The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1905-12-31

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
concern can do it as well as the
English or Germans, and that it is to
his advantage to change
ADVICE ABOUT PACKING.
1--WE have had much trouble over
carelessness in filling orders. In
many instances where we have under
scored special instructions in red ink
no attention has been paid to them,
and we have had to resell the goods
at a loss. AS American manufacture
ers demand payment in New York we
rarely get any redress. We seldom
get a shipment from New York with
out some of the cases arriving in a
damaged condition, due to light or
insufficient packing. Because a case
will stand shipment in an American
box car does not mean that it is
strong enough to ship half way around
the world by steamer. On these large
cargo boats many tons of freight are
liable to be piled on top of it, and the
motion of the ship in rough water
puts an additional strain on it. We
have had bicycles sent US protected
only by fiimsy Grating and brown
paper. 1t is no wonder that seventy
five percent of these were smashed.
We have received castings so exposed
that a blow against hard projection
would break them. The English are
the best packers. They ship all goods
likely to be affected by dampness in
tin-lined wooden cases, the same be-
ing soldered. Acting on our advice
several American manufacturers who
have entered this field to stay have
the heads nf thpir de-
partments to England to study their
system of packing.
There are two general mistakes
that our people make: One is to give
their accounts to foreign importers
who either take them and bury them
or else use them for the sake of COM
parison. They take the agency for
the American line to get it out of the
way, and then push similar articles
made in their own country. The other
mistake is to give their agency to
some American association or indi-
vidual who is trying to work the
world through the mails. Little good
can result from either plan Manu-
facturers of specialties who have
scores of salesman all over the United
States, and who spend small fortunes
in advertising, expect to introduce
their goods out here with catalogues
and samples and get cash in New
York without further expenditure.
We have had manufacturers send
statesmen out here who We're young
and inexperienced men, and who re-
manned such a short time in each port
that their trip was more in the nature
of a junketing tour.
THE BUYERS ARE SLOW.
'Tt takes time and expense to ex-
plot goods in this part of the world.
1t is an old axiom that you can't
hustle the East. The traders are ex-
tremely slow buyers and champion
procrastinators. When L was in
Rangoon recently I figured that the
orders taken required on an average
ten trips to each dealer. First a GUS
toner would come to the show room
and place part of an order for one
line, then go away and a day or two
later come back and order another
line. Then, two or three days later
another. and so on for three weeks,
entailing about ten trips on my part
and half a dozen on his. Unless a
man takes his time for it and goes the
gait of the East, the wear and tear on
his nervs will soon lay him up.
You might suppose from the fore
going that I have only complaints to
offer in regard to the Americans but
this is not So I have only explained
some Of their most universal errors in
the hope that some one may profit oy
attention being called to them. me
campaign of one of our big provision
manufacturers has been very success
full. He sent man out first who went
over the territory thorOughly-a man
of wide experience who had an lntl-
mate knowledge of his goods. He de-
cided that Singapore was the proper
distributing point for the territory
and ordered a stock of several hum
dred cases of goods which his judg-
ment indicated as salable here. Nhen
the stock arrived it was accompanied
by an experienced lady demonstrator
who showed the goods off to advantage
in each port All orders were filled
from the Singapore stock, no business
going to exporters. nor even direct
from the factory While this is
most admirable system for a pro-
vision line. and would apply to many
others. it would not do in all cases.
HOW TO HANDLE THE TRADE.
One of our machinery manufactur-
ers has an expert salesman who is
constantly travelling in the hunt for
business. He is subject to our call
/ because We are the agents and are
/ centrally located. Some may think
that both a travelling salesman and a
resident agent are unnecessary, but
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