Elk City mining news. (Elk City, Idaho) 1903-1913, 1913-06-12
MAIL ORDER HOUSES CONSIDER
1T LIFE OF THEIR OUT-OF-
TOWN BUSINESS.
HOW IT IS Being WORKED IS EXPOSED
Local Merchants Must Combat the
Methods of MaI-Order Houses by
Convincing Patrons Advan-
tages of Home Trading.


sess an irresistible lure and attraction
for the average individual, stronger
than the conservative but more hon
est business methods and personality
of the home merchants.
If people can, or think they can,
make a material saving by sending
away for the things they need or
want, they cannot be greatly blamed
for doing so. But in nine cases out
of ten the facts are Except in some
leaders" used as "bait') that taking
into account quality, terms of sale
and transportation charges, one can
buy nearly anything of his home mer-
chant just as economically as he can
get the goods from any other source,
and in many cases the home dealer
really gives better value for the
money. There is no article Of ordi-
nary use that the home merchant can
not buy in the open market and there
is no living man or concern that can
materially cut the price of any article
without cutting the quality. Local
merchants are not entirely blameless
for not holding the trade at home that
rightfully belongs to them. 1t is up
to them to convince the public by ad-
vertising and progressive business
methods that they have the goods for
sale and at fair prices.
1t is conceded that large catalog
houses have an advantage in buying
power over the small local dealer, but
this is nowhere near so great as is
popularity supposed. The difference
between ordinary wholesale quantities
and the largest quantities bought by
catalog houses is not ordinarily more
than five to ten per cent and this ad-
vantage is Offset by the greater ratio
of selling expenses or cost of doing
business of the mail order houses.
The largest catalog house in its an
nual statement of two years ago
showed that it's selling expense was
% per cent of it's gross sales. Now
the selling expense or cost OF doing
business of the average local retailer
runs from 16 per cent to not over 20
per cent. Take the item of catalogs
alone: 1t costs the average mail or
der house for compiling, printing
postage and distributing its large
bulky catalogs from to 5 per cent OF
it's gross sales; an expense the home
merchant does not have. So, while
the catalog house has some advantage
in buying power, the local dealer
smaller selling expense enables him
to compete and get his fair share Of
the business.
The artist idealizes. He leaves ou1
the imperfections and puts perfections
in their place. And this applies
whether he is painting landscape o.
drawing a picture of a stove. The
mail order houses employ the bes
artists money can buy, not only To-
drawing the pictures but for word
painting as well. The goods in thu
catalog are always cheap in the l1gh
of the pictures and descriptions, blu
the goods themselves seldom come VI
to representation. There are wis
people who will not buy horse unit
they have looked at it's teeth and fel
of it's legs; but they buy harness
for it from picture they see in
catalog. Did you ever see an ANNA
in a circus that looked quite as clear
quite as big and quite as ferocious a
it did on the posters? Do you expec
that any article in a catalog is goin
to be as perfect as the ILLUSTRATION
and description? If the quality is NO
as high as you thought it would be, !
the price as low as you expecter?
1t is strange that a farmer or othe
consumer who looks upon his loca
merchant with suspicion will plac
implicit belief in every word in tn
mail order catalog of some distan
firm whose members are all stranger
to him. Yet that suspected locs
dealer is usually his friend and necei
sarily directly concerned in his we
fare and in giving him square dea
Truly, "the prophet Is not withor
honor save in his own land" Tn
farmers implicit belief in the catalo
is recognized by the mail orde
houses and Is a lever which most
them do not fail to use to the utmoi
of it's possibilities.
Albert G. Loab, vice president an
treasurer of Sears, Roebuck & Co.,
telling a representative Of the Amer
can Lumberman some Of the reason
contributing to the success Of b
house, is reported to have said
"Whv. do you know that II Scar