Worcester Democrat and the ledger-enterprise. (Pocomoke City, Md.) 1921-1953, 1939-02-03
Business Man Not Blamed
For Shopping Troubles

When a housewife has shopping
troubles, is the bushes man to blame ?
A Midwestern business mems organl
xation recently invited a group of
expert housekeepers to discuss this
question frankly in a novel radio
broadcast in which no comments or
criticisms were barred. Imagine the
business mems surprise when the wo-
men-including former dietitian and
q former magazine editor-freely adj
mitted that the answer was, "No."
Most shopping troubles, the women
said, are caused by the fact that house
wives devote too little study to the
problem, and fail to make clear to the
merchant exactly what kind of quality
or goods they want. Business men
have been Extremely alert to give
the public what it wants" the board of
experts conceded-but the purchaser
doesn't always make clear what it is
ahe wants.
Retail prices are closely geared to
value, the women agreed, and the pur-
chaser can be assured of getting
what she pays for" Many buyers
are disappointed rather than helped
by this fact, however, because they
make a practice of buying the cheaper
of two articles which look alike. Two
upholstered chairs of similar appear
ance may be very different in quality
and durability, because much of what
the buyer is paying for is beneath the
surface.
Electric appliances offer some good
examples of getting what you pay
for" The seal of approval of the
Underwriters Laboratories indicates
equipment that meets reasonable STAN
dards of safety and efficiency; how
ever, the durability, beauty and spec
ial advantages of the various applian-
ces bearing this seal are determined
largely by the price at which they are
sold.
In this field it is particularly i'm
portant never to try to save money by
purchasing products. Take for exam
pie the case of bargain" fuses not
approved by the Underwriters Labora
tories. The most that can saved by
using them is about two cents
you have no assurance that they will
give adequate protection against fire
or damage.
For only few cents more than one
Of these doubtful devices costs, you
can get the most efficient type of cir
cult protection, fustats which not only
are sure to blow out when danger
threatens, but also are proof against
mistaken use of the. wrong size or
any form of "doctoring" that would
prevent them from working. Since
many fires can be traced directly to
use of the wrong size protective device
or someone's careless tinkering with
It, you get a lot of value for the extra
pennies when you choose fustats.
In this case, few cents may save
your homeland in many other cases,
where the extra value isn't quite as
obvious, you still profit greatly by
remembering that you "get what you
pay for"
So the next time you are dissatisfied
with purchase, ask yourself if you
studied your needs, made them clear
to the merchant and then accepted
his advice-or if you attempted to
"get bargain" and actually bought
an article that was too cheap to give
the satisfaction you demanded.
And remember too, the women sug-
gested, that only by visiting retail
stores regularly, and above all watch
ing their advertisements, can you get
up-to-the-minute knowledge of values
and products that is essential to sue
cessful shopping.