The Caldwell tribune., 1922-02-03
Consumer Takes Long Chance
When He Buys From the
Mail Order House.
GENERALLY IS LOSING GAME
Method Of Doing Business 10 Very
Different When You Purchase
Goods From Your Home
Merchant.
(Copyright.)


OF course you did. What boy has not {
risked his jackknife or his choicest mar ,
BILE on such a proposition and how oft
en- has he repented of his rash deed 1
when he discovered what he got in the
trade? He generally found that the
deal turned out to the advantage of
the one who made the proposition.
There is little Of the gambling In
stinct in the blood of nearly every man,
woman and child, but even the hard
ened gambler likes to get "run for
his money" The "sight unseen" prop
osition doesn't appeal to him in the
least. There are thousands of people,
however, who would be properly indig-
nant If they were accused of being
gamblers, who every day take a chance
on the greatest gambling game in the
world. And worse than that, they are
risking their money on sight un-
seen" proposition.
When one of the thousands Of per-
sons who build up and keep up the
great mail order houses of the country
sends his money away to pay for some
article that he has selected from the
mail order catalogue, he Is taking a
chance on getting what he expects to
get. The mail order house may be
perfectly honest and still the purchas-
er stands a good chance of not get
ting what he expects to get. The mail
order catalogues are filled with pic
! lures that catch the eye. The de-
scriptions are brief, as they must be
when thousands of articles are to be
described within tfx confines Of one
book. No matter how hard the mail
order house might try to tell the truth,
the whole truth and nothing but the
truth, it would be an impossibility
The buyer is simply taking a chance
Buying "sight Unseen"
4 How much more satisfactory it IL
to walk into store in your home tow
, and ask to see an article which 20,
, may have seen advertised in you
J home paper. What would anyon
t think of your business ability or you
j common sense If you walked into
store at home and said: II saw
picture in the paper today of a sui
{ which liked very much. Please wral
E up one for me. Here's the money.
9 The merchant would think that 70,
!? were crazy, but that is exactly wha
t you do every time you send an orde
: to a mail order house. You buy "sigh
f unseen" and you haven't ghost of
9 chance of getting your money back
the article is unsatisfactory when
8 reaches you.
t How different is the proceedin
when you go into the store In you
g own home town to buy a suit
o clothes, or stove or yard of ribbol
% You may have seen picture OF 1t
the merchants advertisement in tn
+ home paper and you know that, as I'll
y merchant is reliable. you can count
the goods being as he represents the
in his advertisement. But does he as
n you to take his word for everything
y Does he hide sthe article behind Il
~ counter and tell you that you can
"a even see it until you buy 1t and pf
\ over the money for it? Hardly. .
ko the article is not already In plain sig
"a on the counter, the merchant produc
4 It for your inspection. If 1t does n
m exactly suit you, he has others tn
=. are little different and that he is gl'
Ie to have you inspect.
~ Get Merchant's Guarantee.
y. Then, II 1t is a suit Of clothes y
y. are buying, or q piece OF dress goo
ei or pair Of socks. you may ask If t
no merchant viii guarantee that 1t "
no wear as long as an article of that XII
" could be expected to wear and he "
pc ps tell you either that he will guarant
ah II or that he will not. If he tells y
no that he will guarantee 1t you will KIN
no that you will get your money back
-. another suit or another pair of 500
'er in its place IL 1t doesn't wear like
'oA should, for the merchant, besides
ing an honest man In most cases, c
ly- not afford not to make his word go
se' He is dependent upon your busin
ny. and that of others In his own comI
no nifty and he cannot afford to misreI
aro sent his goods.
After having all this opportunity
see what you are buying, you take y
ess suit or your stove or whatever II
.an you buy home or 1t Is sent home
md you without any delivery charges,
to after you get home and take anot
In look at 1t and decide you don't "
us 1t after all, you send 1t back.
the You are not buying something IS
be unseen" when you buy from your h
in merchant. You don't look at pic
der of an article N a newspaper, rea
ave short description Of 1t, go to the
to Office and buy q money order and
he 1t to the merchant with the inst
not tions, "Send me suit Of clothes"
ari- q stove or whatever 1t may be-
I'll pay your delivery man 90 cents
, an delivering 1t to me-"
hey There's a world of difference In
nail two methods of doing business ant
usi- not hard to figure out which is the
for the man who II doing the buyir