Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1903-04-30
MAIL ORDER HOUSES.

The American Press, published In
Chicago, in its issue Of last week
prints an article from the spring cata-
logue Of the jobblng house Of Butler
Bros, New York and Chicago. The
article is Of special interest to retail
merchants, as it deals with the subject
OF mail order houses, and suggest
plans for meeting the competition Of
these houses. Following is the
article.
There seems TO pc only one sure
thing about tho mail order problem,
and that IL that IL has come to stay.
Whether you Ike 1t or not, you must
count on the fact that the retail mail
order house will continue to solicit
trade from your customers,
But there's no use getting into a
funk over the question. Most Of the
talk in the newspapers about these
concerns Is sheer bosh. The com
bincd sales Of all retail mail order
houses In the United States are per-
haps thirty millions per annnm, Now
the iobbing business OF the country Is
something over three billions, 80 Nv
most the concerns In question DO only
about per cent OF the trade.
1t seems To us tho worst possible
way TO fight tho mail order evil Is to
pattern after the ostrich, which hides
It's head In the sand when it sights an
enemy, thinking itself unseen because
1t sees nothing. Yet that Is the way
most retailers are meeting the mail
order problem. The do nothing for
fear of advertising the evil they fear,
In the meantime the mail order houses
keep plodding away, and the silence
of the local merchant Is construed by
their customers as an admission that
they cannot meet the values.
IT the managers of the mail order
houses were asked to dictate the poll
cy that retailers should follow, they
certainly would ask that you keep up
the do-nothing policy n few years
longer until their position Is absolute
| ly impregnablc.
The longer you put off the aggres-
eive fight the stronger will he the grip
the mail order houses get and the
harder 1t will be to shake them or.
1t y u condition, not n theory, that
confronts you. Out of town houses
are sending 10 your customers big,
handsomely got up catalogues, quot
Ing attractive prices on staples and
making all sorts OF big sounding
claims. They are using oceans Of
printers ink to bring their wares
before the people, You see, they
thrive while you cling to the do
nothing policy. Why not come out in
the open and strip for " fight to the
finish?
If you are satisfied that You must
take the mail order bull by the horns,
why not secure copies of the bother.
some catalogues, make II study OF
their contents, find out the things they
sell cheap and the things they sell
| high? Advertise to meet any price In
any catalogue. Then keep the books
at the store for reference.
Work together to boom the town.
Appeal TO home pride, but in ~ self.
respecting way, not as asking n
favor. IT you sell the goods your
people want and sell them at right
prices, the fact that You pay rent and
taxes in your town entities you to the
preference rs against an outsider.
Keep your prices right, Keep watch
on the mail order catalogues, ant
don't let them cut YOU on important
things.
ADVERTISE Fight fire with fire
Your talking points are rs good n,
theirs, and you have the infinite ad
vantage OF being near ut hand, ("
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