Cut Bank pioneer press. [volume] (Cut Bank, Mont.) 1909-current, 1913-06-06

bulky catalogs from 8 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 dealers
smaller selling expense enables him
to compete and get his fair share OF
the business.
The artist idealizes. He leaves out
the imperfections and puts projections
in their place. And this applies
whether he is painting a landscape or
drawing a picture of a stove. The
mail order houses employ the best
artists money can buy, not only for
drawing the pictures but for word
painting as well. The goods in the
catalog are always cheap n the l1ght
of the pictures and descriptions, but
the goods themselves seldom come up
to representation. There are wise
people who will not buy a horse until
they have looked at it's teeth and felt
of it's legs; but they buy a harness
for it from a picture they see in a
catalog. Did you ever see an animal
in a circus that looked quite as clean,
quite as big and quite as ferocious as
it did on the posters? Do you expect
that any article in a catalog is going
to be as perfect as the illustration
and description? If the quality is not
as high as you thought it would be, is
the price as low as you expecter?
1t is strange that a farmer or other
consumer who looks upon his local
merchant with suspicion will place
implicit belief in every word in the
mail order catalog of some distant
firm whose members are all strangers
to him. Yet that suspected local
dealer is usually his friend and neces-
sarily directly concerned in his well
fare and in giving him a. square deal.
Truly, ''the prophet is not without
honor save in his own land" The
farmers implicit belief in the catalog
: is recognized by the mail order
houses and is a lever which most of
? them do not fail to use to the utmost
: of it's possibilities.
Albert G. Loab, vice president and
3 treasurer of Sears, Roebuck & Co., in
9 telling a representative of the Ameri-
: can Lumberman some of the reasons
. contributing to the success of his
9 house, is reported to have said:
why, do you know that If Sears,
y Roebuck & CO. sold electric belts to
9 the farmers we would get thousands
/ of beautiful testimonials telling what
q a marvellous benefit they were, how
& the writer's were so near the edge Of
s. the grave before wearing the belts
a. and how after wearing them the all
% ment entirely disappeared. There
IS would be lots of profit in these belts
perhaps 400 per cent" Nov, why
g would these belts cure" he wal
er asked. "Why? Simply because the
20 farmers believe every word in oul
catalog; yes, they believe ever.
r word" answered the mail order mag
: nate.
Probably few druggists nowaday'
sell electric belts; at least they d.
: not recommend or guarantee them
But a man might buy a better belt o
his local druggist than he would Ikel!
get from any mail order concern ant
then come back at the druggist witt
= some vigorous kicks about the belt.
In the Chicago Tribune of Decem
Der 81, 1911, there appeared a larg'
advertisement concentrating tn
fortieth birthday Of Montgomer,
Ward & Co. This ad reviewed il
o. glowing terms the wonderful growtl
" of the firms business, dilated upon it
b record for 1911 and enumerated tn
many lines of merchandise handled
E. At the opening of the ad occurred thi
~ sentence: "As this is our forfeit
l birthday, we feel that a word to tn
ID people of Chicago relative to our bus
~ ness and it's marvellous growth is fl
ting" And later on is this: "Ou
40 entire business is devoted to person
living outside of Chicago" 1t woul
seem this advertisement might MOI
- properly nave been dedicated to tn
nj people outside of Chicago rather tina
nd to the people of Chicago. But VIII
ct do not Montgomery Ward & Co. an
lie the other large Chicago catalo
Ii houses sell to the people of Chicago
d. The answer is easy: Simply becaus
IS. they cannot compete with the reguls
"a, stores in Chicago which make a pra
tice of showing the goods" as we
as the price before expecting to Sc
en- them.
&C. Mail Order House Tricks.
nd Much has been said about Il
rk methods of the mail order houses
ew securing business. Geo. B. Irving HI
'ut summed up some of these in the fl
M lowing article in my Town:
'oC The mail order house is partly
an sponsible for the introduction of u
desirable merchandise.
The methods of these stores are
place on sale grades of goods a lit
Hoff', in intrinsic valua hut which 10