The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-08-29
FOLLOW METHODS
 OF A. |. STE EWART Some Sound Advice for the
 Merchants KEEP ONLY FRESH GOODS Prince of Merchants Is Said to Have Gone Through His Store Every Morning Looking for Goods
 That Sold Slowly.
KEEP ONLY FRESH GOODS
From the Chicago Tribune.


 York dry goods merchant, that the first thing he did in the morning when coming to the store was to go through all depart ments and see if any goods were not sell ing. If he came to a pile of dress goods which had not sold we'll the previous day, he would ask the clerk: What's the matter with these goods?"
 T don't know, sir; they don't seem to take"
 What do they sell at?"
 "Sixty-fve cents per yard"
 Mark them 50 cents"
 And so on, from day to day, he re- duced the selling price until the goods sold. He never allowed unstable goods to accumulate in the store
 This Is a good example for the mer- chant, wholesaler as well as retailer, to initiate. In every business some goods are bought which do not sell readily Then the question of disposing of them with as little loss as possible confronts the jobber To substitute them in place of more desirable goods bought by the retailer is bad policy. An experienced buyer who knows what he has bought will return them every time. This not only costs the firm freight, which is the smallest of the evils, but it always leaves a bad impression upon the buyer when he receives poorer qualities of undesirable styles in place of the goods he has selected If this happens often the firm loses a customer.
 Easy Way to Lose Custom.
 Some firms order their travelling sales men to work the poor stock off on the road at the full price. This is the worst kind of mistake. and no experienced trav- cling man will do it. The easiest way to lose customer is to sell him undesirable or unstable goods. AS soon as a buyer loses confidence in a salesman he quits the firm.
 When a salesman comes with a new line of goods the buyer depends largely on the salesman to show him only the best styles and the best sellers. Often my customers, when they see the big line of samples spread out in the sample room say to me: Now, don't show me so many kinds; show me your best styles and best sellers" This is confidence, and he Is a poor salesman who betrays this confidence. He will as surely lose a customer as day follows night.
 There may be something in the style or appearance of a certain line of goods which makes them not as desirable as others. But there are certain bargain stores that always look for just such goods, provided they can buy them at an | extra discount, and it's to such people 1 they should be sold.
 | The retailer should bring them to the front with card attached calling atten- ton to the bargain" But such goods must not be kept too long expecting to realize better price. The quicker they are sold the smaller the loss. It will not hurt firm as much to sell them quickly with a small loss as to sell them at a big loss in a year. or be compelled to throw them Into the fire. Therefore, say to every merchant-do like A. T. Stewart did; watch your stock for shop keepers" If you find that an article does not sell, make 1t sell by all means. Cut the price until 1t sells.
 Rubbish" Makes Bad Impression,
 It makes a bad impression on a cus- toner when he comes into a store, whether wholesale or retail, and finds more rubbish" than desirable goods. There are more customers lost by forcing undesirable goods on them than a sales man can make new ones. 'HThe best advertisement for a firm Is a satisfied customer" The maxim to-day is more important than 1t ever was.
 One jobber had a big lot of undesirable goods which would not sell at s dozen. After three months a travelling salesman thought he could sell the stuff at s6. and he wanted sample, but the salesman ager refused to sell them at that. After another three months the stuff was sold to an auctioneer at s2.25 per dozen. could relate dozens of such cases. The main thing to do to prevent the accumulation of "shopkeepers' and the ad he auyitb ic fn hrfn u1a selling goods tp the front not leave them out of the way on the top shelves or covered up by other goods, where they cant be found. as I see 1t so often.
 Bargain Satisfied Both Parties.
 Putting green or red tags on such goods is advisable in retail stores, where odd sizes in hats. shoes or clothing accumu- late. An extra premium to the clerks stimulates them to put their best efforts into operation. If the bargain is made, both parties are satisfied-the customer because he bought an article cheap and the clerk because he received a prize.
 The holiday season is a good time to move such stuff. This same policy can be followed up in wholesale house by putting red or green tags on the goods on which the price is reduced and which the firm is anxious to sell. Here also Stewards policy must be adopted Reduce the price from day to day until the goods sell. But here the salesman must also be careful to sell the stun only to such con- cerns as have an outlet for them. Stuff that does not sell Is too dear at any price.
 A firm in Denver, Colo.,- has a novel way of advertising clearing sale of straw hats, although this method might not suit the fashionable stores in other cities. They would probably call 1t "un- dignihed' or "an unwise merchandising proposition" but this Denver concern evidently has found it practicable, and 1 other firms havs adopted similar methods
 No Leftover From Auction"
 Twenty days before Labor Day this : firm advertises every straw hat 1t has in the store for B at s1 The following day 90 cents, and so on for twenty days. They reduce the price each day cents, 1 50 that after twenty days-Labor Day 1 the price of the remaining hats is noth- i ing; they are given away. On that day tho stock is piled up on the street. and then you can see some fun.
 Sometimes see straw hats which I sold ten and fifteen years ago coming out of their winter quarters; nobody wants them as a gift Now, what's the use of packing such old relics away from year to year? Every time the merchant sees them he swears at the straw hat business, and thinks of his loss It's much better to follow the example of the Denver firm or of my friend In Depere, Wis. When the latter was tired | of looking at those old relics and could