New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1903-12-06
SHIFTING OF WARDROBES,
Millions of Secondhand Garments
Change Hands Yearly in This City.

'Oh. yes I suppose there are tricks In our
trade, as we'll In all Others" said a secondhand
clothes man. whose eight stores In Boston. San
Francisco West Virginia, New-York and FariS
do an annual business of we'll up into tho hundred
thousands There all kinds of buyers OF OLD
clothes, just there all kinds OF storekeepers
or florists. anything else But roughly speak
Ing, they be divided into three classes Ihere
are the regular establishments that buy ana sell
discarded clothes Just other houses would po-
tatoes or paper patterns, any other commodlty
Then there is the second rate buyers. whose chleh
stock in trade is whine and mock sentiment one'
for 1t almost invariably q woman, VIII ad'eruse
highest prices paid and when her customers HI-
pear will tell hard luck stories about dead nus
band and hungry children. and beat the seller
down to the last possible cent Ten to one there
no children in the question: but very Inuch
alive and lazy husband, who wants to be sup
ported. That is the kind that ruins the trade ana
really has nothing in common with the
others except that we're all in 1t for
what we can get out of it. like the rest OF the
world The third class Is the old clothes man that
walks the streets and gets what the owners VIII
hand out the basement door to him. He of course
like the rest of u.s. pays as little as he can as ne
usually has to sell again to some large dealer and
the poor middle mans profit must be provided FOR
Among these three sets Of dealers the old ana
half clothes of this big city are handled
handed on to those who want them from those
who don't and the number Of pieces that yearly
hundreds OF thousands.
THE street pedler and the feminine pretender
get the dregs while the cream inevitably goes to
the big establishment. This is but natural as the
buyer is usually of intelligence and tact
He will call at a few hours notice make the bar
ter pleasant little incident for both parties to It,
probably contrive to leave behind him the I'M
preston of having conferred q favor
THE younger members of the social set. says
a dealer in cast off clothing of some thirty years
standing, ARE almost invariably agreeable to deal
with. l usually get postal from their maids or
secretaries to call at certain hour and they seem
to regard the whole transaction huge joke
While trying to examine the garments Tor
sale and estimate their worth, their owners keep
laughing and joking about them, pointing out their
supposed attractions. and naming rdicuously large
their price. And sometimes they actually
get the better of me, though they rarely try the
tactics that their elders know well how to
manipulate. Why. do you know. I've had custom
ers keep me for luncheon and entertain me charm
ingly. after I've named figure for their garments
that seemed 10 them too low. This is the method
resorted to by the most tactful They never dis
pute the price. They just tell me they will order
luncheon little earlier Chat is covered by house
hold expenses. you see) and know that means
I'm expected to raise my original offer something
like two or three dollars Do it? Oh sometimes
Oh. now!' with suspicious twinkle in his eye.