The Delta independent., 1919-11-07
Local Dealers Do Business In Open
Know They Must Face the Music if Their Customers Are
Dspeased With Goods and Service
MEET PATRONS FACE TO FACE
Mail Order Men Prefer to Sell At Iona
Distance Rather Than Deal
With People In Their
Own citiea


who orders goods from a mail order
house is that there are many things
that he wants that the local mer-
chants do not carry in stock. and that
1t Is necessary for him to send away
from town to get them.
This explanation may be all right
on the theory that poor excuse is
better than none, but it fails to pass
muster when 1t is subjected to lit
tie scrutiny
Ask the man who offers this as an
order man why he does not go to the
local merchant and ask him TO order
the articles desired If they are not to
be found in the merchants stock. The
merchant Will very gladly do this and
the merchant and customer Will both
profit. The merchant can sell you
whatever you desire at as low Il price
as the mail order house can make you
on goods the same quality and he can
make small profit.
The customer will profit from the
transaction. because he will be deal
ing with merchant who stands back
Of the goods that he sells, and who
is easily accessible In case the arti-
cles purchased do not prove to be
all that the customer had expected.
Give Home Merchant Preference.
Why not try this plan the next time
you need something which you can
not find ia any of your home stores?
The merchant in the average sized
town cannot carry in stock everything
that all of the people in his town may
want at all times. II would require
capital many times larger than the
average merchant can command to do
this, but he does the best he can.
he ordinarily does carry in stock at
all times many things for which there
ls no general demand. in order that he
may meet the needs OF his customers
to the greatest possible degree, but
there is limit to his purchasing abil-
ty. He is always ready and willing.
however to make every effort to meet
the demands of the community. Why
not then. give him the preference over
the far-distant mail order man II you
must have something which Is not to
be found In the local stores? He
will do the business in a satisfactory
manner, give you as quick II not quick
er service and more satisfactory treat
ment. and the chances are that
he will give you better values for the
money. Finally, whatever profit Is to
be made OF the transaction will stay
at home and do its bit toward making
the merchant and his town and. Incl
dentally, yourself, more prosperous.
No business can be transacted A.
satisfactorily at long range as II can
when the two parties to the transac-
ton meet face to face. The only ex-
ception to this rule is in the case Of
the mail order man himself. who can
transact his business with greater sue
cess to himself at long distance than
he could II he had to meet his Gus
toners face to face. That Is the reason
that he does business by mail instead
Of selling to the people in his own
city. II the goods which the mail or
der man advertises In his alluring cat
alogues were the bargains that he rep
resents them to be, he would not have
10 go outside OF the confines Of his
own city to sell all the goods he could
possibly obtain. But the average mail
order house not only does not make
any effort to sell goods in Its own city.
but will not sell to anyone residing
within the city limits. The mall order
man does not want to meet his Gus
toners face to face. He can do busi-
ness better so far as he is concerned II
his customer is some hundreds Of miles
away from his office.
l.
The man who sells goods over the
counter, on the other hand. does busi-
ness in the open. He cannot hide be-
hind corporate name or talk to dis
pleased customer from behind the
locked doors OF n private ONCE. He
knows that he must face the music in
case he Is n party to any transaction
that won't stand the light Of day. He
knows TINT he must satisfy every GUS
toner with whom he may be dealing
or he will lose not only that customer
but probably others who will soon
know all the facts II he does not do the
square thing by any one of his
patrons.
There Is no reason in the world for
any person 10 send his money to a
mail order house because he cannot
find the article he wants in his local
store. The local merchant is m Dusi-
ness for the very purpose of getting
you what you want. He has the infor-
nation that will enable him to get
what you want and to get II as quick
ly ms you could get II from n mail or
der house. II is only fair TO him to
give him the chance to make such
,,rn0t nc ,nv boolnr would IN n kc Ofr thp