New Britain herald. [microfilm reel] (New Britain, Conn.) 1890-1976, 1915-08-16
SAMPLE SHOES FOR
THE SIMPLE SOULS
Inferior Grades Masquerade in
GuiSe Of Advance Styles

| Writing for the New York Tribune,
Samuel Hopkins Adams, says that in
| ferior grades of sample shoes are be-
| ing pressed upon the simple minded
public under the guise of advance
| styles Mr.. Adams writes:
Have you ever, gentle reader
bought pair Of Sample Shoes? Yes
No.
At least, probably not The chances
more. sy4
| J But you've gone into sample shoe
/ stores? Doubtless And bought
shoes? Unquestionably. What, then,
does one buy in sample shoe stores,
if not sample shoes? Foot Junk most
ly. The sample shoe as an article of
staple trade is a myth. Upon this
myth and the public's carefully fos-
tered belief in it is built the struc-
ture of an extensive trade in "seconds''
DANA ged footgear, factory rejects,
ancient stock in the last stages Of
senile decay and other rag-tag and
bobtail of leather making a final stop
on its downward path to the scrap
heap. Mixed in with this rubbish is
a leaven of fairly good shoes of the
cheaper grades, almost invaria bly,,
however, sold by means of misrepre-
sentation. In fact, the very sign
"Sample Shoe Store" is, in itself, an
evidence of false pretence
Sample shoes do, of course, exist,
since factories sell from samples. They
are made in very limited range of
sizes and in the least number practi-
cable, because there is a special cost
of manufacture. Each factory sales
man takes on the road not a pair Of
sample shoes, but one of a pair to
show. After the buying is over these
divorced samples are remated and .
sold, often to the manufacturers own
trade. You will almost never find in
sample shoe store any stock with
the imprint of a high class make in
it, though you will frequently find
names suspiciously resem bling those
of the highest class trade. There are
probably not enough genuine sample !
shoes turned out in all the factories
Of this country to stock twenty good |
York city alone nearly 800 chaps do
H..
Says one Of the veterans of this line
who is now about to reform, in the
course of a complete revelation of his
trade methods CATER The Tribune had
caught him with the goods."D
"You want to know what chance a
customer has of getting real sample
shoes in sample shoe store Not one
in a thousand. No. not one in ten
thousand. Take my case. I've been
n the sample shoe business here for
years, and I've never yet sold a pair
IF sample shoes, as far as [ know. II
did it was by accident
Perhaps in pursuance of some OBJ
;cure PSYCHOLOGY Of the trade, sample
shoe stores typically keep off the
street level They do business mostly
m the second floor or further up,
With a show window or banner
nan" below to attract customers. 1t
,as been suggested that this gives to
he patron the feeling that the sample
being a rare and precious bargain,
must logically be sought for a little
apart from the ordinary paths of traf-
ic. NV own guess would be that
,heaper rent has something to do with
+ The sales force is, as rule, eager
and skilful They have little pat
err of their own, these clerks telling
YOU how they get their samples SIX
weeks in advance of any other store
in the trade"; how, 'if you bought
that shoe at swell shop, you wouldn't
pay less than $40 for it-not cent
less," congratulating you, after exhib-
ting the furrowed brow of thought,
that 1--WE just happen to have your
exact size in a very high grade sam
ple," and SO on. In every one of these
places visited I have heard a line of
talk identical in essence, and almost
in phrasing
At the entrance to the Fleischman
building, on Forty-sceond street, near
Sixth Ave-, appears the show window
of Youngs Sample Shoe Shop, which
operates on an upper floor Here The
Tribune purchasers negotiated with an
earnest and courteous salesman, who
incidentally gave them sketch of the
business ("our sample shoes are six
weeks in advance of any other store";
everything you you get here is the
highest grade of sample Shoe and so
on) for a pair of ladys buckskin
shoes, at $4.95.
And lucky to find them in the
right size, can assure you," said the
salesman. Anywhere else they'd be
$40 at the very least"
How can you sell them at that -
was the natural inquiry. Are they
in good condition !"
"Perfect," the salesman warmly as
sured us. you see, we get 'em cheap
because they're samples Genuine
high grade buckSkin."