Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1907-07-24
A Scheme To Beat Catalogue Houses.

tpt
To eliminate catalogue house COM
petition ana restore the trade to the
country merchants. R. E. Saber-
son, of Allen, Neb., member of a
large retail firm, together with a
number of wholesalers of the north.
west, will establish bureau in
Sioux City to fight them. ,,5,,y,si4,
Sioux City is to be the head. qpar-
ters of the Berkley system as it will
be called, and offices will be, qken-
ed in all the Missouri river cities in
Guiding Minneapolis. Whole
salers propose to assist the country
merchants with the system.
Advertising in the newspapers
the same articles which are listed in
catalogues and selling them for -less
than the catalogue price, is the key-
note Of the situation" said Mr.. Sab
erson today, and it is the plan of
the Berkley system to work with
the wholesalers and retailers to
make catalogue business highly un-
profitable.
AS an instance of how we will do
this might mention one of the
leaders which the wholesalers Of the
northwest will offer the country
merchant in the near future
There is range advertised in the
catalogue at price that when the
freight is paid, will cost consumer
about $29. We have found where
the retailers can purchase this range,
identical with the one in the cat
alogues, and sell it at good profit
for $22.50 1t is our plan to find
where these goods can be purchased
and determine what goods the. cat
alogue houses are selling to the con
sumers. The system will have
nothing to sell and will not represent
any firm, but will secure the infor-
nation necessary to enable re-
tailers to secure goods will compete
with catalogue houses.
Newspaper advertising will do
the rest. Run an advertisement
with the cut of a range for $22.5O
in the country newspaper, when the
catalogue houses waht $29 for the
same stove and the advertisement
will kill the catalogue house trade
on stoves in two weeks"
AS a member of the firm of Saber-
son Bros, hardware merchants and
lumber dealers at Allen, Neb., Mr..
Saberson has seen the system
which he has organized with the
wholesalers tried. He has adver-
tised everything from paint to pho
nographs, in competition with the
catalogue houses and eliminated. 80
per cent of the trade secured by
them.
"Boycotting won't keep trade at
home," said Mr.. Saherson "The
merchant who boycotts some dealer
or manufacturer because the goods
are sold by catalogue houses, con-
tinues to lose trade just the same.
In our own business we found we
had to get to the source. The de-
partment stores of Sioux City do
not suffer from catalogue house COM
petition because of their advertising
and offering leaders in the news
papers. But let them stop adyer-
tising and spend their time boycott
ing someone and the catalogue
houses of Chicago will begin to get
money orders with Sioux City
date line on them. The system
which we propose will furnish the
merchants information as to
what goods are being sold, where
to secure the same article, and how
to advertise them in the newspa-
pers. We will be even able to fur
nish cuts for the advertisements
and with the cooperation of whole
salers and jobbers of Sioux City
and Minneapolis an efficient fight
will be waged. CITY Tribune