Devils Lake world. (Devils Lake, N.D.) 1914-1915, 1914-05-15

From a. number Of. :1ettera Iecaipsd.
during the past few. weeks relating to
the buying Of goods from msil.: order
houses We MISUNDERSTANDING:
From a Mooreton Subscriber:
tsFrom the amount Of goods coming
here from mail order houses it seems
that the farmers here do not: have
much use for. their. homo town. If
these farmers who think. they are get
ting wholesale. prices, will keep track
of what they buy and the total cost
and compare the cost with what they
would have to pay. at home, they
would find that they were really not
making anything but harl feelings.
One great advantage you have, In the
home town dealer is this. If you 60
to him when you are short Of money
you can get the goods just the same
while the only way you can buy goods
from a mail order house is to send
the cash with the order.
What would the farmers here be
worth if it were not for the little
towns9 If the mail order house bust
ness is not cut out soon there will be
no little towns as the merchants can
not live without business. The writ
er has done his trading in Mooreton
for fifteen years and has never been
held up yet. Give the merchant a
chance.
Another man writes: "Here are a
few reasons why I do not trade at
home. There is no difference be-
tween cash and credit prices. There
is no difference between dlivered and
undelivered goods. I have to pay
the stores bad debts and if in a
pinch, wouldn't get much credit. Ev-
cry time a storekeeper helps sup
port the churches and lodges I have to
pay so much more for goods. Be.
cause I see four or five storekeepers
in a little town where one would be
enough and I see an army Of ~extrava.
CANT travelling statesmen chasing each
other over the country each one with
a different line Of goods when the
goods could just as well be bought
by mail. Too many storekeepers and
travelling statesmen add at least 80
per cent to the cost of goods.
The tendency of the times Judging
from the numerous letters on the
subject we have received and from
our W oberservation, is toward the
big eastern houses who do business
thru the mail. And why is this9. Tt
is simply because the mail order house
es thru their advertising are convinc-
ing people that they are selling goods
at a lower price than the local dealer
can afford to make. The mail order
houses are spending not thousands bnt
millions of dollars in advertising an.
nually and their advertisements saw
That they can make lower prices be.
cause they buy in larger quantities
and sell for cash. They claim to save
much money in both the buying and
selling ends of their business and 70
give the customer the benefit of that
saving. But is it so?
A Chicago mail order house recent.
~ made arrangements to ship thirty
SIX car loads of catalogues to Fargo
from where they are to be distributed
over a certain territory tributory +,
that city. The number of catalogues
in the shipment will be about two hun
dred thousand and the cost Of pro.
ducing them and distributing them
will probably not be far from one dol,
lar each. That is an item of expense
that the local dealer does not have.
Statistics show that the expense Of
doing business Of mail order and dc,
partment store concerns is greater by
far than the expense Of the small
$1,000
town merchant and also that the per.
centage Of net profit is greater. The
mail order houses spend hundreds of
thousands of dollars in rents and mil.
lions Of dollars for advertising while
the country merchant spends but lit.
tie for these purposes.
Anyone who thinks the mail orde,
house does business on a email mar.
gin of profit except on leaders is
very much mistaken. Their expenses
are SO high and their desire for divi.
dends SO strong that they must Of ne.
cessity add a high rate Of profit Ia
the cost Of the goods. .
When everything is taken we he.
lieve that the country dealer can and
does sell most goods at prices as low
as the mail order houses when quality
and freight is considered. There Is
a chance for the merchant and the
farmer to get together and compare
notes and If thev get together wa he.