Elk City mining news. (Elk City, Idaho) 1903-1913, 1911-01-19
Fight Catalogue Houses.

An organized and well-planned war
against mail order houses of all kinds
has been started by the retail mer-
chants of st. Charles, Mo. The first
step has been the placing in one of the
daily newspapers there of a column
news article exposing some of the
frauds practiced upon unsuspecting
housewives by "cato houses, says st.
Louis Interstate Grocer.
This article goes right to the heart
of the receptions INDUCED in by mail
order firms and speaks not only to the
consumer, but to the retail merchant
wherever he is. 1t is a frank appeal
to the public to buy their supplies
from their home merchants and tells
the latter what they must do in order
to compete with the mail house pirates.
The writer, John Klein, says:
How merchants must meet mail order
competitions:
Tell the truth about your business
and tell it in such a way that the peo-
pie will believe what you say. If all
the truth were to be told in the adver-
tisements of mail order houses, local
merchants would have no problem to
solve so far as this kind of competi-
ton is concerned. 1t is notorious
fact that a large part of the stuff sold
by mail consists of seconds. Advertise
and tell the public about this, and you
will make some bargain hunters stop
and think.
1t will frequently be found that local
merchants are charging no more for
first-quality goods than people are pay
ing for seconds that mail-order men
have misrepresented in their advertising
matter.
Sensible shoppers are sure to be In
fiuenced if they can be shown that they
are not saving anything by sending
their money out of town, and great
many would be willing to pay trift
more to their home merchants were
they satisfied that what the home mer
chant says about quality is correct.
In the long run the mail-ordel
houses are going to defeat their owl
purposes through their receptions, bu
in the meantime merchants must ge
busy and hasten the time when people
will not consider it smart or even fai
to send their money out of town whei
they can be just as well or even bette
. served at home. Local pride appeal
to some people, but big bargain otfe
LIDS ouCH al dbeA oNstOt 1N@ SS4-S 49,
that they forget their duty in their de
sire to get something for nothing, or a
: least save few pennies on an impoi
: tant purchase.
z If this unfair competition is to b
n met in a practical way, merchants mus
e render satisfactory service and advel
+ tise in such way that all the peopl
will know that it is not necessary t
90 away from home to find bargains
If your advertising matter in the co
umns of the newspaper was going
their home every day it would hav
far more effect than these occasion;
catalogue temptations.
Then he tells how he proposed to bu
a table from mail order firm whic
had it priced in its catalogue at $4.s
f. O. b. Chicago. He says that as
walked down the street with his file
out order in his hand he came aero
the same table in local store for 3d.
delivered, saving to him of ST. al
freight charges.
Then he reproduces sample grocer
orders from catalogue houses, shown
how staples were made leaders in ord
to sell seconds at prices higher tn;
the retailer will sell them. This expo
ure he makes mighty plain to the Gu
toner.