The Sauk Centre herald., 1908-06-25
TOOT YOUR HORN
Some Suggestions on the Value
of Advertising
USE OF PRINTERS INK
One Reason Why the Supply Houses
Get'So Many Dollars From the
People

Under the heading "A Lesson In
Adye. t:siEg" the Marshall News Mes
senger prints the following editor
ial:
The Grand Rapids Press occa-
sionally tells lis readers points in
advelt!s ng. Recently, under the
tite of "A Lesson in Advertising"
1t dealt csevcrly on why mail order
advertisements find success easily in
fields where ordinary retailers find it
difficult.
1T might be suggested to the re-
tailers that one of the most effec-
tive ways of solving the mail order
prOb.em-and it is a problem that
must be solved to save the retail
business IN many localities-is to
study the methods of the mail con-
Germs and to take advanage of tthe
lesson that the latter teach.
THE success of the mail order hous.
es lies in the fact that they tell the
people what they have to sell and at
what price. They advertise. This I'D
yertising informs the customer where
he can get what he wants and at
what cost. Often, through illustra-
tiOns, it suggests purchases that he
had not thought of and causes him
to feel the wants, that he did not
know before. The result is the stimu
lation of staple business and the Gre
ation of new business.
THE retail merchant on the other
hand often keeps to himself what
he has to sell. The customer has
to go to his store to find what he
has and at what price The mer-
chant holds out no tempting induce
mems If the customer wants to
come all the better, but the mer-
chant makes no special attempt 10
get him.
"BetWeen a merchant operating
on this plan and the mail order house,
using advanced advertising methods
the mail order house has all the ad-
vantage. The local merchant may
have Cn his shelves wares just as
good or better than those of the mail
order house and at a price as low or
lower. Yet if he does not let the
people know through the local news
paper they are apt to go right by
his store in order To post letter
to some distant concern to order tie
same gods.
Two amusing and provoking illus
traitors Of the force of the above
logic recently occurred i'll Marshal.
A gentleman wished to purchase two
Wilton rugs, and having no idea
they were kept in stock here, he
paid expenses to ST. Paul, making
tie purchases there. Soon after his
return he had occasion to go to the
scond floor of the local furniture
house, and was surprised to find sus-
pended a large assortment of rugs,
and like patterns that he had bought.
Enquirng the price, he found he had
paid two or three dollars more for
each rug in st. Paul than was ask
ed in Marshall Another instance
happened only few days ago. A
Marshall man seeing the modern
bi-focal one piece eye glasses adver-
tised in 81 Paul and surmlsing such
recent invention could not he bought
IL Marshall took occasion on his next
visit to the city to invest, paying
eleven dollars for the glasses. He
soon after found that the local op-
tician furnished the same article for
seven dollars. Now it is a question
as to which of the parties, the mer-
chants or the customers, had the
most provocatiOn to kick themselves
all over town, the one for not ad-
vertising his wares, or the other for
not employing detectives to find out
what the merchants kept for sale.'