Devils Lake inter-ocean and Devils Lake free press. (Devils Lake, Ramsey County, N.D.) 1905-1909, 1907-05-10
MAIL ORDER HOUSES

MAIL ORDER HOUSES
How Sears, RoebuCk & Go. Transact
An lI!egitimate Business
e. e following is taken from the
Weekly Index, Mineral Wells,
Texas, of March 8, 1907.
Gas every person in this section
is personally acquainted with all
of our merchants, we think it only
fair to give them more person
al" introduction to Sears. Roe
buck & Co., than they naturally
obtain from their catalogue.
However a few orders usually give
them a pretty thorough idea of the
business characteristics of this
firm. Here are some truths as
clear as Holy Writ from Kansas
editor who has had great deal
of experience with the Chicago
concern.
Did you ever know how Sears,
Roebuck e. Co., started in bust
ness? asked Zandition, the editor
OF the Norton County Kansas
News. I knew Sears when he
was station agent in Wiscon.
sin and Roebuck when he was a
match peddler. One day Roebuck
wanted to go to Milwaukee and
didn't have the money so he left
a watch 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
Sears wrote to Roebuck and got
him to send by express a dozen
watches to Bill Jones, Sam Smith
and a lot of fictitious names
These watches we're billed out
$25 and $40 paid on them appar-
entity. Sears easily unloaded the
watches on his friends at SIS each
which cost him and Roebuck $3.50
But the railroad company col
on to it and fred Sears and then
> the two opened an Office in Mil.
yankee. They bought thousand
watches and shipped them by OK
press to every express Office in
Kansa,, Missouri and Illinois
These watches cost So, but sold as
$25 watches and marked $40 paid
and to fictitious names, when the
agent reported such watches back
: undelivered, this pair would write
back that some mistake must have
; surely been made, as payment OIL
$40 had been made on this watch
they would allow the agent com
: mission Of 81 to secure the SIS
We'll, the watch scheme worked
fine and the pair cleaned up $40,
1000 clear. Then they bought 10
of parlor sets for children and adj
, lvertised then giving the impression
THAT they would receive a full Sc
of furniture for s.; and the peopl
bit all over the country. INCL
I Sam has stopped Sears, Roebucl
| & Co.'s mail fourteen differen
times: for fake deals like this blu
has never been able to catch them
| Sears is probably worth eight o
Z ten million dollars. Roebuck i
working in Des Moiness at $18 :,
being forced out Of bushes
s 1.-TWO or three years ago. As an il
{ Illustration Of how this firm make
q money about a year ago they bough
S z, 600 bicycles all alike and the
s placed three prices ON the sam
8 wheel which cost them ST 80 an,
{ they sold it for ST. Sc, SIC. 25 al,
I |$21.5O. The same wheel, n min,
s Iyou, possibly a different color q
5 paint, but the only difference wa
3 that some wanted 8 $2l.5O Whee
land others wanted q $3.50 an
{ they all got what they wanted
hey work the same graft b
81 clothing IN catalogues they ad
8 lVertise clay Forsted at 30, ST.
ssIand Sis. ma tier mi hat 70,
81 pay you5get the same suit tTh
name Sears r oebuck 5o.,
8 their trade mark and Roe buck ID ID