The review. [volume] (High Point, N.C.) 1908-19??, 1921-09-08
Mark Prices in
Plain. Figures

! mated appears TO be not clearly known.
! The reason why it was adopted is also
something Of a puzzle, although plauS-
ihie solutions are offered. About the
only thing regarding il that is at all
definite is that it came into being
Years ago, when it was he custom Of
lie manufacturers and Wholesalers to
! ..''.ii 4, kind Of Chinese Wall around
sl:"t" husine@s and station regiment
II soldiers n every cate. In those
days, according - trade veterans.
commercial Spying was h:G. "sr.
and more than cNe man had his palm
ro~~ed with silver for posing as Il
buyer and thus obtaining price data
nj the competitors of the merchant
who hired him. In those days any
hing approaching the open-price as
SociatiOnS that had their being here
during the war would have been
looked upon as madness, for then, to
all intents and purposes, every mer-
chant regarded his competitors as per-
SOnal enemies.
One of the favortte codes used 10
the early days, it is said, was the oir
based on the old motto, ''In God We
u
containing but twelve letters, with no
Implications in the first ten. Thus
by dropping the final st." something
like this was arrived at:
INGOD WE TRU
1884 67S9O'
With this arrangement worked out. /
the rest was easy. If a man we're sell |
ing broadcloth at $50 yard, on his |
price ticket would appear the more
or less crytic sign d D g. Were he |
selling an OvercOat at S37.25 the mark !
on the ticket would be E n D. Some :
times the code would be varied by !
placing the figure ! under the q and !
numbering in sequence to the left in |
stead Of to the right Thousands Of !
codes and variations OF original ones |
have since been devised.
Frequently Abused.
While there seems to be little doubt
That the code system vas adopted orig
inally as a protective measure. it was
not long before it began to be used for
more Interior purposes. What was
there, somebody evidently argued, to
prevent the use Of the code to fool
buyers as to the real price? In it's
early days, at least, wholesale bust
ness was no more conducted on a
strictly ore-price basis than was re-
tail selling. Therefore, not only did
a code price frequently mean differ
ent quotations to different buyers,
but it often meant the minimum fig
ure at which yard of goods or a
no
men were permitted to get ANYTHING
they could above the figure Indicated
by the code. and as they were paid
in comparison with what they sold.
they tried to get all the traffic would
bear. That way of doing business pre-
vailed in one of the biggest Wholesale
houses in the country for years, it is /
said, and the gentle art Of buyinp
there was rendered more difficult hy
the fact that practically every kind !
of merchandise sold by the concern
had different code
Instances like those noted above
have been paralleled many times. ac-
cOrding to the buyers heretofore mon
toned. In late years, however. sales
men have had less leeway, if any at
all, in connection with fixing prices
Because of this the double-Drice svs-
TEN to different buyers is 'workedn
more in the salesrOoms than on tha
road. Also, it is asserted. the nrac-
tice referred to is now very JarooI,y
confined to the garment trades. Tn
the hands OF smooth worker, usual
ly member OF the firm or the So
cahed general representative, the
cryptic code letters can mean s37 20
to one buyer and $37.25 to another
To really favored buyer II might
mean even less.