Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1922-09-27
PAYING OVERHEAD
I'm LARGE CITIES
When You Shop Away From H0sze
Town You Are Contributing to
Big Display Expenses
HUGE SHOPPING COSTS

Figuring the advantage of buying
from Viroqua merchants is as simple
as that. 1t is a question of elemeM-
tary arithmetic. When an out-of- town
merchant begins talking quantity
buying" and quantity selling" he Il
trying to confuse you with high-sound-
ing terms so as to maize you lose sight
of the fundamental issue.
All you have to do in that case is b.
| get out pencil and paper to bring hin
down to brass taeks-
Figures are bound to tell the truth.
What do they show us?
Big town is 100 miles from Viroqua
on the main line of the railroad. Other
things being equal, the largest store
in Big Town can save its customers
more money than the smallest store,
and on the grounds urged by our Big
Town merchant quantity buying" and
quantity selling" just how thib
comes about Is obvious ow err
freights, cash discounts, bigger as
sentiments, lower prices, quick turn
over, smaller overhead in properties
to each article and so on.
THE BIG TOWN IDEA
The Viroqua merchant can argue in
the same fashion, and II is just as trus
here as it is in Big Town
Both are right-the merchant in Bag
| Town, so far as his customers IN Big
Town are concerned, and the merchant
| in Viroqua so far as his customers In
! Viroqua are concerned.
But the merchant in Big Town can't
extend his territory TO include Viroqu1
in this promise of benefits that come
to customers from buying at his store.
! What would you say If Virouua mer-
! chants inserted advertisements in thu
Big Town papers 100 miles away and
promised To save money To the peopko
| there If they passed by their own mex-
! chants, took the train for Viroqua ana
bought of the merchants here? You
would call them fools, if you didn't
use stronger language.
Yet the case isn't so much different
the other way round.
| Let's get down to the figures.
BIG CITY SHOPPING COSTS
| Mrs. Viroqua goes to Big Town for
a days shopping. The fare, back and
| forth, at cents n mile is SIS. A half
/ day is consumed on the cars, more IL
! the trip is made by trolley. How much
this amounts to depends on what her
| day is worth to her in dollars ard
cents. If the train goes in in thu
morning and comes back at night,
there is only luncheon to figure into
the bill, say 81. If the train goes in
in the afternoon and comes back the
following forenoon, there must be add
ed dinner at night, bed at the hotel
and breakfast next morning ,aggregat~
ing SO at least. If she goes to thE
theatre that night, there is at least
another 81 to add into her "over head"
for the trip.
Not a single article has been figur-
ed in, an dali this expense has beer
| incurred.
Therefore, to make the trip worth
while at all, she must buy large bill
Of goods. The average family is not
in a position to do its buying on thin
basis. You and | can't stock mp w
winter suits and dresses this summer
or summer suits when IL is winter
| If we have what we need 10 wear, and
| just little bit more, we consider our
selves lucky. But the trip 10 Big
Town means just that sort of buying
"spree." We buy more than we need
We tie up money that might well be
earning US interest in the Viroqua
Savings Bank. The things are out Of
style before we wear them out, and we
go around in them knowing 80 are a
"sight"before our more sensible neigh
bors, or else we give them to the first
tramp that begs at our back door
BARGAIN COUNTER" LURE
Furthermore, this kind Of buyer is
also the victim Of the bargain coun-
ter. The very words are a lie. Such
goods are cheap for the very good rta-
son that the Big Town merchant wanu
TO get rid of them at any cost TSsy
may be shelf-worn, or out of season,
or what not, in which case they would
be high at any price.
After you get back home, If you arr
dissatisfied with some Of your puT-
chases, you can't exchange them, be-
cause the cost of another trip maker
that prohibitive.
IL you have come from such trip
recently, price the things you bought
in Big Town at the Viroqua stores
and striks balance on the profits and
losses Of the trip. That will convince
you beyond argument as 10 why yUr
should buy Of the home merchant.
MAIL ORDERS DISAPPOINT
If you have just received bill OF
goods from a mail-order store, sub
jet il to the same acid test. Figure
your money order fee, your postage.
your freight and express charges, in
surance and the time you wasted.
Then take into account breakage short
age and recorder. But, most import
ant Of all, the illustration and deserip-
tion in the catalogue, except iE the
case Of Il few staple and standard ar
ticles, led you to expect better goods
and you are disappointed. You keep
them under protest, or you exchange
them and incur further expenditure.
Why buying in n big cit Wis expen-
sive will be discussed in next week'a
article