Troy weekly news. (Troy, Idaho) 1897-1933, 1906-06-22
How Sears. Roebuck & Co. Started
Business.

How Sears. Roebuck & Co. Started
Business.
DO you know how Sears, Roebuck |
& Company started in business7" asked
Mr.. Zandition of the News editor re-
Gently.
Il worked for them nine years ago. !
knew Sears when he was station I
agent in Wisconsin, and Roebuck when |
he was watch peddler, One time
Roebuck wanted to go to Milwaukee
and didn't have the money; so he left |
watch as security with Sears for his
fare, telling him that if he should be
able to sell the watch for more than
six dollars, he might keep half he
made. Sears sold the watch for twelve
dollars. Then he wrote to Roebuck in
Milwaukee and got him to send doz-
en- watches to Bill Jones, Sam Smith
and lot of fictitious names. These
watches were billed out at twenty-five
dollars and ten dollars paid on them,
apparently. Sears unloaded them on
his friends easily at fifteen dollars each,
which cost him and Roebuck three
dollars and half.
But the railroad company got onto
the game and fired Sears, and the two
of them opened an Office in Milwau-
kee. They bought thousand watches
and shipped them to every express
office in Kansas, Missouri and Illinois.
These watches cost three dollars, but
: they sold as twenty-five dollar watches,
: and marked ten dollars paid and to
: fictitious names. When the agent re-
S ported such matters back as unde-
E livered, then this pair would write back
= that some mistake must surely be made,
. but as a payment Of ten dollars had
, been made on this watch they would
+ allow the agent commission of two
n dollars to secure the other fifteen dol
= lars.
II Well, the watch scheme worked fine
e and the pair cleaned up ten thousand
y dollars clear Then they bought lot
of parlor sets for children and adver-
tised them, giving the impression that
you would receive full set of furniture
, for five dollars; and the people bit al
over the country.
! Uncle Sam has stopped Sears, Roe
= buck & Company's mail fourteen times
: for fake deals like this, but has moi
',t been able to catch them. Sears is
y probably worth nine or ten millions
- Roebuck is working in Des Moines,
\ Iowa, for eighteen dollars per week
- being forced out of the business severa
, years ago.
- :, AS an illustration of how this firm
- makes money: About year ago they
- - bought three thousand bicycles, al
- - alike, and they placed three prices Oh
y the same wheel, which cos
- - them $3.50, and they sold it fo
- $12.75, $16.25 and $21.50 and thu
same wheel, mind you, possibly diff
ferent color of paint; but the only diff
m ference was that some people wanted
,e $21.50 wheel and others a $12.75-
I'd they got what they wanted.
On They work the same graft on cloth
of ing. In catalogues they advertise cla
of worsteds at $3.50, $500 an
he $500. No matter what you pay yo
ill get the suit. The name Sears, Roe
he buck & Company is their trade marx
We and as Roebuck has been bankrupt fC
IS several years he is not connected wit
he the firm.
,er Montgomery Ward is practically dea
MS and has been for several years. "
,ill these people have been so successf
M in stealing from the public such lare
an sums that it is a wonder Uncle Sam a
,er lows them to exist. Their advertis,
ic ments are desceptive. They do NJ
wo fill orders as the customers think the
he are filled, yet they are smooth enoug
ses to keep within the bounds Of the Ia
we some way. Even your country me
it chant, who pays larger wholesa
ust price for goods than they, could g
in rich selling a better grade of goods
hat the people that patronize the two b
ov- places. worked for Sears, RoebuC
ian & Company two years and l know VIII
ca I say is true. Morton County New
the Kansas.
for