The Bemidji pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Beltrami County, Minn.) 1896-1917, 1900-10-11
"a GREAT SUPPLY HOUSE.

ssi 0ue VI lu6 STeAt UuSli1oSS cAS1 EkAoos
Of Minneapolis 10 the T. Nd. Roberts
Supply House. Like all large and spo.
cessful enterprises, 1t has been o growth
from q small beginning. There seems
10 be popular belief that 1t requires
but, little time. less capital, and no ex.
perience to start and manage 0 great
mail order business. In the last six OF
seven years there have been started sew
eral supply houses in Minneapolis, but
they attempted to start at the top, and
SOON found it impossible to compete
with q house that started ut the bot.
tom and grew up in experience as Its
business increased
About is years ago Mr.. T. M. Rob
erts had retail hardware store IN Min.
neapolis. II was o very good store OF
its kind, too, but it only occupied o
single room and basement with about
i 25-foot front and something like 100
foot depth. Mr.. Roberts saw that IN
some lines Of hardware notably stoves
and ranges country and village people
were obliged by their local dealers to
cay too high price for their goods. 30
be began to advertise stoves and ranges
through the country at city prices.
Naturally he began to sell them. he
extended his advertising to other lines
Of hardware and began making I'M
heard Of prices. It was some time be-
fore he began to add other goods than
hardware to his stock, and when he did
20 it was done very conservatiyely. ne
wanted to be perfectly sure OF MS
ground before advancing.
One cardinal principle OF this house
from the very beginning was TO share
every bargain it obtained with its GUS
toners. ff IL had, for instance. large
quantity Of steel nails ON hand and the
price advanced, IL did not follow the
market. Its selling price had bean
fixed to return a fair profit on the pur-
chase price OF the nails, and there the
price staid until the stock was OK.
hauHted.
This season when interested parties
attempted to get up binding tWine
scara and hold prices up around II
cents. the r. M. Roberts Supply House
told its customers to wait before placing
their orders. And those who did 30
profited. It would have been an easy
matter for this house to have joined
the hue aud cry OF binding twine lam
inc, bought low and sold high, Tor It
was 6uo uCbt uQubo w OICtn oAAo' PAAS
from 10k to II cents to o 10 cents, and
finally forced it down to 81 cents.
This Is merely mentioned to show one
Of the many services this house has
rendered the farmers of the Northwest.
There Is no question but that one OF
che greatest factors in reducing prices
Of all general supplies to the country
buyers have been the mail order houses,
and foremost in It's effect on the North
west ia the r. M. Roberts Supply
House.
This house has had far from smooth
sailing. Retailers associations have
repeatedly attempted to cripple 1T by
boycotting manufacturers that arc
known to sell it goods, but fortunately
for the purchasing public, money talks
louder than resolution, and by pur'
chasing in enormous quantities, paving
cash on delivery, there has never been
q time when oil goods needed were not
in hand. When firm wants ~ or 10
carloads of stoves, couple OF million
pounds Of sugar, one or two hundred
thousand pounds Of coffee, and every.
thing else in like proportion, and goes
snto the market with cash IN hand. 1t
is going to get what it wants, and at q
price that even the largest jobber can
not compete with.