The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1908-04-03
GO OUT FOR g TRADE Al E
MERCHANT SHOULD sE AN tx
PERT IN HIS Zine. =
WISE USE OF PRINTERS INK
How Advertising by Specialist Was
Turned to Profit by, aCWide-
Awake Country Store.
keeper.

One OF the latest deals of the town.
to'town man is the working up of sales
for some,slocal merchant, He enters
the town and contracts with some
storekeeper to hold a weeks sale.
What goods the merchant cannot sup
ply he will have shipped in to add to
the stock on hand. He is worker for
the percentage on the gross sales, and
stands the advertising bills. He is a
postmaster in the art of country town
advertising. He knows how to get out
an attractive poster and how to reach
the town people and the farmers as
we'll. He covers the front of the store
with signs callitg attention to the
sale. He has a force of specially
trained clerks He makes business
fairly hum, unless he !. bucks up
against another merchant in the town
who knows 3 few things about getting
business himself.
Not Ions ago in one of the small
western cities one of the experts
opened up sale for a merchant who
had a considerable stock of stale
goods, particularly boots and shoes,
on hand. The front of the store build
ing was covered with attractive signs,
thousands of posters and handbills
were sent throughout the city and
country, and the advertising began to
show results. There was one live
merchant In the town who saw 4
chance to reap a benefit from the ef-
forts of the expert The sale had
only fairly gotten under way when the
dealer-up-tO-date commenced placard-
ing his store in the same block. He
was not slow in the advertising line.
When the sale manipulation hung out
his sign, Finest shoes in the town,
$3.50 per pair" the up-to-date man met
1t with: These shoes don't look like
kid, they are not paper, but they will
wear better than anything you can
get for twice the mone4 -only $1.o5."
Other signs called attention to hon.
est values; that there was no special
sale on hand; it was regular business
and regular prices-but prices were
right, the goods were right and honest
values, and invited comparison with
ANY other stock in town." and the
people were interested.
Farmers understand the bargain
sale" deal, and at the end of the first
day the up-to-date man had sold 1879
pairs of shoes and rubbers. He didn't
have to cut prices. He gathered up
all his odds and ends of stock, placard-
ed them 80 as to tell the people they
were little out of style, but honest
bargains, and he did business in VOL
umes as great as the expert bargain
man, and convinced his customers
that not alone on one day could they
get full value for their money, but on
any day.
1t is well for the merchant in the
small city to do judicious advertising.
This will bring as good results, and
save the percentage paid the expert
In fact II the merchant would take the
amount that would be paid out to the
expert and use it in advertising in his
home paper he would be the winner in
the end. Then, again, the expert IS
out to make sales, and he makes them,
sometimes in such a way as to turn
away the trade of those who were
good customers of the merchant.
D. NJ. CARR.