Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1915-12-24
Confessions ST a
Mail Order Man
By MIR. M. o. x.
Revelations by One Whose Experience In
the Business Covers Range From
Office Boy to General Manager
SOME TRICKS OF THE GAME.

proposition, it is impossible for any
concern to give customers anything
unless there is a payment for it.
In other words, nobody gives any
thing for nothing.
1t isn't possible to give more than
a commercial value in merchandise
for the amount paid. It isn't possible
to do profitable business unless mer-
chandise is sold for a price that is
greater than the cost and the expense
of handling. A profit must be added
in all cases.
Some concerns can buy goods at
slight advantage over others. 1t de-
pends on the quantity ordered at one
time more than anything else. No
manufacturer will sell merchandise to
one concern cheaper than to another
unless there is some compensation.
These price concessions generally
consist of small cash discount or
small discount for large quantities.
1t was always my custom when con-
tracing for any article to make a
price contract for an enormous guam
tity. 1 always paid cash, with your
money, therefore this was possible,
and l obtained also a cash discount.
In this way the manufacturer, or the
jobber, had no selling expense, in
many instances the manufacturer dis
posing on this sort of contract to my
concern of his entire output. These
discounts and price concessions on
small articles frequently did not
amount to more than fraction of a
cent on single article. But in buy
ing l was out to get the very best
prices and make the very best deals
I could.
But 1 worked out ways for making
even more money for my mail order
concern. 1 cut down the value of the
article in the making. l arranged
with the manufacturer to produce an
article, looking in every way to the
person who knew no better, like the
genuine article, but it wasn't.
I produced what were practically
counterfeits. l cheated the people
who bought those articles.
Here's how I did it. Take, for ex
ample, tin cup, a tin pail or tin
plate-in fact any article made of tin
would figure it out like this. In
the first place we would use tin of q
certain less weight, thinner and not
so good. Where the top curls over
the manufacturer formerly put 8
wire around, hidden from view, but il
was there. This wire made the ar
ticle stronger 1t would stand veal
better and longer.
would take the wire out. / would
make a lighter handle or, in some
way cut down both the quality an(
the quantity of material used in max
ing the article.
article. l lessened the cost of max
ing, which made a better profit for me
OF course, the article was not SO good
and would not wear so long as th'
honest, old-fashioned kind-such a
your local dealer buys for his stock
But in my catalogue the illustration
made it look 'just as good" and tina
was all that I cared for.
Certainly, the sooner it wore out, o
got smashed or broken, the sooner yo
would be compelled to send for an
other. Oh, yes, l thought that al
out, too.
In wooden ware 1 figured the same
l would order quantity, maxim,
them up from cheaper grade @
wood. If it had hoops 1 would hav
and bottom would be thinner. L
some way would cut down the quar-
tity and value of the material use
for the making, SO it would cost less
So this is how I could cut price
on such things. l did cut price
on some articles, things like thes
and because of the manner in whic
they were made. But the manufactul
er would not put his brand on sue
stuff. Not he. He would say: 'T
put your brand on that article. L
be ashamed to have my brand on i
I'd be ashamed to let anybody thin
that I'd turn out that kind of junk.
Then he would stamp my bran
on it.
What did 1 care. l got your none
in advance as payment for the a
ticle and what would you, way oil
in the little country town, kno'
about how it should be made?
would last all the quicker and the
you would order another. -Surel,
that's how it was figured.
Now, think it over. Look on som
of the articles you have bought an
see if the name of the manufacture
is stamped on it.
1 nearly forgot one thing. l bes
that game, too, in a certain cleve
manner, because there's more tina
one way of fooling you.
l would create a fancy name fc
fake manufacturer. There would b
no such concern. 1 would STAN
BLANK Mfg. Co." or Moon Mfg. Co
or some such fancy name, because
was kind of ashamed to have eve
my name stamped on some of the stu
I sent out.
l contracted for canned goods wit
manufacturers and would create bran
names. He would have pretty, ia,
cy label printed for us and 1 used a
, sorts of devices to fool customer
| guess | must have sent out lot {
terrible stuff in those cans, but l mao
big money out of them and it ws
profitable.