Little Falls herald., 1905-05-19
TnfCATAlOGUEIn HOUSES
A Practical and Interesting
Discussion OF a Vital
Question

Discussion OF a Vital
Question
Following are extracts from q paper
on The Country Merchant and the
Catalogue, read by @. J...Buckley OF
the Delano Eagle before the Delano
Commercial club:
The vital question Is: How do they
get this business away from Us and
what can We do to stop itY Well, 1t
will never be done by resolution. It
will never be done by Legislative
enactment neither will be accom-
plished by urging the matter with
those who have acquired the perni-
cious habit of sending their money
out OF town to the people who are
ambitious and enterprisiDg enough to
branch out and let the public know
they are alive. It is no use to- appeal
to local pride and lo5slty to the home
merchant, for this has been done
with the most painful and monotonous
regularity ever since the mail order
houses were heard of. What the
country customer wants is to be sp-
preached. He wants you to ask him
for business. He wants you to show
him pictures and prices and tell him
interesting little stories about what
you have to sell. If he is going to
buy wheelbarrow or q lawn mower
he likes to see picture of it and to
see the prices of the different sizes,
just how they are made and now
much better they are than others at
the same price. He likes to read these
things in the evening by lamplight
when his chores are done and he has
plenty of time to think. Now you
merchants know how it is with your.
selves. You like the travelling man
to come around and show you the
new creations and explain all about
prices. You like to have little chat
with the jolly drummer and the bet-
ter the drummer ia the more you
buy. Or if that is net the case with
a few of you gentlemen here it is
true in the main and as general
proposition. I say the farmer sitting
at home with his kerosene lamp likes
to be visited and told what kind of
goods the storekeeper has. An at.
trsctive advertisement with few
pictures and prices in big figures sp-
peals to him wonderfully. All this he
gets from the catalogue After q
while he turns to the catalogue just
as naturally as he does to the doctor
book and there he finds what he wants
with the price carried out in black
figures and little picture illustrating
the article. II is not the cheap prices
that are the most attractive feature of
the catalogues. 1t is the fact that the
customer is being appealed to and his
trade solicited in manner that
pleases him. Lots of catalogue prices
are openly and above board higher
than those Of the homo merchants but
the catalogue patrons responds to that
indomitable enterprise-tnat irresists-
bic soliciting which is bound to
bring success. The catalogue house
manager is out after business. He
studies human nature and ne finds
the best way Of approaching the
rural public. He never allows him.
self to be forgotten because he gives
away big book full of pictures and
prices and every now and then he
sends out circular with the lateet
things in windmills or buggies and
in return for this the orders 70
tripping down to Chicago while the
home merchants sits around like q
clam and doesn't seem to care
whether anyone knows he is in busi-
ness or not. If the country merchant
could quarantine trade as the village
authorities can quarantine small pox
there would not be any trouble about
1t spreading to other towns and sap.
ping the life out of the local man.
But they cant do it. If you want the
trade that the catalogue houses are
getting you must 60 after it. You
must get in touch with the people
who are In the market and solicit
their business in the right way. The
great trouble with most merchants is,
they are too lazy to attend to their ad-
vertising and do it properly. Others
are too short.eighted to do any adver.
tis,ng at al. They will sit around
and grumble about the catalogue
houses and blame the poor editor for
running catalogue house ads. when
they themselves don't believe in ad-
vertising. STILL they want the editor
to be eternally pounding people on the
back to trade at home. In fact,
that is what good many people think
the country paper ia for. When some