The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1904-07-30
sTHE#c osT FssADVERTIsiHG.
8ssl3 WHO PAYS IT?
An Interesting Newspap per Article on
a Pertinent Subject.

IAN Interesting ENeWSpdPerE|ISIC On
! Pertinent Subject.
| "A man who knows all about~adver-
Using is contributing some sprightly
articles on the subject to the Boston
Herald One contention Of the non
advertiser is neatly answered.
The contention is that the cost Of
advertising is added to the price of
the goods and is therefore tax on
the purchaser. The old-fashioced mer-
chant says: Those fellows pay three
or four times my rent. Their store
equipment is correspondingly expen-
sive, both in fixtures and il, person
mel, and on top of all this they expend
2, g, 4, 5-yes, 10 times their rental
on advertising. 1t stands to reason
that their customers must recoup
them. They simply can't underseU
met" To this the Herald writer re-
plies:
tBut, alas, the wicked advertiser
manages, nevertheless, to nndersell
the virtuous non-advertiser. It's the
case Of the man in Jail whose lawyer
assures him that the authorities can't
arrest him. But / am arrested in
sists the bird.
by their numeric cooperation and
concentration of purchasing capacity.
the consumers unconsciously, but new
ertheless effectively, manage to
spread out wide and thin the added
cost Of maintenance, exploitation,
vending and distribution. In other
words, the pro rata contribution of
each purchaser to the dealers mulct
tends to diminish in direct ratio to
the number and volume of sales. Just
to the extent that the, advertising is
successful-nO matter what its cost
does it pay for itself to the profit,
alike, Of producer and consumer.
What's one mans gain is another's
loss; for, in fair swap, both parties
to the deal are benefited to the ex-
tent that the need of one balances
the want of the other. Each comes to
his own
A simple illustration will show the
soundness of the doctrine. II mer-
chant sells 81 900 worth of goods in a
year at a profit of 10 per cent, the
margin of 800 will not even pay
store rent. If he sells $4,000, the
profit of 81 900 will pay rent and leave
something for living expenses Now
this merchant by judicious advertis-
ing, say to the amount of $1,000,
builds up a trade of 100000, he will
be $4,000 to the good, and can we'll
afford to knock off $4,000 for the ben
eft Of his customers. And if he is
doing business in a large enough
afCar-
Using. and sells $1,000 900 worth of
goods, it is clear that he can afford to
make cut in prices that will reduce
his profit to ) per cent. or $4,000.
Deducting the $4,000 paid for adver-
Using, he has $4,000 to the good for
rent, running expenses, his cost of
living, and a surplus to "Salt down.
Thus the cost Of advertising, by being
distributed among the great number
Of customers, operates to the advan
tage of each one through the ability
of the advertiser to sell S1,00O,OO0
worth of goods at 4 percentage Of
profit which would not pay him for
handling $4,000 or 100000 worth.
1t is matter of plain figures and
common sense The losic is borne
out every day In the commercial ac-
tivities OF the country. Moreover,
successful business men are not ad-
vertising for the mere pleasure Of see
ing their names in print. They are
seeking customers. and are getting
them; bat they could moi get them
without advertising nor without max
ing good their advertised promises
regarding prices and wares; in other
words, without publicity and without
making it advantageous for multi
tudes to go to their places to trade.
The S. w. p.