St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1915-04-21

the merchant will have money to dis
count his bills, can run his business
with less clerks, and can sell his
goods at lower prices. know OF
two lines of business which are run
on a cash basis, viz: liquor, saloons
and mail order houses in Chicago,
Ill. / never knew of anyone who
could get trusted at a mail order
house in Chicago; though l will ad-
nit that good old Rip Van Wrinkle
hung the bartender up for quite
bill for schnapps. If people of Ran
dOlph have the cash to pay for liquor
and Chicago mail order house goods.
Mr.. Merchant, why don't they pay
cash for your goods?
We do not fully agree with Mr..
Brigham's statement that people can
buy cheaper of a mail order house
than at the local stores. They can
buy most articles from a mail order
house for less money than from their
local dealer but the article they buy
is worth much less than the home
offered article. This is so often the
case in the printing business that we
feel We understand somewhat the To-
who feel they are unusually sharp
buyers come to us for a price on a
certain job of printing. We figure
what it will cost to have a compe-
tent workman receiving good wages
do the work and make the mechanical
work correct and attractive, how
much stock of a grade good enough
to stand up under the wear and tear
such a line of printing is likely to
receive, quality of ink that will
give some life and character to the
printing, the cost of operating a per-
feet press and add certain per cent
profit and tell our sharp friend what
we will do the work for. He repeats
the figure to us to be sure it is I'M
derstood and goes out. That is the
last we see of him because he goes
elsewhere and says he thinks our
price is high and wants that printer
to figure on the job. Printer num-
Der two does not have so capable |
workmen and is paying them the
low wages of Incompetence. They |
sometimes can set a job right but of
tener make botches of it. His ma
chinery is old and worn out and does |
not represent a quarter of the invest |
ment that good machinery does. He |
has some stock that looks white and |
smooth while new that costs about |
two-thirds what the original stock |
did and he does name a price lower
than ours and Mr.. Sharper accepts his
price with a rush and is convinced |
we are unreasonably high priced. He
tells his friends he patronizes the
other fellow because he can get his
printing cheaper there.
Now the fact is he has not secured
his printing cheaper but he has got
much cheaper printing. He thinks
he is smart when the truth is he is so
foolish he does not know the differ
ence between those two results. He
has refused to allow the first man to
demonstrate to him what good print
ing is worth, he has simply fallen be-
is exactly the case with the patron
of the mail order house. He does not
buy cheap but gets cheap goods. He
thinks he is sharp but he really is
foolish.
The local man is following a mis-
taken policy in letting him continue
to buy cheap goods and growing
about the mail order man who gets
the business. He should educate the
people as to the quality of the goods
he offers. He should do it the same
as the mail order house does it, not
in his store but in his advertising l.
A cheap suit of clothes or piece of
cloth will look well when clean and
pressed out smooth the same as a
better suit. But when one is caught
out in shower or has some other
test of the real quality of his clothes
the cheap suit shows it's cheapness.
The local merchant should be able to
demonstrate this to even the foolish
buyer and he can convince the peo-
pie that he has quality to sell if he
will persistently advertise that fact
and deliver the goods when the Gus
toner comes. In nine cases out of h
ten you can trade better at home than
else and if your home mer-
chant can do it he should tell you
so through your local paper, not sit
on an empty soap box and swear
about business.
All the world loves a lover unless s