The Democratic banner. (Mt. Vernon, Ohio) 1898-192?, 1910-09-02
CAN MAIL ORDER HOUSES
SELL DEPENDABLE MER-
CRANDlSE CHEAPER THAN
THE HOME MERCHANT
ny o. A. CHARLES.

tCopyrlght by o, a. Charles 1901
In the three preceding articles Of
this series, Can Mail Order Houses
Sell Dependable Goods Cheaper Than
the Home Merchant" we have tried
to show you, first, that they can not
manufacture good merchandise cheap
er than home merchants. We have
also tried to show that the expense
Of operating mail order houses is
enormously out Of proportion to their
income as derived from their sales.
and we have tried to show you that
their advertising is out OF proportion
to their sales and that they resort to
false advertising to sell their goods.
Now we want to make compari.
son between the mail order house and
the local merchants, because the mail
order houses claim that the reason
they can sell goods cheaper than the
local merchant is because Of the enor-
nous volume Of their sales, which en-
ables them to buy cheaper and to op-
crate cheaper, etc.
Taking the same mail order house
we have been using as an example in
the three preceding articles and com.
pairing it with local merchants, we
find the following This house claims
to have sold approximately $50 900 900
worth of merchandise in one year,
and to do this amount of business
they claimed that they require cap.
ital of S40,O00000.
Stop and think; $4,000 900 Is two
thirds of sixty million, therefore their
total sales were only $4,000, 900 more
than their capital.
We find by computation that it
would take six hundred merchants
each selling 100000 worth of mer
chandise per year, to sell 100000, 900
worth.
By referring to the commercial
agencies, by talking to bankers. by
getting information at first hand from
the merchants themselves. we find
that the average capital of a mer-
chant who sells 100000 worth Of
merchandise per year is between
$4,000 and $4,000. Then the total
capital required by the six hundred
local merchants who sell the same
amount of merchandise as this mail
order house, allowing each merchant
the maximum amount of capital,
which would be $4,000, would require
only S2l,0OO,OOO, or just S1,OOO,0OO
more than one-half what the mail or.
der house required to do the same
amount Of business. We also find
that the average expenses of a mer-
chant who sells 100000 worth of
merchandise per year does not exceed
over $4,000. Then the six hundred
merchants would have total oper-
ating or overhead expense of s12,O0O,-
900, as compared with $20,0O0,00O re-
quired by the mail order house for
their overhead or operating expenses
Now, then the mail order house re-
quires practically double the capital
and has almost double the amount OF
expense to do the same amount of
business; then does it look reasonable
that this mail order house could be
selling merchandise, really first-class
goods that they could stand back of
and guarantee, cheaper than the local
merchants?
We do not think it requires eny ar
guement to prove that the comparison
is entirely in favor of the local mer-
chant. Then this being the case,
knowing that the mail order house
requires practically double the capital
and incurring practically twice the
expense, we ask you again if this mail
order house was giving you value re-
ceived-a hundred cents worth of
merchandise for every dollars you
gave them-how could they, in less
than thirty years, starting out on
very limited capital with very small
profit as they claim in their cata-
logues, how could they have accum.
ulated the enormous wealth they
claim and which we are bound to ad-
NIT they have, and at the same time.
sell you goods equal to that sold by
your home merchants at a very much