obvious that if such shoppers are at
once conscientious and well informed there is
an increasingly large field of activity open to
them. Indeed, SO varied and complex have be-
come the products Of art literature, industry
and commerce that many people with unlimited
time and money feel somewhat at a disadvan-
tage in making purchases, and would gladly pay
a fair commission to an expert who could help
them to a wise choice. In The matter Of pictures
or expensive rugs, for instance. no man. how
ever well informed generally. ought to trust his
unaided judgment; and although these are per-
haps extreme cases the same thing is true in
measure of other articles.
But this is the age of classification and there
is distinct need of shoppers with a specialized
knowledge fitting them TO make purchases OF
holiday, birthday, anniversary and wedding
gifts We need not enlarge here on the worry
and uncertainty caused TO a multitude of people
by the necessity Of making such purchases. II
is, in fact not too much to say that this one
thing alone has turned the holiday season into a
dreaded nightmare for many heads OF families
On the one hand the number OF persons to
whom gifts must be given has largely increased,
and on the other the vastly increased variety of
things that my be purchased tends 10 confuse
rather than to help the buyer He starts out 10
make his purchases with no we'll defined idea
of what he wants He wanders about from one
crowded store 10 another. hoping to see some
thing at once appropriate and within his means
Perhaps he is lucky enough to do so, but the
chances are that he is not and at last in des-
peraton ne chooses something that may be both
undesirable and Inappropriate He himself is
not satisfied with his choice, and in five cases
out OF ten the recipient OF the gift fails TO ap-
preciate il. Practically all the money thus
spent is thrown away and brings no satisfaction
to any one. Or. take the case of n Sunday
school for which, It may be. several hundred
dollars is appropriated for Christmas presents.
the busy pastor or superintendent being an
pointed committee Of one to buy the presents
Neither OF these persons has the time or the
special knowledge TO perform this duty wisely
and the result in many cases is that the money
is largely spent for inappropriate or useless
things.
A buyer fully competent to do this sort of
work would have 10 be q genius in a way hay-
ing n multitude OF details as to prices and goods
at his fingers ends. and also knowing just where
certain articles could be most advantageOusly
purchased. But men or women with a special
aptitude for such work could in time master
all its details and so classify the great field of
things wanted and for sale that they could
quickly fill any orders that would come to them.
Should such specialists come to monopolize the
buying Of gifts one desirable economic result
would Follow. The output of useless holiday
trash would be far less than it is now. This
would be gain to the community and. in the
END gain also to the merchants for there is
much more money in staple articles having
permanent value than in goods made only to
eaten the passing fancy of the unthinking.