Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1915-02-12
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
KEEP YOUR MONEY IN YOUR
OWN COMMUNITY.

OWN COMMUNITY.
have endeavored to arouse in your
minds a feeling of dismay at the
thought of what you have been doing in
sending your money to the mail order
houses instead of spending your dol
lars at home and thereby helping your
local communities to prosper
In unrestricted terms l have char
acterized the folly of helping big cor
porations to profit at the expense of
your local merchants. l have tried to
show you the criminality, against your
self, your townspeople and your de-
scendants, of scorning the prosperity
of your own communities and deliber-
ately working against the interests of
your own towns by sending your funds
to the city.
: l have depicted the foolishness of
buying from mail order houses when
you can obtain just as good or better
merchandise from your own local mer-
chants and have exposed the meth
DDS in vogue in at least one mail order
concern.
These articles have been addressed
to those of you who live in the smaller
communities and in the country
where you are compelled to rely on
individual honesty among yourselves
rather than on the pledges OF men
who do business with brass bands
and pages of newspaper advertising.
Experience is the greatest and the
best teacher and my experience has
taught me that it is preferable to
transact business with man person
ally known, rather than with an un-
definable concern without identity ex-
cept as a corporation In the big cities
we are compelled to deal wholly with
the latter, while in the smaller cities
and towns you can meet the former
face to face and do your business d.
rect
In buying and selling there is no
/, dealer or merchant that does not know
| that the crooked deals come home to
roost-therefore it is the better part
OF discretion, as well as simple hon.
esty. to give full value to customer.
/ The dealer in the small town cannot
hide behind corporate name or con.
1 ceal himself in a private Office from
the customer who has been fooled
He must face the music IN case he
transgresses, and he realizes that he
must satisfy his customers or he will
lose them.
Honesty is bred in small commu
mites and is fostered, while in large
cities it is only too often lost sight Of
because of the immunity that comes
with not meeting the customer in per
/ son. Clerks and other employees
| must bear the burden of reproach ant
censure while the 'man higher up
never hears of such things. Excuses
! are all readymade and framed tt
meet all contingencies by the heads
| of mail order houses and in case of 6
complaint from a customer the cor
| respondent as rule merely indicates
! certain form letter
But in your own home town youl
merchant meets you face to face ant
he is always on the job. He can al
ways be found at his place of business
and in case of complaint he is righ
there to see that you are satisfied
before you leave his store. He wants
to please you and he will try, sincere
ly, to please you He wants to holt
your custom.
Now isn't this much better way t,
deal than to send your money ava.
to thu city? Isn't it much better tt
deal with man in your own commu
| nifty, and pay him your money, rathe
than to send it away to the big mai
order house in the city, where it i
treated exactly like 80 many thousand
OF other orders? Isn't it better t
deal at home and keep the cash in Gil
culation in your own community. thai
to send the dollars away where yo
or your neighbors will never zee theI
again?
Dollars will breed dollars None
in your community will create pro:
perity for yourself and your friends
Keep the cash at home and busines
will be better all round.
Some of you will say: There ar
so many things that must send ava
/ for"
In such case, why not let your ow
, dealer send for them for you? He
| N business. He can get wholesal
prices where you must pay retail Tha
is why he is in business. He mus
make profit in order to pay his re1
| and support his family. He must max
, a profit in order to be able to carr
! the things you require on his shelve
and counters
l If you need something that he doe
' not carry in stock, just ask him
+ send to the city for it. He win do S
, gladly. He will obtain a discount o
the retail price and this will affor
] him a small profit for his labor. Yo
3 pay to him the same price that yC
e would pay to the city merchant {
= manufacturer.
q Why not let him do this for yor
;. He is responsible. He will do Il
:. business in a satisfactory manner ar
n probably give better service and MOI
d satisfactory probably
g better value for you.
Live and let live is the motto th
0 makes the world go around smooth
snd peacefully in SO far as we morta
l. are concerned. Let your local me
9 chant live. by giving him the oppo
I tunity to make dollar now and the
: and you will be much better please
with yourself as well as much mo
satisfied with some of your purchase
Your local merchant is loyal
and your local newspaper. Both G
4 cupy places that you cannot fill
d any service through a mail ord
e house.
10 Think how you will miss them
g. -, .L Os - H. .