Toledo union journal. [volume] (Toledo, Ohio) 1942-current, 1948-11-26
"How
To Buy
Don't Be Sonfo
To Credit
Gougers
by Sidney Margolius
for Labor Press Associates
Editors Note: First of a
series on buying hints.

Editors Note: First of a
series on buying hints).
Wage-earners don't like tC
haggle over Christmas. That:
just why many traditionally ge'
clipped for a lot of extra money
when they go to buy gifts. They
haven't got the cash so they
buy on credit. When they do
they let themselves in for {
double squeeze play:
Mot only are prices oi
gift-type goods higher at Christ.
mas than any other time of the
year. But the inStallment store;
that every Christmas plug the
idea of buying presents on Gre
dit, charge highest prices of al
for many gift items.
/ 2-Besides the excessively
high price tags on gifts bought
on installments, the charge fOI
the credit itself mounts uI
faster than you think.
4 One union printed learned last
I Christmas how stores that sell
chiefly on credit overcharge for
gifts. This mans son went out
Il to buy his girl a diamond ring
4 for Christmas. He found one
with nice big stone at GER
tain New York credit jewelry
store. The price was S240. But
the salesman assured the boy
he could pay it off $3.50 week
- for two years.
The boy decided he could
handle $3.50 a week all right
But when he got home, his dad,
a seasoned trade unionist, was
cagy enough to have the ring
appraised by a neighborhood
jeweler. The ring turned out to
be worth just $3.50. They had
the devils own time making
the credit store take it back
since the store already had the
boys signature on a contract,
They finally did, but only after
the father threatened to call
the Better Business Bureau,
the newspapers and the mayor
One of the most shameful
gouges some credit stores per-
petrate upon working people is
to hoodwink them into unwit-
tingly signing contracts. In one
case of which this writer knows,
the store each Christmas would
send its statesmen out to near
by factories and docks, carrying
watches and jewelry with him.
The statesmen persuaded wage
earners to take watches home
on approval and asked them
just to sign a paper which they
said was a receipt"
But later when the men tried
to return the watches, they
found that those receipts were
actually bills of sale complete
with wage garnishee clauses.
Either they had to pay for those
watches, or the jewelry firm
would go to the boss and collect
the debt of their wages.
Best way to avoid fixes like
that this Christmas is to save
up the cash beforehand for the
gifts you want to buy, and shop
around in cash stores for the
lowest prices. Cash saves you
lot more money in the long run,
both in the price on the arti-
Gle and the credit fees, even
though it may be painful to-
part with a lump of it at one
time.
If you need to buy a big
ticket item like a watch, wash
ing machine or electric train
set, and haven't got the cash:
TRY arranging a charge
account at the store where you
plan to buy it. Many department
stores extend charge-accounti
credit with new service fees.
You can have up to so days to
accumulate the cash to pay your
dill. But make sure the store
has a low price on the item you
want; don't buy it there just
because they'll let you charge
t.
2-If the charge-accOunt me-
hod won't work out for you.
your best bet is to borrow the
ash from the credit union in
yOur plant or shop, and then
hop the cash stores. No credit
lniOn? Next best bet is to Sec
ire a loan from a commercial
,ank - not a small-loan COM
,any, and then shop with the
ash. Most regular banks these
lays make monthly-payment
oans to employed persons gen.
rally without any co-signers or
ollateral, and their charges for
uch loans are frequently only
e-third of the fees exacted
~ small-loan companies,
3-One reasonable way to
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