MASTER NEGATIVE NO. 95-82379- 11 COPYRIGHT STATEMENT The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted materials including foreign works under certain conditions. In addition, the United States extends protection to foreign works by means of various international conventions, bilateral agreements, and proclamations. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be "used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research." If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use," that user may be liable for copyright infringement. The Columbia University Libraries reserve the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in Its judgement, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of the copyright law. Author: Bird, Thomas Alexander Title: Sales plans Place: Chicago Date: [1906] COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES PRESERVATION DIVISION BIBLIOGRAPHIC MICROFORM TARGET 9^- 8Z3-79- // MASTER NEGATIVE « ORIGINAL MATERIAL AS FILMED - EXISTING BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD 262 B532 Bird, Thomas Alexander, 1871- comp. Sales plans ; a collection of three hundred and thirty- three successful ways of getting business, including a great variety of practical plans that have been used by retail merchants to advertise and sell goods ; comp. and ed. by Thomas A. Bird. Chicago, The Merchants record company [''1906] 282 p. illus. 23J cm J_^ Salesmen and salesmanship. 2. Advertising. 3^^ Business. i^Title. 6—13429 Library of Congress Copyright A 138934 O HFS438.B62 RESTRICTIONS ON USE: TECHNICAL MICROFORM DATA FILM SIZE: 36 Al/n REDUCTION RATIO: Z:^/ IMAGE PLACEMENT: lA (HA^ IB ilB ^ DATE FILMED: ^^A-VW" INITIALS: ^^ TRACKING # : tr\^ oSlo^ FILMED BY PRESERVATION RESOURCES, BETHLEHEM. PA. A^/ A; ^ '^. CJI 3 3 O > •-♦■ ^ go OOM o c^- ■^e: ^<. 3 3 > CD o m CD O OQ N> (Jj- , ^ o O C CO <: N X M o ■^ . e!!^^^^ > ».* .•^^ A^' ^. ."b^^ 'V? ^y. 'S^.' o: e: ^^: > *V »*^' o 3 3 o 3 3 <^^ > Ui J^/ a^ s 3 3 O IS m m <>■ s m ro ro cn 1.0 mm A ^ /?5 2.0 mm ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcde(ghi|Klmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890 ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzl234567890 ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890 2.5 mm ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890 .<^^ ^ V ^^ ^c? ip ^^ ^^ As ^ ^> '^. A> "'S' '4^ ■^ 4^ v >?= '^ -^ ^ ^o %^ o o "o m -o > C CO I TJ ^ m 3D o ^^>^. 'l^ 4' ^ •— • ro UI O 3 3 3 3 If n 8 ■V ♦^v**. 4^z^;r i SALES PLANS A COLLECTION OF THREE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-THREE SUCCESSFUL WAYS OF GETTING BUSINESS INCLUDING A GREAT VARIETY OF PRACTICAL PLANS THAT HAVE BEEN USED BY RETAIL MERCHANTS TO ADVERTISE AND SELL GOODS COMPILED AND EDITED BY THOMAS A. BIRD siHi w wmm PUBLISHERS THE MERCHANTS RECORD COMPANY CHICAGO / 3 " ;2. ^ J 9 .^ Copyright, 1906. by The Merchants Record Company X Xxj^ ' 3 ^^^ ^532. NOTICE. In preparing this book, the purpose has been to present to the merchant and advertising man a large and varied collection of practical ideas for getting more business. The plans described represent the best and most original ideas that have been devel- oped during the last two or three years. All of them have been used successfully. Most of them are described and commented upon by the merchants or advertising men who have used them. The collection is as complete as could be made through the comprehensive reporting service of the Merchants' Record and Show Window, in which journal all of these plans have been published. While completeness has been aimed at, in view of the practical purpose of this book, all of the commonplace sales plans with which every merchant may reasonably be supposed to be familiar have been omitted. On the other hand, nothing has been left out that has any element of originality. No matter in what line he may be or what conditions sur- round him, any merchant will find many ideas in this book that are suited to his particular case. Whether he conducts a depart- ment store in a big city or is the proprietor of a small shop in a village, he will find here suggestions that can be converted into cash. To the merchants and advertising men who have kindly con- tributed the material and information that has gene to make up this book, the publishers wish to express their sincere obligations. Press of MERCHANTS RECORD AND SHOW WINDOW CHICAGO i ' CONTENTS. Chapter. Page. I. Special Sales 7 -^ ^ II. Selling by Mail 41 III, Expositions 61 /TV. Getting Holiday Business 74 V. Christmas Schemes 81 ^^^VI. Co-operative Advertising 87 *^ Vll. Store Papers 98 •" VIII. Souvenirs and Premiums 116 IX. Getting Trade through Children . . . . . .136 "^ X. Money Making Ideas 148 XL Contests 207 XII. Needle Work Contests 238 XIII. Voting Contests 243 XIV. Guessing Contests 248 XV. Package Sales 258 ]^XVI. Sensational Advertising . , 264 CHAPTER I. SPECIAL SALES. In this chapter are included a variety of special sales, suit- able for all kinds of stores and all seasons of the year. Each one is a practical plan that has been used successfully by some store. In some few cases these sales are suitable for only one line of business, but the greater majority of them could, with slight alterations, be applied to any kind of a store. In pre- paring this list of sales it has been the intention to publish only those having original or unusual features, as the merchant is presumed to know all about the commonplace, every-day sales. These sales plans represent the best ideas that have been de- veloped in the past two or three years, by the most progressive merchants and the cleverest advertising men in this country. 1. A Charity Sale — The accompanying reproduction is from the upper half of a full page newspaper advertisement an- nouncing the second "All-Spokane Charity Sale," held by the Crescent Store, Spokane, Wash. This advertisement can be read and will give a pretty good idea as to the general plan of con- ducting the sale and the number of institutions participating. In brief, the plan was to give five per cent of the total sales dur- ing one week to the various charitable institutions which partici- pated in the affair. Although it had been given a good deal of free newspaper publicity during the week preceding, and those interested in the charitable institutions were familiar with the plan, this advertise- ment was intended to explain the scheme to the general public. It appeared in the Spokesman-Review on the Sunday preceding the 8 SALES PLANS i sale. It will be noted in this ad that each charity is given space in which its claims are stated as strongly yet honestly as possible. On Monday morning and on subsequent days less space was given to the plan in general and more to the particular charity that was on the program for that day. An appeal was made for the institution that was to be benefited and a list was published of the names of the ladies who were to act as a committee. By far the greater part of the space, however, was devoted strictly to business — to goods and prices. Careful preparation was made for this sale in every depart- ment. The regular sale plan of the month was rearranged that several of the best events might come during this week. Aside from the charitable features, the prices were made attractive enough to appeal to the economical instincts of the shopper. The Crescent has held this sale twice with increasing interest on the part of the participants and it has proved so successful that in the future it will be made an annual event. It is held during the month of February for the purpose of stimulating additional ac- tivity during an otherwise quiet period. The success of such a sale depends almost altogether upon the preparation that is made for it and upon the merchant's ability to get the people interested and every one of them must be got to work enthusiastically and harmoniously, and to "boost" for the store and the sale. Members of the firm start the ball rolling several weeks in advance by personally meeting the leaders of the institutions chosen by them as being the ones most likely to co-operate successfuly in a movement of this sort. Each institution is requested to select a committee to represent them on the sale day set aside for their organization. Some of the insti- tutions were represented by fully fifty ladies. The sale continued for one week and nine of the strongest and most worthy, strictly charitable and philanthropic institutions were represented. Some of the larger ones were given a full day, while other days were divided between two smaller organizations. Five per cent of the day's total sales was given to the organi- zation or organizations having charge on that day. The committees, for the most part, wore badges with the name of their organization upon them. All of them worked with I 10 SALES PLANS enthusiasm to help swell the sales on their particular day. They bought goods themselves and persuaded their friends to buy. The newspapers gave considerable free space in their news columns during the week previous to the sale and while it was in progress they gave liberal write-ups each day. In addition to this the interested ladies talked about it, so there was no lack of advertising. Nearly five hundred ladies served on committees, being present at the store during the sale and taking active part in directing customers about the store, telling them of the spe- cial things on sale, etc. ; in fact, doing everything in their power to increase the volume of business for mutual benefit. 2. A See-Saw Sale — The Busy Boston Store, of Marion, Ind., has an annual event which is called a "See-Saw Sale." While most stores are dragging through the dull, hot weeks of July and August, the Boston Store is going after business, and getting it, too. This firm makes it a policy to have something doing all the time. The accompanying reproduction is reduced from one side of a circular used to advertise the sale. The orig- inal was 11X22 inches, printed on both sides of the sheet. The other side of the sheet advertised a Jardiniere Sale which lasted five days. The manner in which the Jardiniere Sale was con- ducted will be readily understood from the second reproduction, which is in large enough type to be read easily. The type re- lating to the See-Saw Sale, however, is so small in the repro- duction that it cannot be read without difficulty. We shall there- fore quote from the explanatory introduction as follows : "This is the second sale of its character ever given in Ma- rion. If you want bigger, better and more bargains than you have ever had offered to you in a single day attend the See-Saw Sale which begins at 8 A. M. Saturday, Aug. I2, and continues till 6 in the evening. During the first hour the first ten items Hsted in this circular will be placed on sale at a very small fraction of their regular price. At g o'clock and each succeeding hour the price will be slightly increased. The seventeen other items com- prising the list will be started at their real worth (or less) and will drop each hour, including the last hour of the sale. For instance, when 5 o'clock comes, Ladies' $6.50 waists, which were SPECIAL SALES 11 2nd Annual 8ee-8aiv 8ale SATURDAY, AUGUST 12th We begitt our 2nd AnnuftI See-Saw Sale at 8 oVIock sharp.' Be on the spot for many things will be snapped up perhaps in the first jew hours. On this same day our big sale of JARDINIERES begins. See particulars of Jardiniere Sale on other side. Tht ladMltaf H*chtnn«rrv«f i>*Mt« Martoa |r )m M»t ktgfvr. belief ckd nort tMrgataa ibM )M k»vt «vli(b())r natu»6 Tk« atvtcieca oihrr ^tmm^ co»pml«g ibe Im mil be nartH ai ibmr raal ««rlb (or Ima) aed will drof Mcb bovf . I»cl>tfia( Itac laM homt of ibc aat«. Far iastuc*. wtaca s o'docfe coacs. Ladwa' t6 so **ae is tke moraiog. others say baag os antil Ike prWgtUBOIa* tbst it fairly foim ib« aaW Tbetciseac itaMcctrtaiD. rea eaa't Iqac, ao Baiter al wbai liae yoa bay. Tbere wiM be ae reserve ea aayihiof oflered Make Mr* of getuaf ibc craaa of tbe odcriag* bjr camlat early aad Maying late- Every hour u the Mroke o» th« gong, a U Irw of the pricei |o up, but mou ol U ' rbcni fo down- ^ .A*f*J X • i«i*i ItWO ...II ■...,.»«, mi 4tot i (to*] ) • l~ ISC — i — — 8c 9c J0(^ •lie i2c 13c 14c ISc ISc 17c IXraNTS' WMCS-bflu joc Srflfci. Stat.. .11 oMn _ 9c lOe llo 12c 13c 6c 14c 7c ISc Nc 16c 17c 18c- aam ai— nWII Hmm •! ra< yn ••< ipm... nnt t < Jc 3c ««J Sc 9c 10c lie • W»B»a»aSit««r«irT«»i»wWk«n« tf ». iia* i» «Ht »t 4Me «r 4*»C 3c Neil's ««TS-M«. i|*>B>ia >UM.ralk laKc aac« — 2c 2«c 3c 4c 300 3Mc Sc 6c 7c Sc 9c lOc WaaS aiNTS -Jackal aaa (kin Waal Waak Sana, la •kua. iraaaaaiktaa Wank $7 sa — . ' — • $150 200 250 3S0 400 450 SOO S.2S 550 ■SaaX eOaP-Oaaa aa limt. tulaala Laifa t^akaa Sc «Kc 4c 3c 2»»c 2c IVkc Ic Mc MJHH. BUrrOWa-AH aiaa.,|.aa ^alnr Paart AM. — Sc 4)4c 4c . 1 JHc 3c 2V»c 2c like Ic Mc *e •r ■r ' Jt- SP -Sf « 3c '< Jc tacts m«tllle» aM Wna Laaaa -UmpKiitt rm4 3c 2»c 2c IMc Ic Mc -ti( . *»c ic { l(*c tA*UiaaB-TWpa»«arDi.»»tlk,lna"«al»pan.< laall latofa. Wank ti >j 8Sc Kyic 80c |77V»c 7Sc 72Vkc TOc asc SSc 4Sc MOOSa a t»ea-»a» loc ^aaUl,. Ml carta , 5c 4c 3« 2V»c ?c IMc Ic Vkc ic ic ISc raNCV aUSa-FaaCT 50c«aaHlf tt^l^ DmaHk 4Sc 42Mc 19c ISc 30c 27i«c 2Sc 22V»c 20c MKaa aKISTS-*lackaadenlarBdO«Mattktru Waafga, paM a>.amiaa. IraaMelk. «c _ 1600 550 SOO 450 400 350 300 2.50 200 ISO ISO aiLK WaiaTa-Caaiaa at aar SUk Wala m Ika kai>a. Hack ar eafaiat —— $6 00 S.S0 sm 450 54c 4 00 3.50 300 2S0 200 etc 64c 59c 49c 44c 39c 34c 29c 2tc Merra PaHra-Paacr War««l. all ilaaa mk Up pack^-a.. tIaaalM »aiM band, aank a«0- — i —.^ — — ^— 1175 i.es ISO I3S I2S 1 IS 100 SSc 7Sc SSc •■Caa OOOOS-PM ^aaWr Sdk Cnaa4c l»c 14c 9c. . 7c — ral aaeaa Ma«li, Claika aa4 Haaaiik lnriUsfa. wank i.joH 75c .nuc. TOt SSc sac SSc SOc «. 40c 3k lOc 9c 1 gc 7c Sc 5c 4c 1 3c 2c Ic Tkaaartiarraacuaalka^idarraaftbafaB. ^7J7^ ^ tka laiV"- -ar Ika Mnar la. ba„4... ^ •„ . , J^ k«ltala.actka 1 ^ lag Wc ara civiag yvt aafir aatica of tk« lu la iaiarlan wilk yaar eaMia( ea Itac CaaM la Ibc Boratai if raa caa. laMf tf jraa aai*. kaa VT au Ma lata AI aKk pncaa UlUa «« ka Ml lor Ika laa haar iS.Vi6HIN6IONST.( ailOM. INO. art PAT vom bound tsiP raac •■ &«•«■ « tpmsm bm^ ■ ywi ymtr MrchMM •■»«« M SI84W ar aMf*. • •! Mart— — al 12 SALES PLANS SPECIAL SALES 13 l|i started in the morning at $6.00 will be sold at $1.50. Large Huck Towels, which were started in the morning at icx, at 5 o'clock will be offered at ic. Provided, of course, any are remaining at that late hour. We have no way of knowing just how soon these lots will be closed out. Some may be gone by nine in the morn- ing, others may hang on until the price gets so low that it fairly forces the sale. There is one thing certain; you can't lose, no matter at what time you buy. There will be no reserve on any- thing offered. Make sure of getting the cream of the offerings by coming early and staying late." There were twenty-seven articles covering a great variety of lines advertised and everything was seasonable and desirable, while the prices were really remarkable. Even those things marked for the descending scale were priced very reasonably for the opening hour, although they were slated for a sharp re- duction every subsequent hour. These circulars were distributed in great numbers in Ma- rion and throughout the surrounding country, including many small towns. They were sent out a long time in advance of the sale in order to let the idea "soak in" and to give people a chance to talk the sale over. In addition to the circular, the newspapers were used liberally. The arrangement of the ascending and descending prices worked admiraby. It worked both ways. People came early to take advantage of the low prices that were going higher — they stayed late to wait for other prices to come down. About the whole affair there was a speculative element that was altogether novel. Shoppers had to consider two things — price and supply. While the price was going down the supply was diminishing and there were chances for fine speculation as to whether to buy at one time at a little higher price or to wait until the gong an- nounced another reduction and run the chance of not getting the article at all. This was the second See-Saw Sale held by the Boston Store and it has proved such a success that it will be con- tinued as an annual event to liven things up in August. Mr. E. Rothschild, advertising manager for the Boston Store, has the following to say of the See-Saw Sale : "The ob- ject of the sale is to have people coming early in the morning and 418 ■'^ZA S.WASHIN6I0NST.(&5K5T. MHRION. IND. Two solid f-arioado ol tine large Jairdlni«»rii«T Pedeatalo oiid Umbrella Hold- ph|i^|^Tj^;^J«lL'LgIL!gJ■§-igc'»** '" diamete r, are ha^ndgomely decorated in hjflh n>ljfrti^j;;!jL!?f'!*-'' f' "**"* '" "o"^' •"'* conven tional deaigno and re- liel effect*, worth_$1^0, S2.SO, S3.SO , SS.OO and Sg.OOt on^i^AO^X* wHh a price reduction each day. The entire purchaae w ill be_ put on aale SSTURDXY, JllJGIJST 12th. The^lce will be 69 c for choice. Eachdajr they wjlLhr"r^-L'-^^l'^*j'l«-_ <>« co une the aelection will be le oo eachdajr gnj^^,j^f^y^jgr^elling. and the hlgh e«t_quaUtiea will goHrotjMjtjroM cannot make a mlrtake_anxiJgO-» «J»? cheapeat In the lot lo worth SI.SO. Sat., Aug. Mon. " TueSo " Wed., « Thurs., •• 12th 14th 15th 16th 17th CHOICE 69g 59g 49g 39g ANY THAT REMAIN ANY THAT REMAIN ANY THAT REMAIN ANY THAT OOo REMAIN ^C^O THEY WILL ALL BE DISPLAYED IN OUR SHOW WINDOWS Read about the See-Saw Sale on <»ther side "^'^rueVLAcc SATURDAY. AUG. 12th We Day Round Trip Fare on Steam or Traction road* if you 'purchase $15.00 or more and live wHhin 30 milea of Marlon. mrr*" rAPUco. I 14 SALES PLANS at all hours of the day. At the different hours the prices on the different items change so that during the entire day every hour presents some particularly low price bargains, and we made it a point to have all the goods that were advertised and special at- tractive features at any time of the day. However, the hour idea is to graduate prices so as to divert attention from certain sections to certain others and keep the entire store busy all the time. This is the second sale of this kind we have given and this year it was more successful than last year. We had special price cards made, which were hung over all these articles, and we made a sort of pad of ten price cards. For instance, if an item starts at i cent and goes up i cent an hour we have the first card showing, which says from 8 to 9 o'clock i cent, then at the stroke of the gong the 8 to 9 o'clock ticket is torn off and below it ap- pears the ticket with the 9 to 10 o'clock and 2 cents, and so on; every hour the ticket is torn off which shows the price ticket be- neath for the hour beginning when the gong strikes. We had our tickets made of quarter sheet railroad board with the same cut of the store which we had at the top of the bill. It is very es- sential in this sale to be very strict and close the sales right on the minute. We therefore delegate one person in each department to tear off the top ticket immediately at the stroke of the gong, which is rung precisely on the hour. This sale is a great one-day-attrac- tion, or, as we used it last year, for the first day of a big ten-day sale. It is something much out of the ordinary and people in Ma- rion have crowded our store both last year and this, the entire day of the See-Saw Sale." 3. A One Price Sale — G. J. Keddie & Sons, Southend, Eng- land, held a successful sale, which they called "Shilling Days." The accompanying circular will explain the scheme. The firm has three adjoining rooms and the middle of these was used for the shilling sale. This room was filled with goods to sell at one shilling and all other stock was removed. Mr. A. Maitland Ked- die, a member of the firm, describes the sale as follows: "At the end of our summer sale we found that a great many odd lots had accumulated, and these, as well as all of our regu- lar goods that came anywhere near costing one shilling, more or SPECIAL SALES THVRB WILL BB A 15 m AT G. J. Keddie & Sons, On THURSDAY A FRIDAY NEXT, Sept. 8 a 9, Wbra lb«i art concludlnf Ui»lr Summw CI«tr»i»ce$ by ofhrtog 30,000 Articles ft]| at 1./- aach. ThasaCooda win ba dUplayad and on Sala In their MIDDLE SHOP OHU (Ho. 144). aad la tba two larfo wladcwi of ihalr shop, and on tha Countara; OB tba lines. In baskets, etc E«»— r.t^ b.1— -m b. f—a a few of tt.^ood. th.t win b. offerod at ONE SHILLING. *" Kv.py »lngle Article « dUtlnct bTr»"»- A Whole Heip of Ladies' Calico. Flannelette and Longclolh Knickers. i/6l to i/i U all at 1/- Sevtril doieu Udies- Calico Nljhidresses. wortb i/it allat 1/< 2S0 La^irs* Calico. loDgcloth and „ . ., Flannelette Chemises, worth i/i i|. all at 1,- 12 doi only. L»aie»' Woven Combinations. worth i/tiiall ati/> Setvral Ladies' JaekaU ■■- ~ aUat 1 The Whole of our remaiaiog Stock of Blousaa. freai i/u to 4/11 all at I/- 7 doien Umbrellas, worth from i/ii4 to J/li all a! 1/' Quantities of Ladies' & Childien's Tams, •■ all colors, worth from i/jl 10 1/11} all at 1/- Tbe remaining stock of -our Summer Millinery. usual price I'll to lO/it. •^ all at 1/- A few L.adies' Dnderskins. •-ertb from i/ii to j/t*. all at 1/- Scveral d -len Urge Swe Blankets. in Single BUmtetv wot. pairs) all ai 1;- A Pile of Tea Cosies and Cushions. «oilb from i/t to i/ll all at !/• A Great Stack of Blouse Lengihs of Flannels. Silks. Satins. Delaines and Muslins, the full Blouse Lengths all at M-. 350 Lace Collars. wo«h (nm i/6i 10 j/nj each. all at V' dot only of Ladies' Black Silk Swiss Beits, usual price i/ii} all at 1/> A Pile of Maids ApronS. soiled tlitongli shemmg • in wiodous. worth 1/6 to 2/11. all at 1/> Several Children's Dresses ~ all at 1/- 40 doi Kid and Su*de Cloves, in various sliailcs. • worth from i/6| to i/n {. all at 1/« 52 doz Ladies' Black Cashmera Hose. PUiu. Ilroad or h'lne Kibbcd worth i/ji tu 1/9} pfrpair allatl'- 20 iot Genuine Llama Hose. in .ill sires, worth i /6) . all at 1/> 25 do/ Ladies' all Wool Cash- mere Hose, done up in t»t- pairs _ all aj 1/- A huge onantily of L'd^vV Vests. /''one up in p-nrs. ibices /.iiid fonts, all at 1'» Another huge qnantuv t«f Ladies I asl Hlick CottOM Stockings, worth 6|d pair, done up in three pairs. all at 1«- Several dos Duchesso Covers, z:i:- . board Cloths. S o'clock Teadoths. in Swiss aad Ui'ien. worth from i,'6j tu J/ii| all at l;* Lntire Clearance of Sunshades. worth from ./ill to *'ii, all at 1/» Heaps and Heaps of Remnants. Single RcBinants. and two, three and (uur Remnants done up together _ .- -. all at V' IMPORTaNT HOTICC—Thew Good. .r. o« «ual .,11 Inown Mock R*l»e.4. Wc .hall loae mo«.T tf iS, i«««cm». b««c ,Mr*K4 to do ihM, as wc .hall c"» Hunired. o( N«- Cu».om,r^ t««dn iho~«ehlT .*P«ri"t our (.««« for our N.w Autumi. Swct. - See the two wlndowa In tbe Hlddre Shop the WEDNESDAY before the Sale ^^gm ^^^ The Barrelna will aatonleh you. Bverythlnff ec. I/- Mo hlEher Prte*- ^ " G-. J. :iKeaLdte ^^ Soxms< SHILLING DAYS on THURSD&Y & FRIDAY NEXT, OOOlia OPEN AT MINE O-CLOCK. 142, 144 & 146, EI6I ST&EET, SODTHEND. less, were offered for sale at one shilling. To these we added a number of articles that cost considerably more than a shilling, such as old fashioned jackets, remains of summer millinery, etc. These goods were made a feature of in the circulars. "We advertised this sale to take place for two days only, and when the time for opening arrived, the outside of the shop 16 SALES PLANS was packed with people, and so it was throughout the whole day. We had four of our men at the door when we opened it — two to each side — and let in as many people as we could serve, after which the doors were closed. This was continued during the day. When customers had been served they passed out another door, through which no one was allowed to enter. Although it rained all day, this seemed to make no difference to the waiting crowds outside. We pulled our sunblinds down and this served as a shelter for many. "If it had been a fine day, I do not know what it would have been, but even with the adverse weather it was a record breaking sale and a good advertisement for us. Although the sale was advertised to last two days, the stock was pretty well cleaned out the first day and there was practically nothing left for the second. From the circular it may be seen that large quantities of goods were listed, and in no case were the amounts mentioned in the circular exaggerated. *'The two windows of the middle shop where the sale took place were filled with shilling goods, but the windows had to be closed in about half an hour after the sale had begun. In a sale of this kind customers can be served very quickly, as there is no cuttipg off or measuring goods by the yard. All the assistants have to do is to tie up the articles. As for the profit in this kind of sale, we made very little. It was not our intention to make money so much as it was to advertise the shop and to close out broken lines and odds and ends of left-over goods. These we would have been very glad to get rid of even at a lesser price than we realized. In my opinion it was the 'even money' price that made the sale such a success. If we had made the price a half penny more or less it would not have drawn so well." -4^ 4. Anniversary Sales — The anniversary sale is a regular event with a good many stores and with some of them it is the most important event of the year. In the Anniversary Sale the merchant usually goes a little further in offering inducements to buyers than in any of his other sales and it is right that he should as this sale is supposedly a celebration of the store's birthday, beins: a fixed advertisement for similar sales that are to follow. SPECIAL SALES ThirtY'Second Anniversary Sale Novemfttr ir i»7i. the first s»Ie mide in "BUck's Busy Strjre" in Ccd»r Sprines wis naSe in a little stole losl north tf our (>rescnt brick buildine. havine just about 314 square fed if floor space. Our (ncnds who were then m business smikd oat loud" at the "one-horse grocery" ol Black's, but thmcs run alone Prctty smoothly and we bctan to erow. Honesty and faimeu in every sale was the idea wc had Nov. 17. 1871. and that idea it. just as strong in 1903 as ever it was. Stores have come and stores have gone until to^lay this is the only store In Cedar Sprines that was sellinj eoods here in 1871- From a small shop 01 X2A square »eet of floor space we now have spread out until we occupy over sijt thousand, seven hundred square feet ol space, stacked full to the ceiline with new desirable eoods. Some ol our customers to-day have been trading with us almost Irom our first day, and we siqccrely thank these and the thousands of others who have lielped us make this store what we always wished it to be— the Bi^^est, Best and Busiest Store to eedar SpHot*. Now we feelrretty rood this fall J^ J instead of askine Store* wid Hardware. OseWdt HiRCH 14-19, 1904 1 OneWeek $250.00 Free to AU^ $250.00 pnee rifiZES roR men. womcn a cirit.oRCM F'Reermzes Greater, Grander, Better than Ever. Coupons Free to All. >iMi > i »a w » iwwrMiwiwiMi»i«i>iiMW>i<«>«»i«»«»i«i«» w < w wwit w » » w a>a»wi»M««»<»lWti PonnilsMefiorIilw.(!o 'OTTAWA, ILLINOIS' 3 Moaday, March 14th HORSE CLIPPER DAY sod wc mxM fin %nj "Fr««' tba luck; bolder ' 10 ooupoo oo« 1902 Cbtcwo HorM Clipper, la artwte ladispeoubi* w •very tem*r. lu nlM ia • 10.75 .«ad U worth douMt tba maunj. Wedatsday, March i6tb — 'n^'" — I HARVESTER AMD I MOWER DAY W« will fix amir <■ this daj lo the luckj mas wbo holds th* luck, coupon. COS Wsltor A. Wood Sve toot cut Moviat tta- cbioe, vbicb is tb* ligbMat ruuiiiiic aed sasiMt oy w itin ^=T^ Momr oa tbs Batat. sad la priea bo hicber tbaa tboa* a tb* Trust. It Is wsU worth to saj bsu #4S>00 o< his * Tr/ lor it Vo» will win it U jran bold lbs lock/ ' f'f Fxiity, MMxcb tStb -»"*«- planter day ■ on tbst ds;. am Joba Dstf* Mai 9- the HlsBler trsde ss tb* bsst -— «- * Wo wilt (tra awsf '^tp* '>lsntsr; rMO(iii*>iJa the PIsaler trsde ss tb* bs«t siaI.^CULTtVATOR DAY | On this day we will fire awu "-rrea" la She hotdar o( the bmky ooupoa. •at» faaon* Tower ridinjr ovltiv^ tor, valued ai •SA.OO Reaaaber. you aay bold tba lucky coupon. If you have not voted fon atiU bav« a cbaoce laearollyour aaaa. • Ooupoaaare free. ThuradMr la alao (*• dies' aaa Childraa'a day. riv* priias will baoSarad to the ladiasaad tra prlaaa will alao ha oCerad le tba. ebildrea. AU Ihoaa daairinc to eoroU theniselvas lor tba ladiaa' *r ohildraa'a p rites Bust have their names in before Usrcb ITtb. ■ PLOW DAY Satttrday;M»rcb 19th— "»■' On tUa day we win civ* away OM M iaek Daera tjaac PI oi any aaa'a wa m f. TWa ia raall]r aa Worth »ei5-00 to the person holdiaf the lucky ouupoa. iDveatmeot viU brii^ its due reward, tbe forluoate ooupoo. oeptiooal (ift; a ■aeMaaoC ao naah vakia ■■ " watalx Yet< iUaaasbar you aay told YOU LOSE IF YOU PAIL TO CALL AT THB BIG IMrLCMENT STOKE. THE HOUSE THAT SAVES YOU MONEY POUNDSTONE-REFIOR HARDWARE CO., OTTAWA. ILLINOIS i w M tilwiwis Mm s w a n wi w iii W uiia m iw m iWiiBii n iMiwaaiMaHiwi 20 SALES PLANS SPECIAL SALES 21 they should not. Dry goods, clothing and department stores have found "openings" to be an excellent way of advertising, and merchants in other lines should find them equally good. The Poundstone-Refior Hardware Co., of Ottawa, 111., holds an annual opening, and the fact that they are conducted year aft- er year would indicate that this company finds them profitable. Their latest opening lasted one week, and in that time prizes to the value of $250 were given away. Coupons were given free to the people who visited the store, and each day a drawing was held which resulted in some one getting a valuable present free On one day a plow was given away ; on another, a cultivator ; on another, a patent churn, and so on throughout the week. The accompanying reproduction is from an advertisement which was published in the Ottawa papers and afterwards dis- tributed as a poster throughout the adjoining country. The original was 12x21 inches in size. Jamison's store in La Fayette, Ind., held a similar opening, but gave away prizes worth $400, including a number of special prizes for children. 6. A Tag Sale — One of the big stores in Boston has had considerable success in attracting trade during the dull weeks, by what they called a Tag Sale. This sale immediately followed a sale of another concern's bankrupt stock, which was closed out sooner than was expected. They had planned the bankrupt sale to last at least two weeks, but low prices and the well-known high quality of the stock caused it to be closed out in three days. They immediately telegraphed to fifty manufacturers to send them any small odd lots they had left over, on approval, the only stipula- tion being that the price must not be over one-half what the goods sold for at the first of the season. The result was that they were soon in receipt of enough goods at very low prices to carry on the sale. The newspapers announced that they had bought all the over-production of the manufacturers who usually supplied them, at half-price. In the newspaper ads were printed photographic reproductions of several letters and telegrams to and from manu- facturers. These had the effect of convincing the public of the genuineness of the sale. The goods were exactly the same grade and quality as the goods they usually carried, which in fact they were, and would be offered at one-half the price asked a month previous. All the goods were displayed in the windows and store in as careful a manner as if it were the opening of a new season. The only noticeable difference being that all articles were marked with price tickets with the selling price and the "First of the Season price." These tickets were various sizes of manilla shipping tags, the prices being painted in red on the lower part of the tag. On the upper part of the tag was printed in red ink the story of the sale, explaining that all the goods were similar in grade and quality to their regular stock, but owing to the over-production of over fifty manufacturers, with whom they did business every year, they were enabled to offer these goods at one-half price. All the newspaper announcements were enclosed in rule in the shape of a shipping tag, and all large signs about the store and in the windows were cut from manilla paper in fac-simile of tags. The sale was entirely successful ; in fact, business was so brisk for over a week that it was necessary to engage temporary clerks and delay the date for vacations. All manufacturers have lots at the end of the season which they are glad to dispose of at most any price and there is no reason why other concerns may not use the same idea to stimulate business in July and August. This gives them an opportunity of closing out their own odds and ends, which may be broken in sizes and colors, and makes it unnecessary to take a loss, as the goods they receive from the manufacturers are sold at the same percentage of profit. 7. A Japanese Sale — A novel and successful sale was held by J. N. Euwer's Sons, of Youngstown, O. This firm is noted lor its elaborate store decorations on special occasions, but on this occasion they determined to excell all previous attempts in that line. Accordingly their decorator was given carte-blanche in the matter of decorations, with the result that the affair was a shining success. The entire scheme of decoration was in the Japanese style. All over the store were hung hundreds of Japa- nese lanterns of all colors, sizes and shapes. Then there were paper parasols, banners, strings of flags and cherry blossoms (I 22 SALES PLANS everywhere. In addition, about 500 tissue paper bells were used with good effect. The expense of these decorations was less than nothing as practically all of them were sold at a profit of from fifty to one hundred per cent long before the closmg day of the sale. Stationed at the door was a small Jap boy who gave every one who entered a ticket announcing free tea and coffee at the '•Geisha" as a specially decorated booth was called. This feature proved a great success. One of the leading wholesale grocers demonstrated a certain brand of coffee with such success that an average of 100 pounds a day was sold. A luncheon was served and sandwiches were sold at five and ten cents, as high as seventy loaves of bread being used in a single day. Of course all this helped to swell the profits. On the first day of the sale, chrys- anthemums with ribbons attached were presented to visitors. All show cards and price tickets were done in the Japanese style but one of the most novel and pleasing features of the affair was the costuming of the saleswomen. These were all attired in kimonas and wore their hair dressed after the manner of Japanese maidens with chrysanthemums and mmiature fans as ornaments. A hundred girls thus arrayed made a charming picture and one which was much admired by the public. The entire store was perfumed with Japanese incense. Another tea- ture that helped to popularize the sale was the giving away of free photographs with purchases of a certain amount. Consid- ered from every point of view, the affair was a great success^ On the first dav a tremendous crowd packed the store and each succeeding day' the interest continued with little abatement. 8 Carnival Sale-Bernheimer's dry goods store in Bal- timore held a ^'Carnival Sale," which had some truly astonishing features. Northern stores might find the methods employed a bit too much on the circus and side-show order, but in a southern city where the Mardi Gras is celebrated, the entire scheme would be in keeping with the all pervading carnival spirit. One of the features used by the Bernheimer store was an unusual kind of guessing contest. In one of the windows were two masked figures. One of them was alive ; the other automatic, SPECIAL SALES 23 and prizes were offered to persons who could distinguish which was which. Both were dressed identically and they went through the same jerky motions in unison. The curtain in the first window was drawn at the end of ten minutes. At the same time a curtain in a second window was raised, showing two other figures almost identical with the first. To give the human and mechanical per- formers a chance to rest, there were three pairs of figures. Guesses were registered on the third floor and on the first day nearly thirty thousand persons made guesses. Eight thousand of them received prizes and many of these admitted that they had not been able to tell the difference and had only voted in the hope of having the luck to hit it right. Inside the big store were still greater surprises for the visitor. Twenty-one clowns dressed in the most fantastic of costumes and with their faces painted in gorgeous colors, played what purported to be music on every conceivable kind of instru- ment. It was not alone by their antics and music, however, that the clowns sought to entertain— they were businesslike clowns. Each offered special bargains to customers who had bought a certain amount of goods on the floor on which he was stationed. For example, one clown sold shoes for 9 cents to persons who could produce a sales slip showing that they had made purchases of a certain amount. On the first day there was an automatic boat on the third floor and everyone making purchases of a speci- fied amount was entitled to a seat in it. There were five seats in the boat and the person who sat in the lucky one was given a prize. A popular and amusing feature used toward the close of the sale was a baby carnival. Prizes were awarded to the baby in the fanciest costume, the one in the most comic dress, the fattest fancy dressed baby, the prettiest fancy dressed baby and the best and most tastefully dressed baby. The sale lasted a week and on each day there was some amusing competition to enter- tain visitors. 9. Wanamaker's Special Sales— Wanamaker's store is con- stantly developing new ideas in the advertising line. Many of the ideas would be practicable for almost any store. For ex- 1^ 24 SALES PLANS ample: One plan was that for the sale of a lot of summer accessories in little "bungalows" scattered throughout the aisles of the stores. These bungalows were simply stands with can- opies and draped tops, having some real or fancied resemblance to bungalows. The advertisements during the week were all alive with illustrations of bungalows. Of course people read them to find out what all the bungalow business was about. One advantage was that many articles for summer use were placed rieht out under the hand of the customer and quantities of warm weather goods were thus moved. Next week came an "International economy contest." The coats of arms of all nations appeared from time to time in full page advertisements. Under the insignia of the French republic came an offering of men's Terry bath robes made in Paris. Italy furnished marble busts; Germany, stockings; Switzerland, em- broidered Swiss muslins; Austria, fancy China; Persia, Rama- dan rugs ; Mexico, linens ; China, silks ; and fair Erin, old bleach linens. The varied character of the stock of the Wanamaker store may be inferred from the fact that plenty of material was on hand from all over the world to give every country worth mentioning representation in these advertisements. This may be a plan worth trying on elsewhere, with variations. A sale in Wanamaker's Philadelphia store was on exactly opposite lines. It was "American week" and American made goods had the center of the stage. American flags and emblems were everywhere and plaster bas reliefs containing the busts of President Roosevelt were prominently displayed. The sign "Made in America" was a patriotic inscription that was visible everywhere. To each visitor was given a souvenir containing a map of the United States, including our new possessions, the various products and the lines manufactured in each state. ■ 10. Clearing Out Old Stock— The plan of the Kirk Dry Goods Co., Vinton, la., that is described here, is not new, but it has many points to recommend it. It will clear out more stock than almost any other plan, and we publish the following in the hope that it may be new to some readers. The accompany- ing cut is greatly reduced from a large ad. It will give a general SPECIAL SALES 25 idea of the plan, which is further explained by a representative of the Kirk Dry Goods Company. He writes as follows : "We picked all of the old goods and slow sellers out of our stocks and placed them on tables away from our regular dress goods stock, and we give every customer the privilege, after buying what goods they wanted out of this lot, of selecting the same amount of dress goods from any other piece, as a present. Binr • ■!«•• DRESS GOODS GIVEN AWAY MAY l8t to MAY 6th INCLUSIVE F«r9a* Wtik For an Entire Week We will Absolutely Give Wool Dress Goods Away. Something New In Bargain Sales. The Chance of ■ Lifetime |N r(,f« ■»» bt l>™« OooO. «r.M .n,^li k... ol i<..«!. .h-. .. .,.h >o «■»« "O- "t* "■'■ <» *"* l»""» ">" *" "^"^ """'" •<)'•*•' V> «)»« P«e ^ goixit m the *ilr Iei« ol ihe Mme (.iKf. .itliowi tha-^r. ^ _ REMEMBER* *— — r*s!j* y y "yt^ •• "* •••*• — —'«'*^ » —'*'— >****^ >*' "' **» *'*'*'*"'***—* ■■ua aMoa race tne week c— w w wi a m* tnc naan liN I. E-. MNIT. UT TH Fn»T. o„«ik ..ii b. ..r.^trJ^ci-, - — Fuminc ibrin ca*',ic Mitleotal At 3.-00 P. m; At'3:is i». m.' At 3:^ P. m.' ec Ooiini Flaooel »i . . ■ At i:4t P. M. IOC Fruit Candy at ■•_•_■• • At 4:00 P. M. ti. 50 Far Surfs at . • ■ i '^ At 4:l> P. M. IJC Campaigo 4 in Haodt at , Ic ..10c ...5c ..2c . 2c $1.00 5c where. The "Five Minute Sale," however, is an innovation. The first store we have heard of conducting Five Minute Sales is that of Hens, Kellv & Co., Buffalo, N. Y. This was a feat- J ure of a "Special Cash Sale." The accompanying reproduction is clipped from an advertisement, and will serve to show the manner of timing the sales and the range of prices. During this same sale Hens, Kelly & Co. secured a barrel full of bright new pennies fresh from the mint. Five pennies were given with every $i purchase during the sale. 26. A "Week of Nations" Sale— Robert Fraser's dry- goods store in Utica, N. Y., held a sale that was advertised as the ''Week of Nations." The following quotation is from one of the store's advertisements and will give an idea of the special features that were used to attract the public : WEEK OF NATIONS. A novel, unique and entertaining event, together with a great international sale of imported fabrics and merchandise from tlie various countries on special days. The special features of this week of nations are : First — Each day, beginning Tuesday, will be devoted to some national day, when the store will be deccrated in flags and emblems of the country represented. Second — Daily concerts by the celebrated vocalist. Miss Margaret Collins, who sings national and other songs of the ^ various nations, in both the national tongue and English. She will sing from a magic illusion cabinet, located in carpet room, third floor. A contrivance where the head and shoulde*-s only are exposed, and will puzzle everybody in guessing how it is done. We will distribute free each day with purchases miniature silk flags of the country represented. The most interesting feat- ure of all to our patrons will be the special cut prices on mer- chandise on special days. Watch daily papers for program and sale announcements. 27. A Hammering Down Sale— Griesheimer's in Chicago held what they advertised as a "Hammering Down Sale" during which hammers of all kinds were the principal feature of the store decoration. All of the show cards had tack-hammers at- tached to them and the windows were decorated to carry out • the "hammering down" idea. i 1.1 3g SALES PLANS In one of them a great pile of garments some thr.e feet high was placed in the middle of the w.ndow. Ar°und 't were See wax'figures dressed as workmen w.th red flannel tos ».. Fach had a sledge hammer and was posed in the act oi iking down tn the pUe of garments. In another window^^ere was a similar display except that the figures were gwen d.ffe.ent postures. 28 A Hatchet Sale-Welter, Lloyd & Co., shoe dealers in Streator 111., have an annual event which they advertise as a "Sat het Sale," the hatchet being symboUc of cut pnces. At th"tg nnSg of the sale, which last for some time the town is ttoroS y posted with muslin signs on the style of the accom- The HMCHET is out CHOPPED SPECIAL SALES 37 PRICES IN OXFORDS ^^d SHOES Welter,Lloyd &Co.- StteaitoLE p.„y.„g illustration. Tlj^^-f ^ ^L'^^^^SX and the hatchet is P"«tf '" ''"ff '^^.^ ^^^^od of advertising, ^:;i:d r nr:;Sef pSS^anr^^ vames. has brought them an immense business. 29. A Competitive Sale— The Adams Dry Goods Co. used an idea that may be used to advantage by many an ad-man throughout the country. The company gave the various buyers free rein for two days in making offerings and quoting prices, and the occasion was given out to the pubHc as one in which department chiefs would vie with each other in doing the biggest day's business. Each buyer was free to adopt his own individual methods in achieving the largest possible turn-over for two days. The idea was, of course, prominently and strikingly set forth in the advertising. The buyers expressed themselves as very well satisfied with the success of the scheme, which was by no means simply an advertising dodge. There were hundreds of leaders put out all over the store, but a few of which could be alluded to in the advertisements. The buyers are disinclined to name their best leaders, as they have learned them by long experience. But in the furniture department, for instance, a third or a quarter of all the stock on the large floors bore a red "sold" ticket, with name and address of the purchaser, which is an index of the general impetus to trade through the store. 30. A Black Tag Sale— A Chicago Clothing House con- ducted a "Black Tag Sale" as a change from the usual blue and red Tag Sales. The tags used were a dead black, lettered in white, and to carry out the idea the windows were trimmed with black and only black goods were displayed in them, ^n each window was a large sign in the shape of a tag. These signs, too, were black and bore the words, "Black Tag Sale — Death to Prices." Altogether the store presented a very funeral aspect. 31. A Guaranteed Charity Sale — The Sweeney Co., Buf- falo, N. Y., held a Charity Sale in honor of their first anniversary and donated one per cent of their total receipts during one week to three popular local charities. Mr. Sweeney, the president of the firm, guaranteed that the amount would not fall below $500.00, and a great many prominent people interested them- selves in the affair and made it a great success. Besides swelling the sales in the various departments, a special feature was made of a table d'hote luncheon in the cafe. Six popular society ladies I ^g SALES PLANS presided each day and they and their fnends d^ed up a phenomenal business. uni Z^ QaU" Fraser's Dry Goods Store in 32. A "Clerk's Sale — i^ raser s ^y ^^rw^^ Sale " B Jton, Mass., hoM -^Z::^'^:^^^^"^'^ In the store there - f °u^ U. e„ty ^^ ^^ ^^ one was given a free hand 'n t ^ ^^^^ j^ ^,^^ Used, and *<-^ ^^^-f^pl^J^Tn t" newspapers, the space was announcement that aPP^^rea j^^^ ^ 5^,^,. had to offer. 33. A Su.»er Shoe Sale-Here is ^J^^^^^^^; J^^ ,y Hertzler & Boesch, of Burhng on, ^a o b - ^^^^ .^ ^^,^. unusually dull season m the ^""^'^er The ^^^^_ explanatory. Testing the pulUng power o^ ^^^ ^.^_ pa^rs forms a very P — J^ ^^^^^^ to catch the rrrth^h'^S ^Each coupon had in one corner a letter signifying the paper in which U appeared. 34 lline-Cent Sale-Herman Anspach, ^^f^^^J'^l Held'!-"Nine.Cent Sale" ^^^XlrZT r::Z''^.n g.eat many articles ^^Z^^^:^^. be put down so to 9 cents. Some articles. Jiov , ^^.^^^^ ^^ ^^^^ ^^g„,„ low and it was arranged ^y ^ellmgj ^^^^^^^^ ^^^, ^^^^ pHce and J^ ^^'to sTand verr^o-th suit was sold at 9 cents, were priced at $3 to $5 ana every X. r.^ qftle— The Levinson Dry Goods 35. Saturday ^^^^^^^^l,, Saturday evening sales. Co.. of Shelbyvdle. ^n^.^has reg ^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^^ ^^^ lasting from 7 to 9 P- "•. ^^ . ^ enable to shop ..er-supper trade of wor .ng P .,J. wl^^^^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^ during the day. Of course t u ^^^^^^ ^^^„ ^^ t^e are chosen to appeal to the popuia higher class. The plan is provmg verv successful. SPECIAL SALES AD. CONTEST ! The newspapers of Burlington all make claim to having the most mesit as advertising mediums, so in order to satisfv ourselves as to which one deserves the most credit we have decided to hold a GRAND CONTEST SALE— Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday — the coupons below will be accepted as cash for the amount named in each one. The letter in the corner shows what paper you cut each one out of. This sale will cost us more than the profit -on four days' selling, but the knowledge that we gain wiU be well worth the cost Cut Out These Cash Coupons. SI.OO Coupon. Yhii eeupon will fc« aeuptod mi any PMkard or Walk-Ovar |v°^- y ^ ^.^ trade results from the careful use of personal letters. We u bulletins to a considerable ^^^^^^^^ ^^s^Z^rit is pos- invariably we send ^■^2l^;^-J':::'Zs an acquaintance sible, are signed ^^ °-^,^^'XTeLe that this gives to the with the person addressed we d ^.^^^ letter a personal quality which has a great deal o g the trade. , r „ neoole whose We began by ^^-^'^'I'^^^l :Z:rs.l.,L of mer- names appeared on °"' ''°°J^^_'° '^^ f^, the same money, or chandise that were either better goods lor NEW ADDRESSES. we have pUced your name on our mail order 1«. '^ '^'^ to have their names placed on our !.«. ^ ^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^ Nashua, New Hampshire. THIRD PAGE OF FOLDER ,,e same goods for less money ^-^l^y^^t^^TlC::: This one thing alone has been a great he^ to us^^.^^ .^ ^^^^^ close with every piec^ °j,;;' ^^ded once, is about the size of duced here. This slip, wn instructions for order- •uMiAarrtf*. SELLING BY MAIL 45 WAWHPA TOJORAPH. THPHBP.tT. JAKUABY I* MM MILL SALE OF BLACK AND COLORED SILKS SATURDAY, JANUARY 14th, • ^T SLIGHT ADVANCES OVER MILL t_ lU Mitt SmsitiMil Siik Site Ewr AttenpM in my Ston ii Ikit Sim Stirtt Hire Sitiriiy Minjv. hara mantion aU tha vary low Pura DyaTaffaUa, Croat Cram. Paau da Soira Fina Satin Durk^^ ^ ti > 2lS,'™i-?2?^ '^•~- C'^^'i^* FS^7.i?:i^^Pri^",JS;?'K^ "^ China. A*n,u«* Sllka and Shantungs. >-•"■«, rnmaa ronsaa*. Prtntad Satin Foularda, Embroidarad Snka. WMh WdHnTMiSimtifMr l»-]IW II l»*lf Off* hphf Priw « it Uw iBte, «i Em ilii, , Ij B^ 1^ luaaa-MM M ps « May |M MM li •v a. t.NMMa(^aii4 •.^Mkatv. MBMaunCKK K F«r59eyar« C*r raan-Flak. L%tt Mat, Ony, Taa, €»<■»•(■<. SmK.. nit Onn, OM >m. CrMm Wklta um ■••MBMIaaMtM, >|.M MMMitaaTMIKaB. kj) »«ii««i*i»a«iia». !■,. MMMMItMMMt. |,„ •AT-* K^ •mi M mtf mf ti.it H «»f MJIi* »ijii« my ».m* nai* y* M.IIK ■lie MJlis ■irt tl.llK HMraiBivaktMttMi ma me ■■• mm. m « Istrar >.9W ywlt W aew SlUi m»tm hr at S»tla( MUM of "i^" hr S«. •»*«y"i aMat. koockt ainct Ina tl» ■«. la akMt aiu k^At, u4 toKhjiMllfrtca. Lnctt.ina > l> M yviila Mck Um. I U Ikit I Wti Mr Mii « II X tK:k •■ fa* da tM sua l« Hat. any. gnr, k^ i«. ml ^^*'-***^*>->S«MMy. •K Ik I '^HlTWl i»ii* - •«••• - JkitA - ilita > •»fc ik *>■ M <*s Ih ••■>•• » •i-l*. (I.M ri4*. n.ii Tkt TJi aal Igc VHWy, V^NlTM »4 lac» iJ»«ty BraiaalMS. at« MB tir tirtai. an iTiHii. taclaa. >9 lack M Mk Maa «• Cyaat k rati klack, am tkM ifly tiyltt H «IM Ina. •« lack Suia 1 vaitctr •* *• I ■Mfetfnuaitari^ NttamktiJippl Fofl9c. 97 kich mack Taffsta Sik. n«ll Mlvaaa and pura dyt. wofthMcanla. rorOQomita 37 Inch AJaundria Royal (vtrt now) worth tl.2&, r*r9aMii4t H. S. NORWEU CO. The Silk Store. HHMSbblMallMi^ ■iMplMlVClIlK Smis Pries l»e. ■• Inch Bkwir Taflaia Sift. fuHi - wmAmmm » kwh WMtt Taftatt Stt. hiOtalvaaa. Worth40cayai«L FofSMtir«ar29« •"Chk 46 SALES PLANS r t frequently send in the names of several friends. Another means we have of getting new names is to send return postals to some of our best customers requesting that they send in the names of a few of their friends whose names they would like to have placed on our mailing list. Our follow up system is very simple and it does not take long to tell whether they are going to be profitable or not. When we send out samples either to a new name or in response to a request for them, we wait for a week or ten days for a reply. If none comes, we write a letter to the person asking her to give us reasons why we have not received an order. In many cases we make apologies for ourselves, perhaps thinking the goods may not be right, or the prices or something of that kind. In all instances we ask for criticisms. Usually we write to these people three or four times. If we get no reply their names are dropped from our mailing list and others are put on in their place. A good stenographer is essential in this work. When mail orders are received the time of their .receipt is stamped in one corner with a time stamp and the time that they are filled is stamped in another corner. Before we go any further the young lady in charge of the mail order department takes the letters directly to the heads of departments who fill the orders to the best of satisfaction. Of course the heads of departments give their best attention to mail orders, as they are selling their own goods and hope to benefit their departments. In addition to the mail orders they bring in, the letters sent out also bring a great many people to the store. Special sales and important events of all kinds are advertised in this way in addition to liberal newspaper advertising. The advertisement reproduced here is typical of the Norwell store. It is reduced from a full newspaper page that was used on the occasion of an annual silk sale in January. This advertisement with a lot of letters sent out by the mail order department resulted in the largest day without exception that the store has ever known in a silk sale. One of the letters sent out at this time is among those which follow. Small catalogues are also used on special h SELLING BY MAIL 47 occasions such as Christmas. A very good one was used two years ago to advertise toys, etc. The letters and "Trade Bulletins" that follow are fair speci- mens of those sent out by this store. They are interesting for several reasons. In the first place they are remarkably good letters—decidedly well written and convincing. They show the kind of goods that are pushed and when they are pushed. The dates cover all season of the year. Almost all of them were accompanied by samples as is indicated by the text. Every one of these letters is in itself a first class advertisement. The letters reproduced here are not intended to show the follow-up system but merely to illustrate the kinds used for various occasions. ♦ * ♦ 4c n TVT ^ Nashua, N. H., May. Dear Madam: We take pleasure in sending samples of what we consider the best wash fabrics in America for the price. We put on sale Wednesday mornmg, May 25th, 10,000 yards of high class Madras Ginghams All of them 32 in. wide in 50 different patterns and color combinations; this season s selections. The backward season is the only reason why the sale is made, and also why the price, always 25c per yard, now is marked down to 15c a yard. Our Mail Order Department is at your service; it is your de- partment, organized for the purpose of bringing people who cannot ^L ^^'"''^ ^''^'^ ^^^' '" ''^'''^ ^"""-^^ ^'^^ ^'hat we are doing mail for samples to-day. All communications answered by return Yours very truly, H. S. NORWELL CO. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ Dear Madam: ^''''"''' ^^ ^•' J""*" nri/^r!^ "'""'' "'*' ^P"^*'' '° "'^ ""^'^'•y ''"y^'- °n the score of price that does not come up to expectations in other ways, and low pnced goods that do not give satisfaction is poor economy. Ifs just t orofftlw".'"' '"^ ''°" "'" ^ ^'^" "^ "^^""^ '" ^ ^'-''hat makes U profitable for you to come and see the real purchasing power your money has Or, send to the Mail Order Department for samples, we're oMers a°/ H° ""' *'"'• ^' "^^ '' ""* ^"^-"i- «° "- mai! 30 m. Prmted Lawns. The goods were never retailed for less than .2Kc and upward to 15c. These are from the million and a ijl ioZ I ( [•1 I I / > fe 4g SALES PLANS auction sale of S.eetser. Pembrooke & Co.. New York. The price is ^ 'We'uust you will find something that may interest you in this selection Address all orders to H. S. Norwell Co. Yours very truly, H. S. NORWELL CO. ♦ * ♦ * Nashua, N. H., June. Dear Madam: ^ j| ^^r clerks take ao mucn p ., __-i^gs We receive many compliments on our '""X* s«d „...! »d ...M ,o. I, kind ™"* »»'„;■• u c ^f a few of vour friends whom you thmk might be interested ;:;%riu.orie7s:lr:that they may receive samples of var.ous underpriced goods as often as we have them for sale. Thanking you in advance for the favor we rema.n. Yours verj' truly, H. S. NORWELL CO. ♦ ♦ ♦ * Nashua, N. H., June. Dear Madam: C;,t„rdav next June nth, our biggest and S^nTvty L^s'sion'po^lrble. The lines consist o^ *e-ry newest bs. Ld seasonable kind. vi. white ^^''^ J^^ ^^f ;„tfwear r bllt dress goods, black and - ^t "in kct TveU^ P"taining to first- table linens, towels and beddmg, '" j'' ""^^^j;, ;„ your life, and L^g week. Attend this great bankrupt stock sale. This seasons SELLING BY MAIL 49 merchandise at one-third to one-half less than the regular selling price If It is impossible for you to call in person, write to us for samples Competent salespeople will attend to your shopping. If dissatisfied in any way with your purchase, return the goods at once to us, and your money will be cheerfully refunded. Yours very truly, r. u .'. "• ^- NORWELL CO. Uur bargains, hke time, wait for no one. Don't delay. Order to-day. * ♦ ♦ * n Af ^ Nashua, N. H., July. Dear Madam: Your name has been placed on our mail order list by a personal friend of yours; one who has been deeply interested in our Mail Order Department, and who has already derived benefit from same. In many cases It is impossible for people living away from the city, to be on \"r •f^.^T^T^"'^ ^^^'^ ''^'- Therefore, we have adopted this plan; a Mail Order Department Service where competent salespeople will attend to your shoppmg. If you are in any way dissatisfied with the goods sent you, return them at once and your money will be cheerfully refunded We send samples; we send goods on memo., subject to your approval.' The increased demand for Mercerized Jacquards in all the newest designs for shirt waists and shirt waist suits confirms our claim that these goods rival any 25c goods upon the market this season. The finish and lustre improves with washing, making it the most meritorious and satisfactory goods ever made to retail at the price. If you are not already familiar with these goods, inspect these samples closely; wash them- give them a severe test, and if they prove satisfactory to you, as we know tliey will, mail your order and we will have it filled at once Remember the supply is limited, only enough in this lot for about ten days selling. Hoping to receive a reply, we remain, Yours very truly, H. S. NORWELL CO. * * * * Nashua, N. H., July. NORWELUS JULY BULLETIN SUMMER NEEDS AT FRACTIONAL PRICES The opportunity which this month brings for an increased business in these goods is the reason for these unusual offerings. Buying greater quantities we can buy at lower figures, and selling greater quamities we can sell at a smaller margin of profit, so you get the benefit of two price concessions— the wholesalers' and ours. in .^WZT'"'^". '^""^"^ ^^ interested. If you do not find something m the list below that fills a present want, many of the things mentioned ^ 4 • ( 50 SALES PLANS win be profitable to buy at these prices against future needs— take our word for it. 30 in. Dress Muslins worth I2^^c for 9 c. 24 in. Foulard Silks worth 75 c for 59 c. 30 in. Barnaby Ginghams worth 25 c f or 1 1 ^c. 18 in. Silk Floss Pillows worth 30 c for 19 c. 20 in. Silk Floss Pillows worth 40 c for 29 c. 22 m. Silk Floss Pillows worth 50 c for 39 c 22 in. Silk Floss Pillows worth 60 c for 45 c. Palmer's Arawana Hammocks from 75c to $8. We guarantee a positive saving of 10 per cent on every hammock. Muslin curtains, 10 styles at 98c a pair, worth $1.25; bobbinet curtains, 5 styles, at $1.19 a pair, worth $1.50. 50c ladies' neckwear for 33c. Silks, mohair and cotton shirt waist suits at a positive saving of one-i.aU. White shirt waists in all the new styles and practical kinds at one half price. Write to the Mail Order Department at once for anything you need. This department is shopping for hundreds. Why not let it shop for you? You run no risk. Goods sent on approval subject to examination. If not what you want return at once. We send samples of anything you may desire. Yours very truly, H. S. NORWELL CO. ♦ ♦ ♦ * Nashua, N. H., February. NORWELL'S FEBRUARY TRADE BULLETIN. $20,000 worth of Spring and Summer merchandise at half and less than half price, for our Semi-annual sale of Manufacturers' Stocks and Mill Ends. Extremely heavy reductions made in the price of every piece of goods throughout this entire stock. Never in any previous event have the advantages which we have to offer at this big sale been equalled. The lowest price point in every instance has been reduced, and the prices are associated with only absolutely reliable grades and kinds, the kind of goods you will want right now. Thousands of yards of Spring and Summer Ginghams, Muslins, White Goods, Silks, Dress Goods, Cotton Cloths, Outing Flannels, Em- broideries, Laces, Ribbons, Linens, Crashes, Towels, etc., Blankets, Com- forters, Sheets and Pillow Cases, Bed Spreads, Wrappers, Kimonas, Muslin Underwear, Knit Underwear and Hosiery, Corsets, Shirt Waists, Coats and Suits, Boots, Shoes and Rubbers at Manufacturers' Prices. A IManufacturer's entire line of Curtains, including the fine and medium priced Muslin, Bobbinet, Nottingham, Motif, Battenburg, Irish Point and Renaissance, in white, cream and Arabian at exactly one-half price. No sale of this character this year or any other year has offered such great values. The reason for this great sale is this— by giving such SELLING BY MAIL 51 !!ir/h '.' V K ""f ''^'" '' ^^"^ '^' "^^^^ ^°°^ ^^ ^^^"^- -n advertise- ment that will be lastmg. We are bidding for the future, familiarizing '^°" ^'l^'^X^'^^ ^'■^'^ "^ ^"^^^ ^^^^ - ^^" -t such very little p ces NINE O Cmrf AM^n™.''.^.^^ "^^^^^^^^ FEBRUARY x8TH AT NINE O CLOCK AND CLOSES SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 25TH. H. S. NORWELL CO. ♦ * * * Dear Madam: Nashua, N. H., February. Datte™' l^hj" '',°V° ^r^" '"'''"' P"^'"* ^^^^iiion and sale of fine CuUtr, ^"' "'"'''"'' ''^ •"'"•"" °' ''^ worM-famous MESSRS. WILLIAM LIDDELL & CO., of BELFAST, IRELAND Expolit'on.'""""' "' '"' "''" '"" "^'^ «°''* """^'^ =" ">« St Louis This private display will occur in our linen store, first floor south- ^nd :"d":ndlth'^''?^''' ^'"'"^^ """ SATURDAY. FEBRUARY 2nd. 3rd and 4th, just pr.or to our public announcement of the purchase We have secured these fine cloths at so advantageous a price T- cause of our abil ty to handle the entire lot fl,,* ,, th^m AT cDr.»T 'laiiuic me entire lot, that we can actua ly sell them AT FROM 1-3 to 1-2 LESS THAN REGULAR PRICES ,nH I . '^7P"f s table cloths and napkins in all sizes of medium and finest grades of satin double damask in superb designs, and we ar" l^rSic'e" "'' °' '""' ""'"'''"'" ^PP™-' ^'^ - to d^-Tbility We shall publicly announce this sale in the daily papers, but we trust you w,ll ava,l yourself of the opportunity here offered ^or a p iva e and leisurely mspection before they are advertised. Yours very truly, H- S. NORWELL CO. * » » ♦ Dear Madam: ^"'^"'^ ^- "• J»""^n^- of olTr^NNUArT/LK SALk'^'V^""."^ ''**' ="' '"^ °^"'"^ '^'^^ .,.■ ■ ,"'']'^'^^ ^'l-K SALE. For days and weeks we have been tr,vmg hard to make this event a distinct and masterful "riumph mer every past record. A sale of this kind furnishes a yearly op^onuitv or PRicr '°, ''">:/'-^' 0™"'^ SILKS away UNDER L'reGuIaR rsarrii" '"'--' r? ^^ «TLKir:aSt: ana -4 m. Prmted Pongees, 24 m. Satin Foulards, 19 and 22 in. ' r ' 1- m ? 1 fe^B^SiP^"'-' I i 52 SALES PLANS F;,ncv Silks 24 in. Liberty Brilliants, 24 in. Crepe de Chine in fact evrrvth.nr.ha' is desirable for petticoats, shirt waists, shirt wa.st su.ts and gowns A particularly fine range of popular weaves and colors "'"vLTer'^td of such bargains in your life, and it will pay you to vS Norwell's Saturday, January t4th. H it 'l '"■-^-^'the'endos d rail in oerson write to us for samples at once, filling out the enclosed ^LZ circTaV. If not interested personally, will you be k.nd enough to hand this letter to some neighbor. Thanking you in advance for your kind favors, we remam. Yours very truly, H. S. NORWELL CO. ♦ ♦ * ♦ Nashua, N. H, November. ""'"^t^: doubtless traded by mail before now, and possibly were not satisfied. U .-. ''e ^^-J^ ^ ir Hhe^ri ^ Wo'd ' itt ^d p::t an::rn\; wh^^h ^lute satisfaction is guaranteed to '"Tra'word iust as much attention is given to every detail of - -i ' T^rg^ ::::; vlx ir -=^;irr :rtiorthan i"yo7:;::iVre in person, as it is our ambition to make this one department second to none m the btate. ^t^^tever With this brief introduction, we urge you to wnte -^- -^^^^^^^^^ ^„ rr^.v need- write to us for information; write to us for samples Therer^X^'deVanment can be of service to -"".J ^-^^^th -r :^;:::":rt int.rTes::erLsr;v^^ir;rw^t^ us .. r;. Make ths the test, and by its rest.lt. decide whether or not thts big store may in the future count on you as .ts patron and fnend. We promise to do our part. . Respectfully yours, H. S. NORWELL CO. 41. Mail Orders in a Small Town-That almost any re- tail store regardless of its situation, can build up a profitable r^ail ord r business, has been demonstrated frequently Mer- lants located in little towns have developed ^""h mat customers in the face of the strongest k.nd of compet.t.on. They SELLING BY MAIL 53 have proved conclusively that it is not necessary to be located in a great mercantile center in order to sell goods by catalogue. A case of this kind is furnished by the firm of Johnson & Acree, general merchants in Moody, Texas. Moody has a population of only 1,500, and that is a small town even in the Southwest, yet in a little more than two years this firm developed a flourishing mail trade, covering a wide area of surrounding country. Moody is situated in a rich agricultural and stock raising district in the central part of the state. The nearest large city is Waco, about twenty miles distant, with a population of near 30,000. Only one railroad reaches the little town, but there are now eleven rural routes, which cover the surrounding country pretty thoroughly. Considering all of these things, Johnson & Acree were convinced that they could develop a profitable mail order business. A little more than two years ago they sent out their first catalogue. It was a little book of thirty-two pages, 6x8 inches in size, and contained a long list of articles in dry goods, notions, clothing for men, women and children, shoes, millinery, etc. Each article was priced and described as accurately as could be done in a few words. Some of the articles were illustrated with cuts furnished by manufacturers, and other pictures. A list of names was com- piled from various sources. Some of them were obtained from the postoffice, others were the names of people from surrounding small towns, who had made purchases at the store occasionally. About 1,500 copies of the first catalogue were mailed. The re- turns were immediate and continued. Since that time the catalogue has been issued regularly twice each year — once for the spring trade and again in the autumn. It is gotten up in practically the same style each issue, the number of pages varying according to circumstances. There is nothing fancy about these catalogues — they are all business. A great number and variety of articles are listed, each one being described as concisely as is consistent with clearness and read- ability. In addition to the semi-annual catalogues, a monthly circular is sent to the same mailing list. These circulars are large sheets, intended to advertise some special sale event or to call attention. i I <1 )' ■ f i I 54 SALES PLANS to seasonable bargains. All departments are usually represented in the circulars. In busy seasons, such as just before Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas, the circulars are mailed each week instead of monthly, for several weeks. These are sent to a carefully selected list of about i,6oo persons in surrounding towns and along the R. F. D. routes. At these times samples are used to a considerable extent. Samples of a variety of piece goods, such as dress materials, laces, ribbons, embroideries, etc., are cut and tagged according to width and price. These samples are sent with the circulars, but the mailing is under the super- vision of a person who has a pretty thorough acquaintance with the needs and circumstances of the people whose names appear on the mailing list. He takes considerable pains to see that each person receives the sort of samples in which he or she is most likely to be interested. For the millinery department a special circular is sent out, illustrating the leading shapes and describing hats of certain values, always with the understanding that any hat that for any reason proves to be unsatisfactory or not as expected, may be returned either for an exchange or refund. It is a significant fact that among all of the many hats sold last year only one was returned. Another effective means of advertising used by Johnson & Acree is the little booklet that the manufacturer sends out to exploit his line. Whenever it is possible they get the exclusive sale on some well known brand of goods, and with them they get a liberal quantity of advertising matter, which is judiciously distributed. For example, a hosiery factory sends its customers a clever little catalogue ; another factory distributes a booklet on men's or bovs' clothing; another one on underwear. Each of these booklets is gotten up in the best possible style and bears Johnson & Acree's name as well as prices and other information regarding the goods. They bring in much business. In news- paper advertising, this firm uses from 90 to 180 inches each week and this is supplemented with "dodgers" and small bills that are enclosed with every package sent out. Johnson & Acree have no space in their store allotted spe- cially to mail orders. As soon as an order is received either by SELLING BY MAIL 55 mail or phone, it is turned over to a clerk, who fills it immediately and sends it out. The customer is charged with the mailing expense, except on light goods amounting to 50c or more. Ex- pressage is prepaid on purchases amounting to $5 or more. Of course, every mail customer is given as good service as if she visited the store personally, on special sale days as well as at other times. The eleven rural routes furnish an excellent delivery service for small parcels. Once each year the mailing list is re- vised carefully, "dead" names being removed and desirable new ones added. The greater part of the names are obtained from postoffices in the territory covered by the store. There are about 1,000 telephones in the district through which this store's trade extends and these are of the greatest service in advertising special sales as well as in soliciting and receiving special orders. A farmer living on one of the rural routes has only to phone in his order and the goods will be de- livered to him by the next carrier. This is a convenience that is greatly appreciated by the farmer, especially in busy seasons. Johnson & Acree have also a well equipped grocery depart- ment, carrying high grades of advertised goods and catering to the best trade. No attempt is made to sell groceries by mail, as owing to the weight and bulk of the goods, they cannot be de- livered by rural carriers except in exceptional instances. Both order-men and the telephone are used to get orders for this de- partment. When new things are received, it has been found the best plan to send the order-men around with samples. The telephone is used to call up regular customers for their daily orders. 42. Selling Shoes by Catalogue — The farmer is as a rule, a pretty busy man, and at certain seasons his duties make it im- possible for him to get into town. At other times bad weather and rough roads keep him at home. These conditions make him an excellent subject for the mail order man and rural delivery offers the retail shoe dealer a splendid opportunity to extend his business in this direction. Any shoe dealer situated in a town surrounded by an agricultural country can do a good mail order business with the farmers along the rural delivery routes. !i' I J I 56 SALES PLANS There is nothing complicated or mysterious about a mail order business. All that is required to give it a trial is a good booklet and a list of addresses. In getting up the booklet one of the most important features is the illustrations. The goods to be sold will be judged largely from their pictorial representations, and these must be good. There is no economy in cheap cuts. The texture of leather is best represented by half-tone engravings, although hne draw- ings may be used effectively. Electros suitable for this purpose can usually be had without cost from the manufacturers whose shoes the dealer handles, and, if this cost can be saved the book- let may be issued at small expense. The class and variety of shoes to be illustrated must be decided by local conditions, but as a general proposition it pays to sell the better grades. The reading matter in the booklet should be brief and to the point, and some simple system of self measurement should be indicated. Shoes can be sold almost as readily from a catalogue as from a store and the merchant who gets a good booklet in the hands of the farmers is a long way ahead of his competitor who waits for the farmer to come to town. 43. A Christmas Catalogue— Nor well's store in Nashua, N H., used a catalogue to advertise their Christmas toys from which they obtained excellent results. It is a nicely printed little book, 5x7 inches in size and contains sixteen pages with a colored cover. . The tovs listed are, for the most part, arranged in well chosen assortments comprising about half a dozen articles. Sep- arate assortments are advertised for boys and girls. Each item is described and priced separately, then the lot is priced at a sub- stantial reduction. The assortments vary in price from one to five dollars and each one is illustrated with a good half-tone en- graving. In preparing the photographs from which the engravings were made, the toys in each assortment were arranged on a table covered with a white cloth in front of a dark background. This brings the articles out in strong contrast and makes an excellent picture. In addition to the assortments, a number of f If SELLING BY MAIL 57 dolls and other articles were illustrated and described on the re- maining pages. One page was used for suggestipns for gifts suitable for the various members of the family. This little book was distributed to the local customers of Norwell's store and was also used to obtain mail orders from out of town customers. 44. A Catalogue That Paid — A merchant in Areola, III, issued a catalogue at a cost of $75.00. He was strongly advised against it by some of his friends who said that he would never get his money back. Results, however, showed the friends to be wrong and the merchant is very well satisfied with the ex- periment. Instead of mailing these catalogues he sent men out to de- liver them personally to prospective purchasers, and at the same time give a personal invitation to his store, as he could do this about as cheaply as to send them through the mails, and then he was sure of getting them into the hands of the right parties.* This is what he says.: ''I do not know how much influence these catalogues had in bringing trade to me, but I do know this, that since I sent them out I have sold $25,000 more goods than I ever sold before in the same length of time. I am inclined to credit the greater part of this increase to my catalogue adver- tising." We are quite sure the plan of issuing a catalogue is worthy of consideration by most merchants. 45. Comparative Prices — It is stated that one of Chicago's mail order houses does a business of more than $30,000,000 a year. It is probable that these figures are somewhat overdrawn. Whether they are or not does not make much difference; one thing at least is certain — the mail order houses are doing a tre- mendous business and each year the volume is increasing. Hun- dreds of millions of dollars are annually diverted from local retailers into the coffers of concerns that sell by catalogue. Naturally this competition is viewed with considerable appre- hension by retailers everywhere, particularly by those situated in the smaller towns. Many of these have suffered keenly by the inroads intg their business. On the other hand, however, there ;fi I 58 SALES PLANS I i I I are many merchants in comparatively small places who have lost very little through the competition of catalogue houses. The merchants who have felt most keenly the loss of trade to mail order houses, have been those who have done little or nothing to avert this loss. It is in a large measure their own fault if outsiders have weaned away their customers. The home store has so manv points in its favor that the merchant who pre- sents his case properly cannot fail to win. The home store has this incontrovertible advantage— it can show the goods. The catalogue man says: "I will sell you a suit of clothes like this picture." The home dealer says: "I will sell you this suit- look at it— feel the goods— take it and wear it and if it is not all that is claimed for it, you can have your money back." As far as price is concerned, most stores undersell the mail order houses. The latter may be able to go below on some few leaders, but when their prices are taken right straight through, freight added, the local store ought to have the best of it. If it has not, it is because there is something the matter that needs looking into. As to quality— every good store nowadays has a standing guarantee that covers that point and stands ready to back up any printed or spoken statement with an exchange of goods or a refund of the purchase price. This is a thing the catalogue house does not do. Having these advantages, it only remains for the local dealer to impress them upon the public, and the best means of accomplishing that end is through the use of the county newspaper. There will always be some people who will buy away from home through natural perversity, but an overwhelming majority of the people in any community are rational beings who are perfectly willing to "be shown." If they buy from mail order houses, it is in the belief that they get more for their money and if the home dealer can convince them to the contrary, he will get their business. . A most convincing argument on the subject of mail order buying is contained in the advertisement of Dupee Brothers, Earlville, III, that is reproduced here. This is an advertisement that there is no getting away from. The statements made in the upper hand half are strong but reasonable. It is not an appeal to local pride nor to sentiment, but to the business instinct of the : » SELLING BY MAIL 59 Some Facts and Figures Concerning Mail-Order Competition T"fnr ^h!l^5" u^ ^""^'""^ goods Of Mail-ofder Houses is an expensive habit and in the end is a money loser for those who practice it. Let us compare a few methods and prices. You are obliged to S them your money before you see what you are buying. You are ob%ed to buy from pictares and de^" mon.v uU J"",!""** P*y *» fr^'eht charges. In case good* do not suit you have the goods, they have tb^ ' Tt a murmur Xch7h.°v^»onH^*'^ many people will accept merchandise of these catalo^e ho^aS^tS fpw nth.r Tt^ Au =^^ f ? ? ** ""' *''*'*J'* °^ '°''^' '^'=^'='^ *t a°y price. For bait they seU you sugar and a un on ofhU »2vi x/*?' '"^ "'°'"'^ '***" ^^^ *=''" purchase them. But they must and do more tLn mSce th>nVi^/»il ! The.^"P«"S" are enormous. It costs them far more to seU a dollars worth of goods ^J^r.lf«^,ltK^•*''^'*P'*^*'"•. Few people realize that it coste one of these houses $350 ooo a ylarto merely issue their catalogues and this is surely added to the selling price of the goods. *35o,«oo a year to Not counting all ofthesethings-the fact that you are hurthij the value of your own farm or orooertv 7tnSl^''fV^I^'r''^'''^^''':}^''^r^^^''^'' f«* '^*' ^^^^^ yourproduce SgreyTgoXlTe^ &^a;^^/^hi„!!fjf""^"*^*i"^'*'*'''^'''^^^^^ th*^ «^dy cash, and caS always bring goods are! harH l?,rt ^Ln^?" ^'>*" *^«^y are not satisfactory; and the fact that you or any of your neighbfrf who are in hard ludc can always get financial help from the local merchants; in spite of aU of these tWngs, if you ft yIu hfv^lf.i'.'IP^'" °[l^t "^''-°^«1«'- houses than of us, we would advise%ou to do it B^tTu^t^So h^veoTentryti^eSfHrH fh^°" ^M^iu^^f^ " ^^ evenings, and the prices in it look cheap because yoS have plenty of tune to study them, and the descriptions are written in fine language. But if you wiU take your cheaoTthan the^^^'^'^Pn"'^ right through, and if we dont furnish you the^lme ar^de^ Sty cSfde^d cheaper than the mail-order house does, we wiU give them to you, and you wont be buvimc aivthinir bv m. book descnption, either. You will see the goods, inspect the quLity, and gef XteveJ gStw to^ U o! &oort if'i'^ t f °' '"I' ^°" afterward, there will be no t^ubte or risk in exchSS^^e^S^^t^em ]"J^PP°l^°^°'"-^%^^"'^^tsv.e quote ;,kvr prices for comparison. These prices are iU taken fiSmn^ aS In o^/.u?- ^r""^r H> fig""«g prices to add to catalogue prices, freight, draft exchinge^d S w^eom!^rSrtcfa°rre;. '^''"'""°^ Owmg to..the difficulty in figuring the^eight on smfller arS, The Minimum Freight Chargge for L^ss than lOO lbs. is 25c W«Guir»iiUtAnOu«litk»E Itiin 1 tat. . . W' Om~ Jfltt-m M it u Mm.. C A:::: $M4»w aiih far Ltalwl'*"'! WMMPtlto. tkaiTT. Wk(w DrMMt anHb P«ri BgtMM. ammud BUc» TmIoc BaiUM , Mm t Lifkt Wowta* ikiim'imlf Moti AirUMa a— 41 iililifc., Mm • AjfeMM Om«mm Otow. i»w PtaUM. mtitmma mMm .. wofM vt«Jir^ ^^■■ »Or«t> ViMvw ArbwklwCoAM V.wy B«t Rm. fn pent FMcy SasbM... . r««r» Uorte kB4 Java.. ..*«., OMOvvOTsmat Jm J^'' g=5§r..*-:;;::::::::::: **tvmn PMn „... Etf>Pl«M •••-"". UrMftOMM PlMM ""', I po«*4 «M Bt— Bikii liHi Faary C»«« Oinm* Urt p«r »M*a LMTd p*T 3 posftd Mil WkiiaPiak. prr lO rn*4ptf.... M«Hi.»^. per 10 waH J/M.'.'". K»r%n*\. pM9K*t* pMrtPlMr pu 10 pt,M4««. ' or% UmI. ht '0 poBB^Mife .... P<^Cora.pM pea«4 M»n«Vtu pw paetaff* Watt*. POT y»ekaf« Mb » JmI PrisM LiMlna, t rukvid... tm PriaM LteDbu, 4 jwd. •id... Bat Ubid Uaolna WAUit^ SKUloiMi Hiddliaii '8mU mcI. iKta. MO te.. jJBiu, taaJrfi ; >raaii4 drtrr SMh. 100 Its iBktdifbrfV nit IM.100ns OilnniiMi «0 O.Uoa OUTuk *Um GmoUm, huni M* oaly , SloraGwoliM, •i^l.tdoa PeaUa wiii l btooi Soap ^. „ J^ iMoUfcd Omms Smt... Isral. chii 100 Bm lawiiMi WimUi tmf.„„.. „ S«hi. PiM. traaka, M iaek cum «>nnA..._._ tPlfct Pita, Sait oaaa« tt lack, bridle batkar. Airt toU. Ill f M ^ DUPEE BROS., ^ (INCORPORATED) ElarlviUe's Biftgeat. Busiest and Best Tradi '..'T-.r.^VJ'l n^ Place. 'Phone 43. Groce>7 Dept. 42 4 I i gQ SALES PLANS reader, and every word is backed up by the parallel colun^^^^^^^^ figures below. The articles of merchandise '^'^'^^^^^^^^ chosen with a good deal of judgment. Among them are in Sed many articles of standard ™facturers cov^^^^^^^ rietv of lines. This advertisement was run as a full-page m tne Svile paper and was afterward reprinted as a circular an^ S Lted by mail wherever it was thought that it migh^ d good The results were highly satisfactory as a great man) or^e s were received from people accustomed to buy from cata- og^es. Any store situated similarly to Dupee B-he- ^^^^ use this kind of an advertisement with profit. It is the on y practical way of meeting mail order --P^^^^-'^^^^^^^ Lv where hey can buv the cheapest and no amount of talk boutt:L inLtry" will make them buy at ho- ^^^^^^^^^^^ they can get the same thing for less money some place else. CHAPTER III. EXPOSITIONS. During the last few years it has grown common for stores to have all sorts of expositions, varying from simple demonstra- tions of some article, to elaborate shows, comprising a large num- ber of exhibits. These expositions are usually of an industrial character, showing the process of manufacture of various goods carried in stock by the store. That Expositions are successful in bringing increased trade to the store, there is no doubt, and many large stores hold them year after year. They are usually held in connection with a spring or fall opening — more commonly the latter. The following examples will give some idea of the manner in which store expositions are conducted : 46. An Exposition of Manufactures — Hochschild, Kohn & Co., Baltimore, held in their store an "Exposition of Manufac- tures" that was notable in a number of ways. It was in the nature of an educational exposition and was one of the most complete of its kind ever conducted by a store. It lasted two weeks. About twenty industries and processes of manufacture were shown in detail. A considerable number of them were local ; others were from various cities. In one exhibit was shown every step in the making of an umbrella; in another part of the store a man and a boy were making wicker rocking chairs. Then there was a booth where a workman was gilding and burnishing picture frames, and an- other where plaster casts of Indian heads were being painted. The most important exhibit was one where the process of making cut glass was shown. This consisted of two cutting frames with 62 SALES FLANS workmen transforming plain glass vessels into rich, sparkling cut glass. There was a silk loom weaving black taffeta silk— an en- velope-making machine, folding, gumming and pasting envelopes —an automatic pin-ticket machine, which cut a ticket from a EXPOSITION GAZETTE BALTIMORE'S BEST STORE Vol. I WEDNESDAY. SEPTEMBER 27. 1905 No. 9 A Stpt*mb*r Colloquy S*ld Mr. BaMttln Apple To Mr., fcrtldt Par. " You'r* frowing very plump, Bjd«^ Aad aSw rrtj f«ir. " And then l< Mit. Obifttosc Pticb. So mello«Kl by >••« »"<■ Upon my word, khr rrally lo Quite gond cnou(b lo rat. "And »a th« Miawt Cr.b»pDl« Hart bluahed m roiy rM TiMt »«ry ioon tli» Jnrtuer • wUo To pluck tknf •« "P"' Tliu tlwy rMlIy irr b<|innin( To t• "';««.»"<',^ I our Uxington-strecl door every week- many cases four yams entering into the j ^^ ^^ • ^ ^^j , p „ The points construction of the """""-"^^X of interest in the city are visited and ex- warp, spool and extra beam— and the .^^^^^ ,„j , ,„„ j, made through capabilities of the machine are such as t . j,.|| p^^ Passengers are re- 10 make it possible to produce »**»•); O'! ,„V„ed to the starting pon.l or left at more different classes of «<>« Thf™ „„ point ihey designate along the are about 175 l«ce-curtain machines in the I jny l~_. 7. . are aooui 1/3 i«v<;-,.«,.- — -- — : , country, distributed among twelve dif- 1 ---.^ ^ ferent plants, reprtsenting a caoiUl to I sale m ine the amount of nearly $3,000,000. The average production per machine runnmg 20 hours (which it is necessary to do in order to bring a profiuble return) IS from 25 to 400 pairs; according to iiie and complexity of pattern After the lace leaves the machine it goes to the mending-room, where it a carefully examined for imperfection* ^ The searching requires a trained eye. and 1 the mending demands skilled needle- women Next comes dressing or starch- ing, which represent* a most important part of the finishing process, as much ol Ih* attractiveness of the curtain depends upon its soft, smooth and supple tex- ture In Nottingham the maker of cur- Uin does not finish them, but sells them " in the gray," the finishing being done by concerns specially organised to treat The fare is $1.00— tickets are on "SHOES. UNLIMITED" Tkii nrnftmy tnnntu ttat • it «#«ria( ttr fU Ml CAPITAL STOCK I* any woman, ./irl ae »*» to BaiiiiMre. BIG DIVIDENDS tt ctmltrt, aaruteMan. *"d are rtn—t every da» Tkird Floor piece of cardboard, printed it, put in a wire staple and attached the ticket to goods, all in one operation. Beside a big power- loom, turning out Turkish wash cloths, sat an Armenian la- boriously weaving on an old-fashioned hand-loom. EXPOSITIONS 63 Then there was a book-bindery, a shoe-lasting machine with a workman nearby sewing welts, card-plate printing, candy mak- ing, lace curtain making, furs and fur-working, woven silk pic- tures, an exhibit of vici kid, etc. One of the most popular ex- hibits was a Linotype from one of the local newspaper offices. EXPOSITION GAZETTp ma'U pHmt 'tm " EXPOSITION GAZETTE A Journal of. for and by the People PuausHiD CACH Weekday at HOWARD AND LEXINGTON STS. Baltimore, Marvland IDITOSS AND PUiLISHiaS SuiscaiPTioH Paici. Nothing Tuesday, SgpxEMBER 19. 1905 CROOKED PERSPECTIVE With the advent of the fall season, hundreds of young men are entering the vestibule of real life. Some clamor for the full brightness Ihey fancy lies lie- yond the entrance door; some dream of fantastic betterments, when once they get a chance to rule the illumination. All take themselves seriously— and thai is well. Life is a scriqu* proposition — real life. The average life seem* frivolous or puerile— but we are not the final judges. Who knows wlut laggard may wake up sarhen Opportunity knocki? It isn't so much that the young man can do little for years. It c"'cems humanity that he does not do lu.m. Don't gel crooked perspective: don't swrofigly weigh values; don't take "suc- cess" as the true measure of things. Prove all things. The success that lasts gives the lie to a thousand so-called brilliant winners. There are not different kinds of good. Don't forget that It made a man shudder to hear a business .lun say that a well-known great lawyer couldn't win a certain civil cuit for him— "it doesn't call for that kind of a lawyer." What! are there " kinds " of lawyers ? A wholesale house sold "pounds" of yam that weighed from laH to 15 ounces. One man said yam was lold by Troy weight It sounds more like Sing Sing. A manufacturer who puts out goods for anybody under a lying brand is not clean. Beware of crooked perspective. In private and public business there is • growing premium for probity. ^Int of VIeva TIm fam boy fared on the gray caakicr. And laooght, at entranced, he linfered near I *yLandl would Ibat 1 that job could hold — To stand all day and juat count (ofd." Tkc gray caahier, from bis dull employ. Viewed tbe Unbrown cbtefcs ol tbe awkward boy. And muacd; " It anmld be aav dcareat wlah Could I ba Ibat boy and (o ok le tab." AMONG THE EXHIBITS While you are uaiching the Linotype, be sure to stand at the back of the ma- chine and see . the matrices go home. A Wicker Rocker will be sent to nearly every house where Jhere is a little girl, after mother sees how it is made. Gilded Picture Frames aren'i a bit pretty before they are gilded. It's an instance of "fine feathers make fine birds" .^ girl, looking at the Linotype, said: ■ Oh. he touches one little place, and it does all that \ " Sewing the braid on the net to make Renaissance Lace Curtains is a rather simple-looking operation But who knew hou it was done, or that is was done at all ? A few strokes with a brush — and the know-how— and placid-looking Indian faces become almost terrorizing in ap- pearance. . Be sure to see the Shoe-Lasting Ma- chine It is an astonishing thing Three of the books that are being bound are: "Laddie." '•Sweetness and Light," and "The Greatest Thing in The World." There are a number of other title*. K great many people inspected the Furs, and watched the Cutler and the Sewer at work. The Turkish Loom acts as though it was bent on accomplishing a great deal quickly. It's noisy, but it does things. Umbrella-making is interesting. The first umbrella made here was bought by a man who watched every step of the process. The Card-Plate Printer is an amaz- mgly dexterous young man. How, with ink-covered hands, he can avoid soiling the cards, is almost a mystery. But he does it. The Glass-Cutters have steady eye* and steady hands, and cut intricate pat- terns without a mistake or slip,. Olv* th« Best That I* In You The best lesson in culture is to leam lo give the best that is in us under all circumstances. He who is master of himself .will be able to command his FOR SALE COLUMN .i>po yaidi %f heaulilul Satia-Stri^ Silk, lu the vcry'neweat coloriaaa a« «i«ns. *i.»s . T.rd. FIRST FLOOB Imported Scotch Plaid Dre FigsT"g£b-;jiew foU deaifna. laKe a yard. FIRST FLOOR. Women's All-Linen Initial TTiniBiiiibMfa *-* FIRST FLOOR. ^^ ■ sc 'or ssc to soc Stock CoUara. Swia* Embroidered, in Brodcric Anctawe egactL ■ a styles. FIRST FLOOR.^^^ Cavalier Kid Glovea for Women. Si. 00 $1 ss value. FIRST FJOOt. FaB Boys' Fall Suits, *s.oo. Suae a of pants. SECOND FLOOR. ts.oo for Thick, Warm Sweaters for Bays. Plain White, '^'--' " - ■■ ■ -' net, Bff FLOOR. a White, Oaford Gray, Cardinal. Gai^ net. Bottle Green, and Black. ^COMD Pretty Back Fancy Top. tl.aa FLOOl FIRST FLOOR. a pair. Wl* Gunmctal Lorcnctte aad Fan Chains aet wiA as rrnlala. fa-SO vnlna for ti.ao. FIRST GoldPUtid Nathcraola FIRST FLOOR. Bracdaa. |i.aa. Fantana Bella— a aovally FIRST FLOOR. |t.aa. powers at all times. No matter how distracting his surroundings, how un^ fortunate the conditions under which he works, he will be able lo focus his powers completely and to marshal them with certainty. If things go hard with the self-maslered man, he will be able to trample upon difficulties, and to use his stumbling-blocks as stepping-stones. If a great misfortune overtakes him, he will simply use it as a startinf-point for a new departure, a turning-point for more determined endeavor. He may even be weighed down with sorrow or suffering under discouragement, but he always starts anew with redoubled de- termination to do the thing he has set his heart upon. The power of self-subjection of a de- termined soul is alitiosi incredible. Im- prison him, and he writes a "Pilgrim's Progress ; " deprive him of his eyesight, and he creates a " Paradise Lost Vaaily BafB. tiaa to Ss-oa Uoaally good -nlmt. FIRS' AO arc IT FLOOR. Evtaina Faaa— an cxtcaaiva aaaonaaaL to i rt.ao. FIRST FLOOR. H« A Shaipla Uae of Fine Mualia Underwear at much Icaa tbaa rcgulae pricaa. TRIRO FLOOR. Point Gate aad Iriab Crochet Lace Stocks a}C Worth jsc and sac. FIRST FLOOR. Punjab Silk Neckwear for Men b - sac FIRST FLOOR. A pair of pretty Miniature Rubber Shoes or Boots will be given witii each pair of shoes purchased during the tw9 weeks of the Esposiliou. As an educational factor, ll)^ Exposi- tion of Manufactures is of very great imporunce to the city A Bargain Mark Antony had just joined his forct in battle with Octavius. When the news was carried to Oeopatra, the bir Queen wa.s beard to murmur : " Oh, what a lovely bargain ? " "A bargain ? " inquired one of her gen- erals. " Yes, indeed," >he replied, " it**, go- ing to be a ca*e of Mark dowa* And the officer was promptly bebcaded for laughing. Experience U not onl^ a severe teach- er, but a slow oa& for )u*t a* a man be- gins to leara nicely he is old enough M This was kept busy setting name slugs for everybody who wanted them. Whenever the nature of the goods would permit a special bargain was offered in the goods at each exhibit. For example, ■ 'I i-1 *, I r • r 1 I g^ SALES PLANS a regular $I75 umbrella was made at that exhibit and sold k>r $1 oo The silk loom was turning out 75c goods and this (and other silk of exactly the same grade from stock) was sold at 48c At the cut glass exhibit bowls usually sold at $5.00 were priced at $2.90, and so on throughout the whole exposition. EXPOSITION GAZETTE EXPOSITIONS 65 THE FALL-SHOES FAMILY OF PATHFINDERS EVERY WOMAN. GIRL AND BOY llM raa* til* kT-w*T* •* 1^ •ILKUOOM I rUM AND rU..WO„K.MO On thii loom Bl.ck T.ff.ta S.Ik » , '" ^^^^^ ,^, pur Piecei »re Uken U tcinc woven—* very inur«ting t«hibu ^^^^ j^hibit. Th« furs dMired miy b« ,4Ar EXPOSITION OFfER/A'C- „i„„d from thow shown. »nd the cul- Tk, Silk wovtn on tku loom, mi '"*£' | „ng and «w.n« w.U b« <»°"' ■«« nU ol t*ac>ly tk* nm* grad*. «< «8ci ^ EXPOSITION OFFERING-. a yari Rtgnlaf frui u 75* ._ ,_ U largf PilUm, Mulf and a Throw, mtU "'" • -rkm r\^\"f'^l^g^ Blut-Cray Natural SqmirrtI WOVtN SILK WCTUWM U,joo _,„^ ,^. CHARGES ARE VERY SMALL • mk llM Mrrin Ikar f» CUmtm, * ■•» S»«« *"« <^*- Btittmara. Everything that cm be op«.ted will be in operation every rt Srinf pvtn A young woman i. oipiFi..^ Bon.— a deliciou. looking operation. ^JV EXPOSITION -OFFERINU- Bon Bont—auorted Attvori—a* JOc « fomni. Rtp^ P^' " SO'_Fto« rw« AUTOMATIC PIH-TICKBT MACHINE "-'•-— &^/sK. """"*'•■• Thi. machine cut. the ticket, from a .heet ol cardboard, print, 't- P«» » »h« wire .taide, and attache, the ticket to 1 Everybody will want to *tt thi. ma- chSi whicfi doe. it. work aImo.t hu- "•oiTa b«Kh nearby .it. .,r°L^ ^ viewing welt, for our $a9f Shoe, lor A young woman i. " dipping " Bon | „„„„. _^ MAKING WICKER ROCKERB Fr« Corrio*. om* !".> Co.. »oll«-»r«. A man and a boy are bu.y making Wicker Rocker, lor «•»'<•«"■ ^„,„- AN EXPOSITION OPFERINC- Ch,Urn> W.ck^ Rocker,. ;«*"*'' bHnt mad: •« »I "» «'«•'" '"" " S'75- — Tkli4 Fl««. MAKINO LACE CURTAINB wTe .taii; «^d "(ache, thi ticket to MAKINO LACE C""^" "• ;;;:d.Xi;. one op«r..io.. _,^ ^ ,„. CUk. C..«<. W^k.. ""^'^J^ '"■ 1 Renaiaunce Lace Curuin.-hand»in« CAR»rLATE PRINTINO rnm W,at-* * Co.. BMm-,. ] oAci — are being nuoc F«« ITHWoorf * Co.. BMrn.". \ K„uU,ant, Lac. C""»»'p"«*f * ,^ Printing vUitin, card. lro» cw; , „.«/..«, «' ^ f^J-./^jli J^!,^lTi ^1 plale^-a proce.. that "exactly the re- "^Sa J^^'^^^J'^ ,,„, ,.«r it f wvt of printing from type. iwf» »f'»r ?'«'£•• ". , „.,.. .■.._ /1W EXPOSITION OFFERING- «a C«fd^ »nii«rd from ptrioni amm M S7 so. T»ry cannoi at oci-r'.- . — - ^AINTINO INDIAN HEAOB Fro- Ci.«..* »or««i * SOM. •*»««". Deftly and »"»«'«*"''•, 5'*':", ""liJ! .i.itrr catt. are converted into tn« Blaster can. ,?■«*, ,_.,..„ Wirnari MEROENTHALER LINOTYPE F^. ra. .«.*.. H««. »--—• ^ t"'."o, , • - . 4JSdi™wd without poMibility ol miv 1 >•«» " yS' •^ve yoor name Kt up and cart on a Unotype ilng-if » Irec _.^^^ ^^^ EXHIBIT or VWI KIO F». lto».« H. r.ard.'^. i—w**^ Do««.of. fin. KidAij*^ in bl«W — Fovftk Fbw. PICTURE-rRAME OILDINO rnm Btltimtrt Art Co.. BaHimTt. A workman i» gilding and burni.hin« Picture Frame.— «e how it i. done. AN EXPOSITION OFFERING- wh^dVii "z «^^r.. '"«"^ i2.nr^^- i ..-..J. "or 5o2!S.-. ind children. Jh«^ ^.\*^' " *** -f-* '^• a breezy four page sheet, H'A^Syi in size and was edited by Mr. Harman Stewart, the Advertising Manager of Hochschild, Kohn & Co. There are reproduced here a number of representa- tive pages of the Exposition Gazette, showing its typographical makeup and giving a very good idea as to the nature of its read- EXPOSITION GAZETTE LACE CURTAINS & PORTIERES ANNOUNCE ThM—»Uktttk tkt tmetttu fruit U tlttmui ?tm*i 1 tkt ktHtm tf tW kmtkti. tkt kttHotUmg tftUi o» fttckti or fklwu art timtt mrtriokly of tkt » ■» mack ke—lj it mmUmt tt kt ttn M Ikiir ktUamrUrt. «a tkt ftmrik FUtr. Lift ■ Century Ago One hundred years ago a man could eot take a ride on a steamboat. He could not go from Washington to New York in a few hourt He had never seen an electric light or dreamed of an electric car. He could not send a telegram. He couldn't talk through the telephone, and he had never heard of the hello girl. He could not ride a bicycle. He could not call in a itenographer and dictate a letter. He had never received a type«cntten communication. He had never heard of the germ theory or worried over bacilli and bacteria. He never looked pleasant before a photographer or had his picture taken. He never heard a phonograph talk or •aw a kinetoscope turn out a priie fight He never saw through a Webster'. Unabridged Dictionary with the aid of a Roentgen ray. He had never taken a ride in an ele- vator. He had never imagined such a thing af • typeKtting machine or a typewriter. He had never uMd anything but a ivooden plow. He had never Men hi. wife u.ing a •cwing machine. He bad never struck a match on hi. |>ants or anything else. He couldn't take an anesthetic and luTC his leg cut off without feeling it He had never purchased a lo-cent magazine which wo'ild have been re- carded as a miracle of art. Bill Johnaon'a Opinion* l'v« ollu* Botissed. fcllen, Bk'o o riiky thinff to do To kollnUtc occordin* To bow tfaingt looks to you. Tke man „_ Don't help you upbiil I ulks the niccot „clp you upbiil: The one 'at prays the loudest Don't allui pay ka MU. Sooottmea the bicgcsl iabcs Bites the smallest Unda o* An* micfaty ualy wiannia Can make tnc beat o* Mat) baitii Tbe smartest looldn* icDcr , May be > ra'lnr {bol. Vou're alios kicked Ibc ki(bcal Br tke meekest looUn' mule. A* Tnw •■ Ooami Sociability is of the kmiI: the cat and the mouse are together, but they are anl WKiaL The individual who climbs to fame ant fortune over the daonlders of other, mat look down on their hatred. Some girl, who profes. to be highly educated have nierdy been immerwd ia a weak wlution of accompiidunent.. None %a little enjoy themselves and are Mch burden, to themKlve. a. thou who have nothing to do. Only the active have tbe true reluh of life. Practice patience, laid Rndcin.- I caa tell you that it requires nearly as modi practicing a. music ; and we are continu- ally losing our leuons when the maMer He wa. loving, but very bashful. Ha sax two full yard, from tbe girl of haa choice. "Tom." die Tcntured. 'yon have been a new.paper writer for Mine time?" "Yes. darling." he responded proudly. "Then why don't you follow the motto of your profeuioo ? " " Tha motto of my profesuon? " " Yes: ' Fil up .pace.' " And he foUowtd the \ right there. DRESSGOODS, SILKS & VELVETS PURVEYORS TO.REFINEIMENT Aud rttnememi it /ooWonoMo pekc your food wdL Bfaoth No. 9 Ot> expert demmstratoe Wi Onriwiati wil bake AW Pood Caki en Estate GaaSano.- We wHukc pieiiuR hi Aenrtag 01* vh- tun icv to i n t Wfalrr .etc. Booth No. S PtMt waa 'a vu, tapx'Inkh. St^SO buys aSr«Ua Syphoa <<< aA e« Mr. FtaMT about k. Booth No. 1 7 Dw^ PtRubkies nafct HmUatJmtomr. Booth No. 1 9 Whenysu want (oodbttad, cakas and pastry buy Poilcirs Beganl Flour. Ask the croceryman. Booth No. 20 We recommend Octacoei Soapinow MajeatieWath g^ Machint. it It put and very tirotic. ffl aak eveey- Booth No. 2 1 Fire prDO< Starch atrcncth- cns tartncnia. doa away witfaactidails. Jaikltiad null 11*1 il I in li* tJ «. ft laMii i. (tUMlKfbBfa>t one who got a cook book and it was stated on the coupon that the books would not be delivered to children or servants. On the reverse side of the coupons were the following questions, with spaces fcr the answers : Please write a suggestion to benefit us. Your criticism of service, stock and prices. What do you think of an Indoor Exposition ? More than four thousand names and. addresses were regis- tered and this gave a very valuable list of names for future ad- vertising purposes. Another souvenir of the exposition was an interesting little booklet descriptive of the growth of the store. The show windows of the store were decorated especially for the occasion. One of them contained a mechanical mill and in another was an Indian camp and an elaborate display of cutlery. 1 1 11 72 SALES PLANS EXPOSITIONS 73 51. Pure Food Exhibit— Grocers who have tlie room for it will find a Pure Food Show a good means of advertising their stores. These exhibits are growing more and more popular with large grocers and department stores. The Goerke Co., of New- ark, N. J., hold an annual Pure Food Show in their grocery department. For the accommodation of manufacturers who wish to exhibit their products, attractive booths are constructed for the demonstration of goods. These booths are rented to the manufacturers at the rate of $io per week for each booth. A circular letter is sent to the manufacturers inviting them to take part in the exhibition and calling attention to demonstration as an effective way of advertising. Of course the small grocer could not hold a Pure Food Show on such a large scale. Still, with the help of the manufacturers of the various goods he handles, he could make a very creditable exhibit. 52. A Housekeepers' Fair— Kaufman's department store in Pittsburg held what was advertised as a "Housekeepers' Fair." As the name implies, it was an exposition of all sorts of devices used in housekeeping, cooking, etc. The fair lasted a week and was held in the basement salesroom. Arrangements were made with the manufacturers of a great variety of household helps to furnish demonstrators for their wares and appropriate booths were provided. The affair was very complete and was well advertised. There were expert demonstrators to teach the housewife how to cook, prepare food, make bread, make cake, sweep, launder lace curtains, polish floors, and do a great many other things in the easiest and quickest way. Among the many devices and prep- arations that were demonstrated were : A steam cooker, a bread baker, a cake maker, a tea strainer, a food cutter, a dustless sweeper, a coffee machine, a bread toaster, a curtain stretcher, a floor polish and polisher, a carpet sweeper, a sad iron and many other devices of a similar nature. The exposition had such mani- fest educational value to the housewife that it naturally proved popular and the attendance was large. As an additional attrac- tion it was advertised that samples of various products would be distributed free. i 53. An Exposition of Curios — An interesting exhibition of rare furniture and costly antique rugs was held at the store of L. S. Ayres & Co., in Indianapolis as a side issue to their spring opening. Many quaint articles of furniture in the curious de- signs and workmanship of bygone days were collected in one section of the store set apart and curtained off for that purpose. Pieces of Italian furniture, hundreds of years old, and still older Japanese antiques were on exhibition, with bric-a-brac and curios from all corners of the globe. The exhibition was an interesting and instructive one and drew large crowds while it lasted. 54. Jalir Markt— Gimbel Brothers, Philadelphia, lately had a novel basement sale, modeled, in a way, after the Jahr Markt (yearly market) of Leipsic, Germany. The whole affair was somewhat in the nature of a joke. A female orchestra furnished the music and there was comedy juggling by a pro- fessional performer. One section was divided off into a real gypsy camp, where a "Gypsy Queen" revealed the hidden mys- teries of life to customers without charge. 55. Neckwear Expositions — Capper & Capper of Chicago have been holding what they call "Expositions of Dollar Neck- wear." On these days a great display is made of dollar cravats. The windows are filled with them and they are displayed with all possible prominence inside the store. The "Expositions" have met with a good deal of success. I CHAPTER IV. GETTING HOLIDAY BUSINESS. More than half a century ago, Charles Dickens, with the magic of his pen, gave new life to the good old Christmas cus- toms that were slowly, but none the less surely, becoming obso- lete. Perhaps the strongest factor today in fostering the Christ- mas spirit is the big department store. With its perfected adver- tising machinery running full blast, the big store leaves smal opportunity for any one to overlook Christmas or its essential custom— that of gift making. 56. The Big Store's Christmas Advertising— The first suggestion of Christmas in the department store, and it is only a suggestion, is ''Children's Day," some time in October. ''Children's Day" is to a great extent an advance show- ing of toys, although other lines are not neglected. It is not intended to sell toys on "Children's Day," so much as to show them at a time when salespeople are not so busy as they will be later. Then comes the beginning of the newspaper cam- paign about the middle of November, and this is quickly followed by ever changing window displays and interior decorations and shows in which Santa Claus and the Christmas tree are every- where in evidence. The real holiday campaign begins in the newspapers about the middle of November. At that time the introduction to the advertisement is given much more than the usual space, and has principally to do with Christmas buying. Attention is called in a general way to the stocks and the store's preparedness to handle the holiday trade is dwelt upon strongly. Most stores set apart a certain space in the ad to be used in this way each day. Gimbel U GETTING HOLIDAY BUSINESS 75 Brothers, in Philadelphia, use ten or twelve inches, about the width of a newspaper column, set in small type, in the upper left hand corner of the ad for a "daily talk." Here are some of them. It will be noted that the children are never forgotten. This one appeared Saturday, November 19: Stand on a chair and you can almost see Christmas! And think what a lot there's to do. We commence to-day tacking half an hour on the shopping time — we shall do everything in our power to make the holiday shopping not only bearable but enjoyable. In all the whole world there is not such another store. First, it is biggest — larger than any other American store in actual floor space by about an acre and a half; larger than the greatest Paris store by seven acres; larger than the greatest London store by eight acres. And better arranged — every aisle leads somewhere and not into a corner. And they are wide aisles. The elevators are big and fine — and there are twenty just for passengers. Broad stairs and the Escalator help, too. The store is frequently inspected by experts of Philadelphia and New York, and we know that every element of danger is eliminated. Gimhel's is the safest store in the world. For your comfort there are many rest and retiring-rooms, and a full- fledged hospital in charge of a graduate nurse, for expert, quick treatment of any falling ill. We've had scores of cases in a day— and have been the quick lift that re-established Nature and health. No charge or obligation. We've sent the Doodlebug to the woods to hunt his friends. They'll all be here on Monday. —Fifth floor. * * * * We want everybody to enjoy Gimbel's in its holiday finery. "Shut-ins" should be brought. We'll send a rolling-chair to the curb and in it the rider can go to every nook of the store. It rolls right on elevators. Ask any floorman. No charge. There are ample and numerous places to rest. There is a hospital for any taken suddenly ill. Graduate nurse in charge. Wraps and bundles are checked free — Main floor; along Grand Aisle. We want the children, too. See the Live Ponies in Basement They can be bought. Just think of having one for your very own. H 76 SALES PLANS See Santa Claus— big, good-natured Santa Claus— at his Zoneville Post-office on Fourth floor. Little girl, little boy, inquire for mail. He has heard a lot of you and has written letters. Big folks and little folks— See the Doodlebugs The marvelous bug show— over four hundred bugs of every degree doing all sorts of things from taking railroad journeys to playing foot- ball and riding in a real airship. —Fifth floor. Keep to the right. Please carry small parcels. If you ask the first person waiting upon you for a Transfer you will be given a sheet on which your day's purchases are entered. This sheet corresponds in number with a receptacle in delivery room. All parcels of that number go straight there and can be sent home in one batch. You pay or order charged when the day's shopping is done- one transaction. It saves time and worry. Check heavy wraps— at desk along the Grand Aisle. The store temperature is exactly the safe temperature for indoor dress. Basement and upper floors are supplied continuously with fresh air —eleven million cubic feet of fresh filtered air displacing that much "used" air each hour. The "intake" is above the roof. There isn't such another store in the world for— comfort width of aisles safety width of stairways size elevator service Be methodical and early, and Christmas shopping becomes a real pleasure. Most of the big stores use something of this sort. Although there is a great variance of forms, the effect is more or less the same. In the meantime, the entire page fairly bristles with Christmas suggestions. The two headings reproduced here are good illustrations of the way the advertisement is introduced. The Marshall Field & Co. argument is a good one. It is evi- dently intended for the vast army of people who wish to buy something dependable at a moderate price. This class is well worth appealing to, as it is greatly in the majority. In the heading taken from the Gimbel Brothers ad, there is something quite confidential and intimate. The paragraph that is circled suggests to the reader that the employes of the store have not been forgotten, and this should create a friendly feeling a «'*3-3a3 2 3 3 ^ sro §_» o ""siqS 5 2 o •* o-c a. n 5 r» rt O m b n a n 5,^ O n n S 8.« -..o "S S« 3- "» o .. n n OR 3 n ^ ^ 3 m ntil all Chnrt- maa Stockings are f.llad. Don't woTy about finding Juat the right thing to giva. You have only to come to "Noe- well'a" and look around. Every Da- partmant suggests desirable pree^ta. ikstN llisn MlSlI Misn MisM (IkiOl UalM Ik ana lama - BlgBrolhct ftctoSOc SIM»3 Silo S3 SOCIO >2 SOCIO S& IScuSI 7Sc 10 75c 2Sclo$4 SltoSn S5 10 S7 SO IOcio»2 UakrrilM, vfanafsflMV Mikli ■i*l> hsili DMrrfM nSM sifttam MislUI wnm^i-*^ WW ihc>a«° T— r »»W Wl.W Wslil •iMstn nikS WHAT TO GIVE I WHCIIE TO BUY I NOW MUCH TO PAY I A oomprehenelve list— complete as we know how to make It. Perhape It will help you with your choosing. The atore is a vaM Holiday k>azaar, so, many th>nga may hava akipped the list. But remambar what Is here, la thoroughly .SOOd-«nd you pay laaa than In *Miat alorak. «■■ Wish WisllW m»tt aisa tun s:i fstw tTsi LNUeStoicf fMtr bA 2Sc I* SIS Fi«o te M) S00 50C sawss SQetaSS asctoss I0CIOS2 SI 10 S3 «I00 UMeBraOKr •Oak ailoS2.S0 Sm« IVidk SI to S3 Sdk lOcloSI ««« IN"" . SOcleSS Utntaarr SoaM*^ SCc to SIO i iii«iiii » . eoctosis IbrOMC 9SrioSr T» Cka» 39clo SI WiSaM tSctoSI-SO SitOr Mk aSc to SI 2Sc to TSc Tkc rMcySrtc kieW iwas tanakwo. lascioaa aa ll iMil » I ■ 60c WIOc wSOc ct.S3 BIgaisler k isci>aa ■••« siwaa Mda ascwsa BOcUSS OMOmK aScMW aii « «« ascMSf LacCMm MctoSa aiaci. ascHsa OlIinaM S3toS« Ofxsv. sii.se tmn omt. asc to sn TfceDe nm lk Qnksa SI loss •aiesio (3I.S4 k Scwsa siusa — asciosto ease loss secusu sstosis asctoS4 IDiiilirliiSiMililiVrlwln.. • AiMirtMMwrpltottiBMf "(^ k Santa Cliis Prize CoDlest .■nollMSo MMMM H. S. NORWELL COMPANY. ••MMMMMMMMMMMMM ■ 11 • ite ifi^ M «« Mf AM FM IwM ipMl B B far « MB tf *T fw*. «t *rt «■ In k> Mfw ta ** trMw m4 Ite aanM* ln*4i aT gM* Iter •** 'w mtt. aol •■ >Mck anil ki >■*«»■< ifta — ■■a l al f IM •>« MaM tf f«w Mi •.KVItap . A«.lMr*fli, i B I ft B l^fer -. CO ttr A. B. »^ The Cash Transportation System, business men's organizations modeled more or less closely after the Indianapolis plan. As the Indianapolis Association is at- tracting such wide attention, we give a synopsis of the methods used in increasing its trade with buyers of the country and towns surrounding the Hoosier Capital. The Merchants' Association was first organized by ten of the representative merchants of Indianapolis comprising various sn M' m 90 SALES PLANS lines. Successful from the first, it steadily grew more so, until at present the merchants, the city and the buyers are reapmg splendid benefits from the system employed by the organization. The first year the initiation fee was $25 and the annual dues $10. After the first year a paid secretary was employed and the initiation fee was increased to $100, with annual fees of $50. The dues have since been doubled. The membership has also been increased to thirty representative merchants. There has never been any effort to swell the membership to make it take in any other than business men of the highest standing, and to that fact is largely due the success of the organization. Those who have been permitted to become members have worked together in perfect harmony from the beginning. When the railroad fare rebate was inaugurated in 1898, this feature was found to be a very expensive one. The running ex- penses of the Association and the railroad fares paid, amounted to more than twenty per cent of the sales made through the plan. This was disappointing, but the management was not dis- couraged. The members felt that the plan was a good one and stuck to it faithfullv. That their judgment was well founded has now been thoroughly demonstrated. The expenditures have been so systematized that while expenses have increased greatly, sales have also increased to such an extent that the cost, includ- ing rebates, is now not more than eight per cent. In the beginning, the rebate feature was the principal object of the organization, but it is now looked upon as merely a side issue to the general scheme. One of the first benefits derived was the result of a secret agreement not to go into any advertis- ing schemes not endorsed by the Association. This cut off a considerable loss, as it cut out programs, score-cards and all of the many publications issued by religious, social, political, labor and other organizations. In fact, it eliminated all publications excepting the regular newspapers. A credit department also was organized, and this has proved of great benefit to the members. By an arrangement, to which all of the members subscribe, any member can get information concerning the credit of any person, from the books of any other member, although he is not apprised as to the source of informa- CO-OPERATIVE ADVERTISING 91 tion. A collection department is also maintained with letter heads bearing the names of all of the members. This is said to be very effective in prompting debtors to meet their obligations. In con- nection with this feature, if a member finds a debtor too slow, he is reminded that he is behind and informed that unless the account is settled within a reasonable length of time, it will be turned over to the Merchants' Assocation for collection. A card, giving the names of all the members, is enclosed and in most cases this saves pressing the matter further. Another advantage of the association is that it relieves mem- bers of individual responsibility in cases where it would be prac- tically impossible to act independently. Merchants in any line, desiring to prosecute a suit for the correction of any evil or con- ditions, can bring the suit in the name of the Merchants* Asso- ciation by paying the costs. For example, the clothing merchants desired to stop Sun- day selling by some of the stores. They took the matter up in the name of the Merchants' Association and accomplished their purpose without having their names brought into the matter in any way. The association has also been active in securing bene- ficial legislation both in the state legislature and in the city coun- cil. The organization is recognized as a strong and effective power in the community and its counsel is constantly in demand in matters of city interest. It is called upon almost daily to give endorsement to different schemes and great caution is exercised along those lines. Up to the present time no mistakes have been made in that way. The rebate plan used by the Indianapolis merchants is explained in their advertisements as follows : The Merchants' Association of Indianapolis will refund the round trip fare to persons living within a radius of forty miles from Indianapolis upon the purchase of $25 of merchandise from one member of the Association or from all combined. One per cent additional cash rebate will be allowed on all additional purchases in excess of $25.00. Persons living at a greater distance than forty miles may have their fares rebated. To illustrate : If you live sixty miles away, the Association refunds you forty miles of it both ways, leaving the cost of only twenty miles to you. t« 92 SALES PLANS Interurban passengers are given entire fare for seventy-five miles both ways, but should ask conductor for ticket or cash receipt, which must be shown at stores where purchases are made. Ask for Merchants' Association rebate book in the first store you enter of those named above as members. Insist on having each purchase entered in the rebate book in every mem- ber's store you trade, and when through buying, present book at i6 East Washington street, over Columbia National Bank, at any time between 8 a. m. and 6 p. m. and get your rebate. It is all very simple— no extra trouble. Application for rebate book must be made at time purchase is made. Every line of merchandise is represented. The Merchants Association of Indianapolis includes the representative retail stores of the citv and covers practically every Hne of merchan- dise needed for personal or home use. You may spend $3 at one store, $10 at another, $8 at another, and $4 in miscellaneous pur- chases—there is $25.00 expended for which your round trip will be refunded. The Merchants' Association guarantees to each customer the fulfillment of the above proposition. Aside from the foregomg, there are many other ways m which merchants can co-operate to bring trade to their stores and can accomplish by united effort what would be impossible for individuals. For example, the merchants of Fort Wayne, Ind united with the manufacturers of that city in an exposition that is absolutely unique and which gave the city and the merchants a good deal of advertising. It was called a "Made-in-Fort- Wayne-Exposition," and proved to be a remarkably successful attraction. All of the down town merchants donated the use of their show windows to enable the manufacturers to display their products. In the show window of nearly every down town store some manufacturer had placed a display of the products of his factory. All of them were attractive and in a number ot instances were upon a magnificent scale and arranged with rare artistic skill and taste. Of course the products shown in the windows had nothing to do with the goods for sale in the store- for example, an engine or something equally foreign to the dry goods trade might be shown in the window of a dry goods store. CO-OPERATIVE ADVERTISING 93 Many manufactured products too large to go in the windows, were exhibited upon the sidewalk of the public square. Of course the merchants made no sales from their windows, but they nevertheless derived a direct and substantial benefit from the displays. The exposition leaped at once into popular favor. It brought great numbers of people into the city and it kept large crowds of Fort Wayne people on the down town streets. This, of course, resulted in large sales by all the stores. The exposition was such a pronounced success from every point of view that it will be made an annual feature and already plans are being made for next year's event. It has remained for Fort Wayne to create a novelty which will without doubt do much to advance the commercial interests of the city. 66. Co-Operative Voting Contest — Ten merchants of Haul- ton, Me., held a co-operative voting contest. Votes were given customers according to the amount of money spent, and the prizes were awarded to the persons or organizations receiving the highest number of votes. Several societies figured in the contest, and the members did some energetic canvassing, which resulted in large sales by the stores oflfering the prizes. More than 50,000 votes were cast during the four weeks of the contest. There were four prizes, as follows: First, a $500 piano; second, a $100 scholarship in a business college; third, $25 cash, and, fourth, $10 cash. 67. Special Bai^in Days— The merchants of South Omaha, Neb., believe that they have found a solution of the home patronage problem. South Omaha is connected with Omaha by a street car line and most of the residents of the suburb did their shopping in the larger city. This worked quite a hardship on the merchants of the smaller place and some of the more enterprising ones set about to find a remedy that would keep trade at home. After some deliberation, it was decided to hold special bar- gain days every Wednesday and all the South Omaha merchants agreed to make especially attractive oflferings on that day. All of the merchants took up the idea with vim and energy. The i I t '~J1 94 SALES PLANS first '^Bargain Day" was worthy of the name. Genuine bargains were offered everywhere; special displays were made and the affair was generously advertised. All of the merchants agreed that the day was a great success — much better in fact than they had hoped for. The second Bargain Day was even more of a success than the first one had been and each succeeding one has shown a healthy gain over preceding ones. The merchants are all delighted with their success and are "boosting" as hard as they can to get every one interested. As a result, "Bargain Day" has become a household word and very few now go to Omaha to make purchases. The same idea could be used with profit by any other small city situated on the outskirts of a much larger one. 68. "Dollar Day" — Business men*s associations and mer- chants who are on the lookout for novelties will be interested in a scheme used by the merchants of Marlboro, Mass., to bring trade to that city. They fixed upon a certain Friday which they called "Dollar Day." On that date they advertised that all the merchants in Marlboro would unite to make it a special object for everybody in or near the city, as well as f'rom all the sur- rounding towns, to come out and visit the stores all over the city. In practically every line of business and in every store in the city special bargains were given for $i and they were real bargains, too. The plan was more for advertising than to make money and customers were given really remarkable values. "Dollar Day" in Marlboro proved a great success and did more to bring trade into the city than any other scheme the mer- chants had ever tried. The "Dollar Day" idea would unquestion- ably be more effective if co-operated in by all the merchants of a city. Still if all the merchants could not be persuaded to join in the scheme, two or three, or even one, might use the idea suc- cessfully as the basis of a sale. 69. A Puzzle Contest — Sixteen business men of Waltham, Mass., used a co-operative advertising scheme with a good deal of success. Each of them had his advertisement printed on 1.1 CO-OPERATIVE ADVERTISING 95 designs similar to the one shown here, and each party had his cards printed in sixteen different shapes. All of the sixteen ad- vertisers took ten thousand cards apiece and these were dis- tributed by carriers to every home and public place in the city. GEO* L KELLY & CO. Clothiers, Hatters and Furnisherst 143 MOODY STREET WhM fM fflatdl «p the |6 cirdf ih»t farm thii tftractory pazsl«. « doata cabiatt photo(nph>, PRBB. by Ihc bcM pkotoKnphcr m i EobOT B. Jal I.e. IMH Wm. H. Udkr WanwF. KMraoa Walwlkid C. H. Dotacn Ctatnl Dry Good* C*. f . H. Cans * Sm Cm. I. lUllr k C«^ FVcdT. Bwn* M «a be tuitM rit. A. Wawm. The- trick was to match the cards of different shapes cor- rectly into a perfect square with each advertiser represented. Hundreds competed, or tried to work the puzzle, but only three succeeded. For months the puzzle was the talk of the town. 70. Piano Contest Conducted Jointly — Four merchants of Amboy, Ind., conducted a joint piano contest in which a $350 instrument was offered to the local lodge or society obtaining the greatest number of votes. The particulars of the scheme are explained in the following, which is taken from a large bill which was used to advertise the contest : Every cash purchase, or cash credit on account, of loc or multiple of IOC, made at W. P. Miller's General Store, Lewis & Son's Grocery, J. F. Overman's Hardware and Implement Store, or T. C. Pearson's Furniture and Undertaking Establishment, will entitle the purchaser to one vote for every ten cents, for their favorite society, to-wit : The Independent Order of Odd Fellows, The Modern Woodmen of Amer- ica, The Christian Endeavor Society, or the Epworth League. A ballot box will be placed in each of the above named stores and held open from the morning of February ist till Saturday evening, i V 96 SALES PLANS July 2nd, 1904, when the polls shall close and the votes counted by the representatives selected by the different societies. The society receiving the largest number of votes will receive the piano at four o'clock on the afternoon of July 4th. 71. The "Bargain Man"— There is a pointer in the per- sistency with which the merchants on North Fulton street, Brooklyn, get after the people. Every street has an unpopular side, and dealers located thereon have a problem to face. These Fulton street people have gone a step further than merely using placards and signs. Not long ago an ad appeared telling shop- pers to "Walk on the north side of Fulton street and you may get a dollar." It was stated that the "Bargain Man" would give away money all day and that he would promenade every day of the week, carrying a pocketful of silver dollars, and every quarter or half-hour by the tick of the watch from the time of starting he would turn around sharply and present a dollar to the very first person behind, man, woman or girl, recipient giving name and address to protect the "Bargain Man" in his report. Most of the time he was announced as staying on the sidewalk, though occasionally walking through some of the stores on his side of the street. It is needless to say that he did not perambu • late on the south side with the Loeser and Abraham & Straus crowd. A sign showing the names and addresses of those who received the dollars was displayed in windows of five stores each day the "Bargain Man's" deeds were recorded. He says that nearly a third of those to whom money is offered refuse to give their names and perhaps one-fourth refuse the money. The "Bargain Man," by the way, was changed every day so that he would not be spotted and followed. 72. Merchants Unite to Hold Spring Openings— For a number of years, the merchants of Barnard, Mo., have been uniting in holding their spring opening with a good deal of suc- cess. Mr. F. M. Hunt, of the firm of StaUing & Hunt, writes about the plan as follows : "Barnard, Mo., is a little town of 500 inhabitants, located in the fertile county of Nodaway on the One Hundred and Two River. Its merchants are progressive and in harmony on every CO-OPERATIVE ADVERTISING 97 movement for the betterment of the town and they never fail to draw big crowds when the effort is made. For the last three years we have joined forces in the work of making our spring opening a success and we have found that not only is the expense reduced, but the returns are much greater than when the mer- chants act as individuals. The day's entertainment on our last opening consisted of band concerts during the day and evening, a drill and a basket-ball game. 73. Helping Monday's Bnsiness — In most cities the mer- chants have plenty of business on Saturday — ^more, in fact, than they can comfortably attend to, while on Monday trading is usual- ly very slow. This was the case in Knoxville, Tenn., and the merchants resolved to unite in adopting some measure whereby trading on the two days might be more equally divided. Ac- cordingly they agreed to boom Monday as a bargain day and each one advertised a good list of special bargains. The news- papers helped out by devoting considerable space to the plan and the results were highly satisfactory. The combined an- nouncements of the merchants brought out a great crowd of shoppers and, while Saturday's business did not suffer to any great extent, Monday's trading was beyond all precedent. The merchants are all so well pleased with the idea that "Bargain Monday" has been made a regular event in Knoxville. r 74. Monthly Bargain Days — The merchants of Rogers, Ark., unite in holding a special "Sales Day" on the first Mon- day of each month. On this day special prices are made by all of the stores and there is a program, including a band concert and other features for the entertainment of the farmers and their families. On each of these sale days a half dozen or more prizes of value are distributed among the farmers. Their dis- tribution is left to chance. 75. Co-Operative Plan to Draw Trade — In order to draw trade to their city, the merchants of What Cheer, la., have formed an association and issue what they call "Scrip," which is redeemable at any of the associated stores. I! Jf CHAPTER VII. STORE PAPERS. There is one point on which all who have used store papers are unanimous— all agree that they are an exceedingly good means of advertising. Aside from that one point there is a great diversity of opinion and scarcely two merchants wdl be found who hold the same views as to just what a store paper should be Papers gotten out by different stores range from a simple monthly leaflet to an elaborate and costly quarterly, representing the highest type of the printer's art. Most of them are good; all are interesting and it is likely that each one of them is well suited to the purpose for which it was intended. Each paper is probably the result of a careful study of the conditions which brought it into existence. In planning the make up of a store paper there are a great many things to be considered. The nature of the merchant s busi- ness and the class of customers to whom he appeals are potent factors. The size and location of his town with reference to large cities and the character of local newspapers are also of im- portance. A paper which would serve one merchant admirably might prove of little value to another in the same hue of business a dozen blocks away. In this article, however, it is not intended to handle the subject in a theoretical way ; but rather to give the testimony and opinions of retailers who have actually tried store papers and are therefore in a position to speak authoritatively as to their worth. , ,• > i • n „„,*c The papers that are described here are published in all parts Of the country. All of them have been given a fair tria and all have proved to be money makers for the merchants who issue STORE PAPERS 99 them. They have been chosen on account of their dissimilarity and are described as fully as possible in an article of this nature. 76. A Clothier's Store "Bvitx—Vincenfs Talk is a clothier's store paper published by G. N. Vincent to advertise his store at 12th street and Sixth avenue. New York. It has four pages and is about 6x9 inches in size. As the name implies, this paper is made up of a lot of short "talks" on clothes and very good, convincing talks they are, too. The copy is written by Mr. Vincent and he writes it very well indeed. The "talks" are terse, crisp and to the point — none of them requires more i PI vinrcENrs talk k 1 KE« YO«K. BBPICMBEB, 1H> Ma IteVYM Kmv Thft k ATlSaorWuch,*] T«h» C o — ! ■ aai Our- W^pm • Dariv Hi^ • •Mr To IbkiTyMWdB Vtaori Sril p. mmtmmu amtt^mimtt* i n m n t» ■— — 1» ■» To Y««» Ik «te An ' **" ""^ *■ '"■■!|. "1* mtntm • K T wle An n«a< tt m ^» aM ■» ■> -mt ttm, TLd. — - t OS Ml ttM w tt ««— » » " ■■■ ■^•"•••■k mmutmttmm. Mum. » H. r mcifc ■akr.lt tm ••••n «■ IMK Ik*. Ot ^ MH M •K I tmm MM iMr krxMi I mt «M m* >vw »- •*».«••••• (un •-- ■•-« ■. •««.TiiKan: than a minute in the reading yet in the space of a few sentences a great deal is said for the prospective clothes buyer to think- about. In each issue there are a dozen or more ''talks" and each one is written with a view of emphasizing one idea about Vin- cent's clothes. When the reader has finished, that one idea is likely to be pretty permanently fixed in his mind. QuaHty, price, style, workmanship, the ability to fit everybody as he should be fitted — ^these are the principal points dwelt upon and ^Ir. Vin- cent's way of stating his claims is altogether convincing. Here are some characteristic "talks": i 100 SALES PLANS STORE PAPERS 101 THE TRUTH ABOUT CLOTHES. Very few men renlly get the value of what they pay for their clothes. Most of the ready-made clothes are made of good enough cloth. The chief defect has been careless make, the result of which is they quickly get out of shape. When the shape is gone the clothes are gone. You don't get a chance to wear the cloth out. This making them so they will keep their shape is an art which few acquire. The work hidden between the cloth and the linings, the stretch- ing, shaping and the padding, all of it done by hand, is what separates a well-made coat from a poorly made one. Our clothes fit and keep their shape because there is skill and time used on them, and because of that they cost some more than the careless kinds. Vincent's talk to stout men. Stout men of all men should dress carefully. There are probably more stout men in New York than in any other city in the United States. Very few of them wear clothes that make them look right. Invariably their clothes are too big for them in places, too small for them elsewhere— they are usually misfitted. Now, our stout suits are so well made and cut that they make a stout man look a good shape and not bigger than he really is. It is safe to say that our suits will make a '=tout man look ten pounds lighter than the ordinary ready-made suit. Suits, $io, $12, $15 and upward. The kind we are talking about here are $15. to the man who has been going to one place for twenty years and don't know what has been going on in the CLOTHES business LATELY. Just from habit he goes to the old place. He's just as comfortable in his clothes now as then. What if the collar is too high and the lapel rolls one side down four inches, the other two ; the edges curl out in«=tead of in, the vest a little wrong about the neck, the trousers an inch or two too wide at the waist? Only little things. It's always been so and it doesn't matter-the cloth is good, you know. "I always get good cloth." ... . Why man the only virtue in your position is that you have an immense pleasure to come. A good fitting suit that will keep its shape will give you more pleasure than a hundred good dinners. .We are simply violent about sending out clothes that fit and keep their shape. Suits, $15. We'll promise comfort. "ready" clothes WILL NOT FIT EVERY MAN. I can't fit everybody. Men who are very far from the average can be fitted in our made to order department. If, however, he is accustomed to ready clothes I will absolutely guarantee to improve his appearance. We have $8, $10 and $12 suits, and they are good for the price, but these sums are just too little for us to do our best. At $15— excellent made. There we start — start well. There is where you will sing our praises, for we really have stylish, very well made, good fitting suits. Oh! if you could see them and try them on! Just come and try them on ! That will prove to you more than words. * * ♦ * There are "catchy" things in music, in pictures, in faces, figures and facts. Just so in clothes. While we do not always strike the style chord, it is seldom that we miss the inner circle. I say that we have the best fitting clothes. You say "everybody says that." I'll prove that my clothes fit. I'll send two or three coats to you by special messenger just for a try on. Send your chest measure, your address and time to see you. * ♦ * ♦ Many men wonder why their clothes are wrong. Frequently they fit but the style is wrong. Again, there is a touch of style and the fit is "off." There are many clothes troubles that I can cure. A noticeable feature of Vincent's Talks is their pleasing mod- esty of tone. Mr. Vincent does not claim "the earth." He evi- dently has confidence in his goods and has the faculty of impart- ing that confidence to others but not through boasting and extravagant claims. The moderation he uses makes his copy all the more convincing. Mr. Vincent has the following to say of his paper : "This paper is for local distribution and has been of con- siderable value to me. I issue 5,000 at one time and v^hen they are distributed, issue another 5,000. I have a man employed at the work continuously. I have two stores — one in a neighborhood not easily influenced by newspaper advertising, and the other is located just right for newspaper advertising. "I have the bulk of the local trade in the local store through advertising locally. I write the matter myself and superintend the distribution. A number of years ago I had a paper called Vincent's Weekly, much larger than this. It was productive of good results, but I gave it up because the preparation was too much for me with my other duties. Engaging help for it made it so expensive that my judgment — it may have been wrong — said give it up. My opinion is that a local paper of this kind is good if it is interesting and well gotten up." The reproduction shows the first and fourth pages of the first issue of Vincent's Talk. M v 102 SALES PLANS 77. A General Store Paper— Smith & Son's Eye Opener is a 9x 12 four page sheet published monthly in the interest of the general store of Smith & Son, Jerseyville, 111. The Eye Opener is all business, there being no matter in it that does not apply directly to the goods and prices. BYB OPBNBR Corner Main a nd Pearl Stree t* t - - Jar— yvillc HI. JERSEYVILLE. ILLINOIS, JULY. 1903. EDITORIAL IglMur customars and Itettiiiir i» w>|»y of inir •'Stitre GROCERIES. Gpoceries. ..then. wt... huv^ h..*.MCf ^ VJ.'^^.'^rniVl-^nX ^ V V iwuml or lOOi ^m Prr poand fcr choke Califarata prtMca. J^ or » pound* for tl.Wk I Am Per pomd for CMcc RoiMcd Rio mPcr pound lor Arbnckka. ^'la« «r « X Coffee lOC New>»," will iiotife tluit we hiive <-1iiinKem|«titni-N. wlioMS sttivk «>f jiriKiiiiilitv )i|t|H>in'« to he hImiiiI exhiiiistoil, have :i|i Uu-k into the sjiiu>> ftiiss with n».v •rm ill Jersey County. We nan\ llG.\l) »s we Iwve nl wiiy s done. Mild we |ii-om{iie Ui make the "EykOpknku" all that the -name inipliea. when i»i> |ilie.»Ki"e»aiv«iie»a. Specia/ for July To make our Dry G on lilt Ue|)iii-t. nteiit intervatintr. 5,000 Yards Fiincv Stiiiulanl CkUcoeti, till (ie«. imnd. latest |Kit* ,, ernit, at WHITE HALL stonewa;^e. We k*«c iu«t received a ear lead ol •trktiy drat guiilily White CU!*d Slonewsrc, coniiil- iii( o( cracky. )»>. churn, awl butter jar* We will ■ell')kUe«r at half price, or 5 cenU per f alkm. SCKEK DOORS Complete With Spring Hinges for 60cts. Lea * Perrln'a En«ll>k Wor«et»er (Uiirc Sauce. pt kotti*. M Milt*. Curtice Bro'o. Blue fcabel TcmoM Cataap. ^•r b«ttl« It eta. Beat etandard 1 lb. can* To«.t«o«.. »«ana for aa ct«. Fine qualiljr. lib*, can*. Pie Paap> klna, aoanafariaota. Knreha. eatra oifled Early laM Peaa. worth Wet*.. S Mfia far *• eta. 8Htenl m«$ Misses hravy ribbed no- ion suits e^icb SO Children's size 8 union suits each 1$ Children's heavy fleece lined vests, bound neck and front, pearl buttons, felled seams, each 85 Drawers or pknts to match .t5 Infants fleece lined vests, e*clJ 10 -tlS ■» .50 .2S .50 100 upon. Too many styles of type have been used by the compositor and some of the type, especially in the font used to print the editorial notice on the front page, is badly worn. h 104 SALES PLANS Smith & Son have been publishing this paper for some time. They issue the Eye Opener for six months in the summer and then change for the next six months to a two column ad m each of the county newspapers. Mr. Smith says that this Httle sheet has been the best advertising medium he has ever used and that it has been largely instrumental in building up his busmess from nothing to $80,000 a year in three years. 78. Another General Store Paper— Theo. L. Hutton, of Garden Citv, Mo., has been publishing a little store paper called The Buyer? Guide for several years. In that time he has thor- ouo-hly tested it in comparison with newspaper and other adver- tishig and says that it has proved the best means of gammg pub- licity he has ever used. There is a very good newspaper m Gar- den City, but Mr. Hutton says that it failed to gam him the at- tention of the public as well as The Buyers' Guide. The Guide is a four-page monthly, 8 x 1 1 inches in size. It is a businesslike little sheet and considering its size contains a surprisingly large list of articles and prices. Mr. Hutton sells everything from hardware to dry goods and each department is represented with a good sized list of goods. When descriptions are used, they are very short and to the point and not a word is wasted. 79. An English Hardware Store iti^t— Alfred Edmm^ son's News is published in Morecambe, England. It is a four- page monthly about 7 x lo inches in size and is, in our opinion just about what a store paper should be. It is printed on excellent paper and the accompanying reproduction will give a very good idea of the typographical makeup, which is practically uniform throughout. Each page has three columns, one being devoted to extraneous matter and the remaining two to store news proper. In the middle of the first page is a column headed Pointers, under which come a lot of short paragraphs. Some of them have to do with the store and some are observations on matters m general-all are terse and readable. The reading matter on the remaining three pages is for the most part instructive, as to how remaining i. f s stained Part of th s matter is health may be acquired and retainea. ran. I STORE PAPERS 105 clipped and part is written especially for this paper; all of it is practical, concise and interesting; furthermore it is information that will be of real value to anyone. Alfred Edmondson^s News A Journal pf Interest to the Thrifty People of Morecambe and District. Tm. l No. il 8EFTEHBEB, 1909 FkKB: Toom Nuo. I and Could we tell yoa Forte better Spoons and OootfaeM. Fork* tor rongb. hard eerrice, tn^ Mt Paina Silver we woald— ' Um mission ot Ouk Stosb is to give yoa the best poastbleeer- viee, and in offering you P«in» fiilver Ware we do so in eonfi> denee ^ believint; it will give — t i sf s c tion, we can promise yon it will never change colour, nor bend, nor melt— these are very )ow prices for this^ood ware; S TMupooiM • • lOd. •0 Dessert Spona* or Forks— 2/6 • Tabic Spoons - 2/1wtihla than if cooked in an open tia* less trouble too and the kitcbea is free from the smell of oook« ing. These are but a^e» of the recommendations of our Doable Boasters, ^t(iets will be qoickly disoonable by you. the first time yon use one. Double Roaster, Russian sted, black, with inside loose stand-^ «/« Bright Tin Double Roaster* with wire stand • ^'% Mashed. Potatoes Are nicer to eat and far more digestible than unmnshed ones, our Potato Masher is ths% uic^t, because, the Strongest quickest, cleanest and faimt priced Masher gdable. O^odsess dees n(4 1 aaaby panbyisa-rmany seem to t^^ it does, poor peopio, may they- soon lean diSarant. • • • We are taadiing out for etdeis and invite yoo to send to as for whatever yon require in our line- well serve yon to yoor entire satisfaction or refund yoor BMNMy. I. Heavy Ptungcr. ail pcQre tinaal -4«08i2ea 1/6^^3/- KM EdiQOiidsoii'8 QassB Stnat, Uoneambti Beside the regular advertisements, one column is given each month to short editorials concerning the store in a general way. The following is a specimen: SEPTEMBER. September might appropriately be called by us Morecambeites — ^the shut-down month, for the places of entertainment close their doors to visitors while they count their money, and put it in pickle until another spring — why doesn't the management try and turn their huge places into productive agencies? It is also the time many houses take on that 106 SALES PLANS familiar appearance of desolation, so well known to those who only put their noses outside their shops, when things are shut-down. However much the town may wear the appearance of dullness and gone-to-bed-ness, your store must be kept Uvely— I cannot aflford to shut off energies— nor do anything but what will keep this store busy supplying your wants. Shortly I expect going on a buying tour— to see what is new, to gather the finest plums from the best trees, and in due course offer you the benefits of my journey. My auction sale is over, its object was to dispose of a large quantity of goods that had accumulated during past few years, I had no in- tention of its being a money maker, no intention of getting back what the goods had cost, I was more concerned about getting the goods into new homes in the least possible time at the least outlay, of course such is most unusual and probably without a precedent— there's one to follow. Mr. Edmonson invites contributions from the readers of his Uttle paper in this way : "You are at liberty to submit anything for the approval of the editor— if it will inspire men to nobler living— to a fuller awakening of their powers— to a sense of their duties— if it will make Alfred Ed- monson's News more helpful, to sell more hardware— in it goes." The advertisements in A. E. Nenrs are unusually good. Mr. Edmonson has a way of saying a great deal in a very few words and his advertisements are very convincing. It is evident that he thoroughly understands the good points of his wares and has an unusual knack of making his readers understand them, too. 80. A Co-Operative Store Paper— In several respects. Economy Store Hints is different from any of the store papers reviewed heretofore. It is a co-operative paper published monthly bv the M. Calmer Dry Goods Co., the L. A. Raub Clothmg Co. and W. F. Mack, a shoe dealer. These are three of the leadmg stores of Joliet, 111., and as the lines carried do not conflict in any wav, their idea of getting out a house-organ jointly seems a very crood one. They get out a far better and larger paper for the same amount of money than they could if they issued papers sepa- rately Furthermore, the cost of distribution (which is one of the principal expenses of issuing a store paper) is divided by three^ It is probable, too, that the co-operative idea goes farther with these stores than the mere issuing of a paper together. It is easy to see how all of them might be benefited by the friendly re- V .„ p . STORE PAPERS 107 lations which evidently exist. It would be an easy matter for the three stores to throw trade from one to the other. Economy Store Hints has eight pages lo)^ x 14, printed on good paper. It is cleverly edited and the typographical make-up is decidedly good. The advertising matter is about evenly divided between display ads and short reading notices, beside which there iOMY M HINTS ipoj] 1 klHrK HIT (.«<••* k'O. JOUCT, ILL., NOVEMtER, 1903. VstinH 1. KWHMB >k TNC WHY AMD WHAT FOR Tkb Unk ptpcr it publUhcd 6y The V. Cilmcr Dry Good* Co., L. A. Raub Co. *ad W. F. Mick, three of Jolirt'* ktHnf la ebi«t it to bring the out^or-tOwn cuttomctt in cloter to«.ch with our stom, giving :hem the tame pririlegt u the citjr felkt t* leim of the new ttylei tnd (tdi u ihcy tppetr. ^ Out-or-to»n people hive long fell the wtni oft piper ofchis kind— • ptper both inicretting tnd beneficiil. The >uggntipni you retcivc herein we hope will help you". We hope fli our rctden will heirtily indortc our little magazine and help to make it intentting. A BMft t* HMit Talk There .are maoy reasona for our •MCCett ia Kusittcai asd the aieady is-^ create each vi'ar. It hat alwajt hett' our jaain object to pleaae everybody, to treat everyone alike, to deal honest'y is •II eC our traitactiont. To tell only tka.e eoodi which we can honestly rec- ommend, aid toaak but a tmall profit. Uopett advertitinc it one of our ttrnny pointt, sever to mitrepreteat an item with catch phraaet; to hack up each and every aaaertioa just at it appeared in the **Ad.*' Fire .alct and tucfa other fake 'aalc* ire unknown to any fir.t-clau •tore. . It it merely • blutter of pricet where quality it left out en- tirely. Price it not Ike only coutidera- tioa in a bargain for without the qual- itv back of it, it it dear at aay prire. we tomettmct tmile when we tee large f larini; hcadlmet that atand out above •nvthin): cite in the "Ad," advcrti!>in|> •ob Hikts urat krought inloetittcnce becaute we real- •ted. the nccrsi-ty for tuch a pa^icr. People rctiitinf in the rural ilistricia CMnnt come into town every .lay aid )ioar to make purchitet, or to get potted •• the ucw tlylct like city folks. They cannot keep ia close touch with our •toret — the tew gonjx at it comes in or tke fortunate 'purchase* we offer to often; that i« Ike reaton we iwbliik our little paper. It U yuur paper, your •caa* of keeping ia dote contact witk oiir atorea. We akall endeavor to make it at interettiag at pnttible witk your co-operatioa. We want everybody t» contribute to itt pagct. You may have a little ttory that ia an atcrptionally good one, or a recipt that will ioterett our readers, anythinir that aou think will help to make YOUR PAPER more inleretting. wethall be pleased to pub- lish FREE. We want you to coa- tribute freely to our etchaoi^e columat, to advertise aad to help oihcrt adver- titc. We have a circulation of 3,000. Or.eofthem may have the very thing yuu need and would gladly cachaage with you. jeUSrS UAMN6 STWtS nt H. Calmav Bf» Oatat Ca. l.a.bakCt. V.r.Had rvRs Our Fur de* partmcnt ia the moat talk- ed about de- partment i a our tlore. N'o wonder.tucha display of furt is a revelation. Stolct. Fich- oe*. Pelerines, etc.. it it well worth coming nilc* to tee. We heard a la-- dy remark the Other day that **a |icrson can buy Ihcminv- way,' *not like toaie qther stores, priced way up in the air." Quite acumplimcnt. wasn't it'/ , Come in and tee for yourtrlf. The M.CaIinef Dry Goods Co. ■It FflMd MckwC Tke BUa with the high ckeckboae* atid ahiffy black eyet teemed to be in » despoadeot . mood, judging by his et- prettioB as he leaned his cibuws on the tabic' Tfe barkeeper teemed iaclined to be aympatbetic. " What'a gnawia* yer. Jimmie?" bO atked. Up against a touch of dc rca^ t'iag? Have a drink on me.** The black-rved man tbook kit kea4 impatit-ntly. *.'! can buy. my drinks when 1 need 'em.'* he said. **t*m • long wayt fr^ being broke, and daa't you fitrget it. See Pete arouodr* "Not tiace. lat' aight." taid tbc barkeeper. . "I t'ought you aa* hiM went off tergcdder dis mornin".** "So we did," taid tke black-evfrn. man, "We went down to the deepo aad — aay. Shorty, I'm ao food. I'm no good. I'm easy. I watn t cut out for thia butinesa. They oaght to make mc city treaiurer. They wouldn't neeu ao booea. I'm Hoaeit John - with - the Greasy - Fingers — aotking wouldn't ttick to *cm. Yn« don't know where I could get a job, do you? Don't ma*.tcr what il is just so its honest." "Yer might tweep out de tTooa,"* tuggesled the liarkecper. ■Tel you what I did." said the black -eyed man. "Pete and mc went down to the deepo like I told t^u. We give the cop something that aifevted hts memory and his evcsight less'n a wevk ago, si> it was all right. A bo)^ just ar- rived from Reubenville — had it stickia* out all over kim, aad the way «e ttack- kim up. ke had tpcadiagif . laaoejr, oa him— not any Morgan wad, hot maybe enough to make it intereatiaf. Pric lipped me the winked aad I dro|K pe^x8^, paper published by Murray C. Kalis, St. Louis, Mo. This little paper is very well gotten up. Each num- ber contains timely matter of interest to everyone into whose hands it may happen to fall, and it has proved a most satisfactory trade getter. The history of this paper begins with that of Mr. Kalis' present store. When the store was opened in May, 1903, a folder entitled "A Short Story" was issued. This was simply an announcement that the new store would be opened on a certain date. At that time Mr. Kalis had no thought of publishing a store paper regularly, but the first announcement brought good returns and he followed it a few weeks later with another folder, called "A Plain Question," which was a brief talk about the prescription department. It read as follows: HAVE YOU A PRESCRIPTION TO BE FILLED? If SO, why should you not choose your druggist as well as you chose your physician? Your recovery depends as much on the proper compounding of your medicine as on the proper diagnosis and treat- ment of your case by your physician. Your prescriptions receive my personal and entire attention at all hours. I have no assistants in this department. My guarantee of purity and accuracy insures you against inferiority, carelessness and substi- tution. My prescription stock was selected with utmost care from such re- liable manufacturers as Squibb, Merck, Wyeth, Parke-Davis and others. w t ^ 110 SALES PLANS These firms guarantee the purity and accuracy of their products to us, and we in turn guarantee them to you. Your physician always rehes on the products of these firms and those pharmacists who dispense drugs of such high quality. The number of customers attracted by these Httle folders convinced Mr. KaHs of the value of this kind of advertising, and he determined to issue a paper at regular intervals in a permanent form. The first number of the "Guide," as it now appears, was KALIS' GUIDE A PBW Of> OUft eVEKV OAV BAROAINS JUkV !•»>. -FIRST Any bkMktt Mr AecKMtt. As l«af u IW wnmory M OBOKOK WMMIMCTON ( FumvvI oiif balortd coua ■ toy) n— JM (lit^. oat ybant "fiilriela" asd Mlwfi, will ■)iee( Ctsaoa tni bara re«d« aad Skin. It wMO*a. WtiUn«<* who gavt a« that mir re- anrk*M« bit ol advice. "rREPARK FOR WAI IN* TIME OP PEACB." Tki* M of apfcial iatcred al tki* a«uion. It voald ba «raitia( val- mMc tia* to Itarr^ to lb« Drag Store when "Johaaic coian aurrfcinc hooM," cryinf with (>r Sh>>t Qnn *>r PowJct ftuf ••, uk« twu ti*>trtpo(>ii*rii1 BHtrbVAM* t^t ttiMj* to « qa^r- t«r f iMsfal of wMrr, oiii well, ukl Afp'r tr««lv to wo«>nKt»)ii th* li«nerft!«tr ftU««ttoft ol A Physi<-t*l», )■ <■«*• 'PEPTaMOkllHUAE.'* Kalia' PtptasUcd Cacdiat. of th* trac t h ira y iaHc pcta- cipin o( Cod Urtt OU, te coaibinatioa witk Hypo* phoaphitn ol Uae aad Soda. Prpta-Maafaaala of In*. DIalalc of Malt aad beat Sbarry Wiar. Makn Red Blood Catpas> cit%, Prodttcet Fleik, aad lBpc«««« Oeacfal Nulritioai. Pcpto-MorrbiUr ba* haaa ■aed with great toeocM a* a Hatrieat aad Kecoattrac- ti** Toak la lb* Coaral*- •c*ae« ol 'all diarasca. la Malautritioo. Dytpep- •ia, Melancholia, Ktc.. Pfp- to- MnrrImM baa protrta • reliable «cilic. ' ■ Pe|>to Morrhu**" I* pat ■p in pint bonier containing Sixtrea Ouncef tl.OO. ..ItaadMt a^tfeloM Piid. tfwlk n«*l.r*4.M* OaHlHBl* (nap al r^a - .fe •araapBMtHirfaa «• " •t.«*a n« Bart tiak WaMay n* nakkua^Tag.OHap. ru WlMilCMdal ... Tie Pala*** tMary 0>ap«iad - ITe mro-MoaRiRiAS «.« Ilada'a P*f»a Miaagia — M* t.S.B. ffeaad|l.n •Mwxt^l Vjf. T a M iU— Wc RapapeiaTWWM :_«*> JoiM«n*i ngaMlTaTaktoli Me Outm^ U L. PUI* laa ■iirtia^PUia Uo PI*i*a'aPrita* IM LkiaUvaarwMQotalaa „iae Plaamttw.. Alkali P*w Km* J— DaadMto*. laan DeUcj'elblr'nala TIB Aft Bale *!§*» . — tl» Puker-e Bilr Maaa ■• Wwavt UlblalaMMi tit. M* u » ^ — agt-iM Haajadl WaMr Utj'* — -*■ Apaau Wax* — Ma Plata Wu*r —>...•■ lapHiadTtek, Water «a lapMiW Carltkad Walar. «a Varoain WaU*. iMdM^wy Wtatr- . . "a OaUeart i.. _ •*■* JJ* OaiicaraOta tft -*» Calteara ^lap ._ — — wa Wntayan'' »«ap «— ~TM tmvt MM iriU l*S( n: Q-T-La lOtlTILa.) LOTION. MM*. Eh«pa*il H.>a*P»BlM •• •••% MmU It fMf. 'w «tH »-■«'•. vwr «M^ TWCNTV-riva CCRIT9 A CArtJblB »«B wr(i» o«t WW brmlittg lb* advtnt of a |(«w Kr« AiiJ r*iur»*>< M 4 a. m. (0 tad a •*! of rripl*t». Ht )'¥>k«f* A* ih«cl«tfk vhieJl 7»iatfMl iP 3. ftMl IW cryiaff riu.Mdwud: Wall, I »« MAI MppmiilMi». Hal thank Haara* I didn't ^•iRi* Mdp At tX- Vc Mt irfHig <««7litt( !■ •« Mack at i Wiick Hatal. per plat l*e Glxrartaa, par Ik. . Ue «<«m«l aaraa. pee Ik — ^ 1»> n*i Heed, pee Ik Mt CaatphorBallt,ptrlk It Qalalaa, ptraa. J «l* Kaipl, CapealM. tM. , .,. M* Bia>rbM»uSa4*,li«albba. to H J* Oreaa of Tartar S^alMa. Oaialaa Capaa&Tt p.'daa. to qSala* C^paalet. j gr- d«a.lla ^ tr K ii uA la g aiM n ai ll T Ow Mdt h cMwaaa< «l tW ba lMrbi»riat.«rdr I gMilW.IlM »a n at»» MM aaaaa» Yeu< Pbiruciai/i aedcr* are beU ucrcd in oar Prar criptioa Department. MercL't and SqaAb't Ckatkab oidr. Mc^ >• »" Pwacriptioa Dtpa if iMi -WHY WE SUCCEED.' KCAUSK -We kiwtjft gin yoe exftctly «)iat jraoeek for. BtCAL'SJE;— We airrj aolliiBi l«lt tk* beet ol eeer^tklai. BECAUU:-Onr pelcee ar* t)> WA,e KHPerlhan atket*. •la aclae IM ea page ahaea. •11- Twiii—t« n ««a»na«»a«t 4th PMrtti iiwiiii Mit tiaaitM lONT-SELTZBb 6th. published. It contained a good list of prices on proprietary medicines and drugs, and had something to say about some of Mr. Kalis' own preparations. In addition there was a short article on "What to do in Case of Scalding," and the following talk about prescriptions: Your physician fights disease with medicine. If the medicine is not right he cannot conquer disease. If the druggist does his full duty, the medicine will be right, and your doctor will have a fair chance of winning his victory. In no other branch of the drug store should details receive more care and attention than in the Prescription Department. Every detail STORE PAPERS 111 there is of the utmost importance. We realize this fact and make thoroughness a feature of our Prescription Department. Every prescription dispensed at this store has the personal attention of the proprietor and a careful checking system makes mistakes im- possible. We use only the purest and most select pharmaceutical products.^ Our stock is in almost complete assortment and always fresh. Service prompt Charges reasonable. May we not fill your prescription ? • The next number had some good soda water advertising, which brought in many customers. The accompanying repro- duction is from the two inside pages of the July number. It will give a good idea of the general make-up of the paper. Another number contained some excellent rules for the sick room, which brought many requests for copies. During the summer Mr. Kalis experimented with two prize contests, which were not the suc- cess that had been anticipated. The contests were for children and prizes were offered for the best poem written about the store, also for the best short story. The contestants were few and the material very poor. This has given Mr. Kalis a poor opinion of prize contests, and he says that he will not use them in the future. In the fall the "Guide" was used to exploit Kalis' Cough Balsam and other seasonable remedies. Mr. Kalis does not use the mails to distribute his paper, but sends out two boys in charge of a clerk. One boy goes on each side of the street and puts a "Guide" under each door. The clerk hands the papers to passers-by, who may be missed by the boys. In writing of his paper, Mr. Kalis is very enthusiastic. He says: "I know of no other means by which a retailer could reach his trade so thoroughly at so small an outlay. The increase in business during the first day the papers are distributed more than pays for the outlay and the expense of distribution." i 82. A Grocer's Ta^tT—Delnwnico Nems is published once a month by the Delmonico Grocery Co., of Savannah, Ga. It has four pages 7x8 inches in size and the accompanying illustra- tion will show its typographical make-up. In appearance Del- r.ionico News is neat and attractive. It is set throughout in minion type leaded. The reading matter is well written and per- il I ni 112 SALES PLANS tains altogether to the store or the goods. For the most part it is in short paragraphs and much of it is about various proprie- tary lines handled by the Delmonico Co. pjtiWNiCo <^ompaK^ NE2WS. pBi^rioNico <^ompaN^ VOL I SAVANNAH. GA.. OCTOBER 1$. t?0). NaS. •oM« vri'PKiiooii* musB*. Tk* l««l TkfM MMillkfc •tyana ik* moat nnculm antldpa- IIM* of It* direclort and •urpaMlnc In •V*nr way »m bannw p*rloda of lu Ural y««r, tha Dalmanico Company haa Jtitt paal ihrouch a thrt*-inonilia »Mch alwwa bayend all qutallon that Savannah* Pur* Pood Sior* la a p*r- manmi •uo.-m*. Th* n«w bualn«a* yaaf U now trtll- op«n*<2 and with It kaa coma a largrnumlwr ot Ih* moat ■•falrabi* crocory palreoa e( Bavannak. Tha Dalmonloo'a pur* food* tcachint* hav* born* frulu and th* harvaal I* »•« an. Whal*v*r may have b*an lu record dvrlna It* Ani yrar. lb* praa- •nl on* bid* tair to doubl* In volunM thai *u• M th* hIcMM m*aa«r* raallaad wban proflt* ar* apllt on »r«iclaa wad •vary day In Ik* y«ar. Thia la tho IMmoa- leo'a poUcy. and It maana •cenoaay la patroM^ It laMuM mora bnalnaaa, H maana laatluc a ac ici M . - Tba Dolmonl* la 'Very tralotvl (or Ut* maay (oad ward* apokM of It by It* trl*ndo and patroiia. lu aim la to tlv* th* v*ry b*al aarvlca poaalbl*. to mako It* ua«ruln«*a r*lt nwr* and mor* *v*ry day. and to In lu proa- p*rlly b* contrmporancoua with tha pro»p*rlty of patron* It h*loa alens Ik* road to Iru* aconomy. CMOicac •» corpiw coaaoMMiia*. Kvmford Bakinc Powder haa had a Moot gratltylnd (•!• diirin* tha laM (fera* montka DalaMlaa'a MMta sad Ja*B ••III •■ NIsb ravar. No*OM artlcia In th* D*lmoalce ha* acorod mor* aiicccaa than lu famoua M*nd o( Hocha and Java ceS**. II I* rompoaod of **l*ct Old Oov*mn>«ni Java and Arabian Moeka. Th*** rot- frr* In th* (r*an ar bouvht In lart* quaniiilM and ar* carefully maichrd to produc* a colt** of oniform flavor and •trrniith. Th* D*lmoalco°* Mocha and Java haa th* addad m*rlt «f br- ine roa«t*d *v*nr day and may b* had wbol*. (round or pulvorlaad, at tl rrnt* ik* pound— ]u*t I c*nu Iraa than Mocha and Java U offered el**wh*re. I a I ■am* Belmanle* tpealaltlea. PrMtck Muahrooma In Vlnagar to ba •aun aa pkklea. Blakep'* California Brandlad Char- rtao and Pcackaa. Spiced Peackaa; rua In Cordial. Dos**-* dan-Jalcak It contain* th* (at of tha clam and M aapadally r*C' tor p e i aana with MBAL •OCTKIlAi.B BiiYTBB. Norka, tha new cetaal. a «*ll«litt«l -hreaktaat food, aamplea of wkiek ar* now bataf.dlatribiMod lo DaUMMco palrona. I a ■ rtafc. Porgl* Mrlpa. aaaorlad. d*llghtfal for brtakfaat. It e*nu tk* pound. All th* popular brand* of ci«a>« ar* In our ahow eaaaa. diractly in front ef Ik* •ntranc*. wk*r* th* bnay man may drop In and be quickly aarvad «nth hla (avarit* ■■* h a Tha Maakdal* Batia* Camfup% A«*B«y U With th* IMImaBi**. Sine* the laat laau* o» th* D*lma«* Ico N»w> ihe Delmonico Company haa procured the agency for th* e*l*brat*d Rockdale butter. The hlik quality U ihi* butter u. conceded by all daalM* and coniumer*. and tk* caplurtno af the xency I* naturally" »raflfj-ln«. Tha butler may be kad In pound pr. iU and In bulk. It la knoWn simply aa "Rockdal*." Ik* hlth**t qualliy af butt*r mad* by Ih* ftockdaly 6uU*r Company and civen the qame of tk* company. Many SavannahUAs will ua* no other kind. ■ m • A taap tae All M*«haBl*» Lava Soap taxe^ off crvaa*. cum, palm and printer'* Ink )u*t aa raadlly aa doe* behtlne or turpenllna BatUr *llll. It ha* a pleaaant odor and laavaa Ih* *kln aoft and amooth. It U t eotiia ft Cftk9< AutomoMllaliw tta aU rtsbt tar yw! ■ » ■ Th* Blaak* Oa«*o Pa* la aUll la kick lUvor. 11 main* B pUc* for liaeir In every hoaa tk a l d. ba- caua* It make* a pound M coffao ao a Ikird further, and five* a b*v*ra«a of uniform flavor and atransth (vary tUaa relfe* la i Haiard'* Burnt Onion Saue* I* i Cor flavortns aoupa. aaocaa, ekowdar ar any food that can be Improved by M 'onion flavor. ■ < I "Ban Hut" nour la *• sapolay •• Something is also said of store service and the deliverv system. Prompt delivery is always a good thing to remind the housewife of, as it is sometimes of great importance to her that goods reach her on time. This is what is said of the Del- monico delivery service: So smoothly works the mechanism of the Delmonico's delivery system that patrons living in the suburbs can depend upon their pur- chases being delivered promptly. In fact, they are delivered just at the time they are wanted. Our regular delivery is supplemented by bicycle messengers who are sent with rush orders at any time the housekeeper asks for a quick delivery. During the summer we found it necessary to enlarge our shipping quarters and we are now in a position to even surpass our former delivery. Fresh Fruits. The Delmonico always has the pick of the market*s fresh fiuits. They are sold so quickly that we seldom have an opportunity to STORE PAPERS 113 advertise them in the daily papers. However, our patrons can depend upon us to have all the good things that come to Savannah. Just now daily consignments of grapes, pears, apples, limes, lemons, oranges and bananas are coming in. You Can Get Them Here. Through force of habit many persons go to drug stores for toilet soaps. That habit was born before the Delmonico. Now you may order your toilet soaps to be sent with your groceries. It's handier, cheaper and more satisfactory. Teas of High Quality. If you should ask the Delmonico for a pound of its best tea you would be given what is known there as Blend No. ii, composed of select dustless Young Hyson and Oolong, at $i.oo per pound. There is nothing better anywhere. Another blend which is very popular is that known as No. i6, a combination of five high-class teas which is sold at 50 cents a pound. The Delmonico delights in blending teas to suit one's particular taste, and a record is kept of the blend that it may thereafter be sup- plied promptly. * 83. Another Grocer's Paper— The Oliver-Finnic Co., of Little Rock, Ark., publish a little monthly paper called Best Things to Eat. This, as the name implies, is a grocery paper, and a very good one it is, too. The regular issues are four pages, 6 X 9 inches, but on special occasions it is increased to 6x12 inches. With the exception of a "Boys' and Girls' Column" on the last page, this paper is devoted strictly to business. The advertisements are very cleverly written and are printed in brevier, or ordinary newspaper type. The headings are in lower case, 12-point De Vinne condensed, and prices are printed in one size smaller of the same type. This makes a very good type combination. It looks neat and is easy to read. On the first page of each issue are printed a number of "Specials" that will be on sale on certain days during the month. Some space in each number is also devoted to little arguments in favor of cash buying. Here is one of them. 25 PER cent of your INCOME. The average family spends about one-fourth of its income for food. Hence the buying of groceries being a daily outlay and so large a portion of the expense of living, to the logical mind it is apparent, that no other one item of expense should be so carefully considered. \\ M 114 I 4 It U » t SALES PLANS JSeet trbinge to Bat. 'nimmmhiitvttt*-*f^l^ Vol. 7 HDa^, X904. flo. 5 PubUtbed by OLIVEI^BNNIE CO. Uttle Rock, Ark. We'll Help You With That Lunch Dead stack SATURDAY SPECIALS May.^UI •When the houiekeeper pltnt for aa OttiiDff for the family, the jrreateet foe to complete enjoypient, it the work sod worry Of preparing the" lunch* Perhaps you have not realired, that we can be of the greatest help when it comes to that iroubleaome lunch— in fact, if you »o deelre, we can furnish everything necessary, from the basket to the toothpicks. When you are shopping, we would be very glad to have you drop in and let us show you how nice a lice of meats, fisb, fowls, cheese, pickles, olives, crackers, cakes, fresh fruits »nd candy, we have, out of wtich to make an ideal lunch with little trou- ble. No need to give an order if you don't wish to now, just look around •o you'll know what we have when jou need ife It Pays to A non-poisonous liquid for killing all kinds of troublvso i.e insects. Clean to use, leaves no ttain. Regular price 25 cts. Saturday, Ibo 21st, large boUles 18 Cts. Tripoli This is a good cleaning powder. It cleans knives, tinware, glass, brass, etc. Regular price 5 cents a box. Sa^ urday. May 21st, 2 boxes for S ccits- Best Sugar Sugar hAs advanced in price very rapidly At present we don't know where It will stop. But Saturday, May 2l8t, we will give our natront a genuine »ugar bargain, selling witli an equal aooount of other goods, 20 lbs. for SI.OO. Pay Cash. 4 { STORE PAPERS 115 But what in most families is the method pursued? A monthly account is opened, all items desired are ordered from the solicitor, no attention being given to the price or quantity received. No account being kept of the cost, the housekeeper has little idea how much the orders amount to. Result: The monthly bill is presented— the mistress is amazed, distressed. The bill is much larger than she expected, larger than was nec- essar>' had a better system been pursued. OUR SYSTEM IS SUPERIOR. First — We sell for cash only and you get the advantages of cash buying and cash selling, buying cheaper for cash, than it is possible for you to buy for credit. Second — You do not have to pay the debts of other people. Third — You know what it costs you each day, so regulate your expenditures accordingly. There is nothing to lose, much to gain, by paying cash. Why not begin to-day and give it a trial? We would appreciate your trade, guarantee every purchase made, and give you "Your monex back if you want it." Every number of this little paper is seasonable and the goods advertised in each issue are just the particular kind of goods that people want at that season of the year. For instance, the April number has the following to say : SPRING CLEANING TIME has arrived. Everybody feels like brightening up a little, when the glare of spring sunshine illumines the dingy crevices in which the dirt of winter still lingers. It makes housecleaning as well as every day work a great deal easier if you are well supplied with all kinds of labor saving powders, liquids, brushes, brooms, carpet sweepers, ceiling brooms, window brushes, sink brushes, stove brushes, etc., etc. Then follows a number of the articles named, with des- criptions, prices, etc. Here is another characteristic quotation from Best Things to Eat: RECEPTION AND PARTY MENUS. Between the close of Lent and the summer migration, there will be a number of social functions, especially will they follow each other in rapid succession during the meeting of the State Federation of Woman's Clubs. We wish to call the attention of all who entertain to the fact, that we can supply -to their entire satisfaction all the choice foods most suitable for such occasions and at cash prices, which will make it to your interest to let us furnish you with all your reception and party supplies. t.: Ill 1 mfmmm i CHAPTER VIII. SOUVENIRS AND PREMIUMS. There is a great diversity of opinion on the subject of premium and souvenir giving. Some merchants are strongly in favor of the plan while others are as strongly opposed to it. As a matter of fact this kind of advertising may be very good or very bad and whether it is profitable or useless, usually depends wholly upon the premium or souvenir itself. One common trouble with souvenirs has been their lack of originalitv and their very apparent cheapness. Cheap, flimsy souvenirs are always a poor investment, yet if a souvenir is to be given awav in large numbers, it must necessarily be inex- pensive The question, then, is to secure something that is cheap and also good, and this is not always an easy matter. In order to have any real value as an advertisement, the souvenir must be either useful or novel, although it is by no means necessary that it should be costly. The following are a few unusual premi- um and souvenir schemes that have been successfully tried by merchants in different parts of the country. 84. TJimsTial Souvenirs and Premiums— An Illinois mer- chant contracted with a local nurseryman to supply him with a large number of small trees of different varieties for plantmg. On account of the large quantity, he got them very cheaply and they were distributed free to the farmers who visited his store. The idea was a new one and the little trees were in great demand. They proved to be an excellent advertisement, and it is safe to say that some of them will serve for many years as reminders of the merchant who gave them. SOUVENIRS AND PREMIUMS 117 Along the same line, another merchant gave a rose-bush with each purchase of a certain amount and other merchants have given potted plants to their customers. The bulbs of Chinese lilies and other flowers have also been used with success as premiums. A western merchant in a country town made an arrange- ment with a raiser of fancy poultry to supply him with a certain kind of eggs for a given period of time. He then advertised that he would give a setting of eggs with every purchase amounting to a specified sum. As the eggs were especially desirable, they proved quite a drawing card. In fact the demand for the eggs outran the capacity of the hens to produce them. A California store-keeper offered to give a number of silk- worms, with directions for their culture, to ladies who purchased goods at his store. On account of its novelty this should make a very good premium. Canaries in small wooden cages and gold fishes in glass globes have been used in the same way. * There are many little oddities of Japanese manufacture that are sufficiently cheap and which would make excellent premiums. An Ohio merchant got hold of a lot of the quaint Indian pottery that is so common in the southwest and used it for souvenirs. This pottery is in reality only baked mud decorated with crude Indian painting in gaudy colors. It is made in small pieces suit- able for ash receivers or match holders and is very cheap. On account of its oddity, this ware made a much better premium than higher priced, but more commonplace articles would. 85. A Savings Bank Account Free— A Western department store manager has found a new way of booming business. His scheme is an original one, and he says that it was a great success. He tells about it as follows : "I was in my office one day trying to devise some new scheme for stirring up business when a young man came in soliciting savings bank accounts. He had called upon me to get permission to talk to our sales force. I talked with him for a few minutes and he explained that the bank he represented was trying to get as many new savings accounts as possible. They were making a special bid for the deposits of persons of moderate 118 SALES PLANS means and offered to start savings accounts with sums as small as $1. When the first dollar was deposited the depositor was given a small steel savings bank, which could be opened only by keys at the bank. The depositor was to keep this little bank at homq, putting in his savings in nickels and dimes, as he got them. At intervals it was to be taken to the bank, where it would be opened and the contents credited to the depositor's account. After the solicitor had gone it occurred to me that I might make use of the savings bank idea in pushing our business. I called upon the manager of the savings department of the bank, and submitted a proposition to him whereby I should, within a month, open up at least 500 savings accounts of $1 each, in the names of that many of our customers. In return, he was to allow me the solicitor's commission of 50 cents on each account, and also bear a certain part of the expense of advertising the scheme. He readily agreed to this and we proceeded to get out our advertising. We got out a neat little folder, offering to open a savings account with a deposit of $1 and furnish one of the small steel banks, all free, to every one who made cash purchases at our store amounting to $10, within thirty days from the date of the offer. The folder then went on to point out the advantages to every one in having a savings account, and called attention to the liberal terms and facilities offered depositors by this particu- lar bank. A statement of the earnings, financial status and other particulars regarding the bank were incorporated in the folder, which was got out in the name of the store. We then got up a number of form letters and had them mimeographed. One was directed to school teachers, stenogra- phers, clerks and other women workers. It called attention to the advantages and practicability of a savings account for women in their circumstances, and the excellent opportunity of starting one through our offer. Another lot of letters were for salesmen, clerks and young men holding salaried positions. Another was for mechanics, etc. The letter from which we received the greatest returns, however, was one addressed to parents, with the suggestion that they take advantage of our offer and open savings accounts in the name of their children. SOUVENIRS AND PREMIUMS 119 Each of the letters was made to apply as nearly as possible to the peculiar circumstances and conditions surrounding the class of people to whom they were addressed. These letters were enclosed with the folders and mailed to a carefully prepared list. This was supplemented by liberal newspaper advertising and the returns were not long in coming in. The idea of starting a savings account was so thoroughly sound that the scheme "caught on" from the start. It was immediately popular with all classes. Wealthy people and people of good circumstances started accounts in the names of their children or the children of rela- tives. People of more moderate means started them in their own name. Every one who bought $10 worth of goods was given a printed slip with his name filled in by the cashier instruct- ing the savings bank to issue a deposit slip to the person whose name appeared on the order. One of the small banks and a pass-book were also issued at the same time. Many people who started their accounts in this way made considerable deposits at the same time so the bank obtained many profitable accounts. When the thirty days were up we found it advisable to ex- tend the offer another thirty days. Outside the circular adver- tising which was shared equally by the bank, the scheme cost the store only 50 cents for each account started. This, we con- sidered a very small price to pay for many good customers who got into the habit of trading at our store while the offer was m force. In addition to this we have the satisfaction of knowing that we were really of great benefit to many persons in inoculat- ing them with the germ of the savings bank habit." 86. Bank Accounts With $5 Purchases— The Hamilton Clothing Company, of Traverse City, Mich., started savings bank accounts for boy customers who purchased goods to the amount of $5. This sounds somewhat expensive, but as a matter of fact only a very modest outlay is required— to be exact, a little more than five per cent. The accompanying reproduction is from a circular and explains the scheme in a general way. This circu- lar was widely distributed in Traverse City and the surrounding country. The plan was also advertised in the newspapers by ads and reading notices. 120 SALES PLANS This is a trade promoting plan that is novel and at the same time thoroughly practical and dignified. It is moral and stimulating and appeals to all classes, to old and yoi^ng— to the boy's parents even more than to the boy himself. A bank account HAMIl^TOIS GUOTHINO CO. TRAVeR«e CITY. MICMIO/%N TO TI1E B0Y6 A Bank Account Started Through Our Boys' Department Every boy ahotild CT.ItiT»te the hubit of Mving Thit liabit once" formed, a few dollar* can be etaily wwd Mch yew to provide yon with many neoeawsry thingt It only requiree a tUrt We Want to Start You Thi. it how we are going to do it. Yon buy » «nit or an orercoat. or both, or any article of cloth- ing f«,a, .* to the amont of $5.(K) or o»er. and we will fami.h (loan) you a aleel bank like the picture and pnt in a bright new 25o piece; you fcike it home and when you have put in 75c more, bring it to our Boy t Department and we wiU go with yon to the bank, yon .hall op.^n a aaving acconnt. reewve a bank book, exchange your bank for another, for future «i»in«.. and then you will hare the pleaani* of knowing that yon an a depoaitor in one of Tr»»*r«( City'e banking inttitution» Will You Do It? L»y thia matter before your mother orfuther. If yon cannot trade the required amount at one Ume we fumiah a caid. aa below, upon which we wiU pnnch the amount of your purchatM. and when $5 00 ia traded, you aball have the bank and 25o. Thia offer ia limited in lime, but will hold good until the holi Name -•• t lAddreae luato given oot NO.. Uate depoaited.... 190.. )• Bring thia card with you. Wheo ; tS 00 ia traded, leave thia oard Youra truly, I HAMILTON CLOTHING CO. 50 \ 50 \ 50\ 50\ 50\50\25\25\25\25\25 \25\25 I 25 for a boy is a saving power and every parent will endorse and assist in any measure that is likely to cultivate the habit of saving in a boy. The plan used by the Hamilton Clothing Co. was quite simple. If the boy made a five dollar purchase, he was given V ^ SOUVENIRS AND PREMIUMS 121 the bank at once. If the purchase was less than five dollars, he was given a green card like the one shown at the bottom of the circular. The amount of the purchase was punched out of the bottom of the card. A yellow duplicate card was kept on file in the office and this is punched to correspond. When the amount of five dollars has been punched out of the card, the bank con- taining a quarter is turned over to the boy, and when he has brought the amount up to one dollar, he brings the bank mto the store and is accompanied by an employe to the savmgs bank, where an account is opened in his name and a new bank is given him. The original bank is then returned to the store to be given to some other boy. The regular price of the bank used is one dollar, but the Hamilton Qothing Company had an opportunity to secure a lot for 25 cents each, which reduced the cost of the whole scheme to very little. They can readily dispose of the banks when they are through with them to some other merchant who wishes to use the same plan. A very good bank of this kind can be had in quantities at about 60 cents each. In most cities of consider- able size the savings bank itself would be willing to furnish the banks free. It could very well afford to do this, as the number of new accounts obtained would undoubtedly be large. The Hamilton Clothing Company express thmselves as highly pleased with the plan. They say it worked well from the start. 87. Magazines as Premiums— The merchant who believes in premiums should try giving his customers magazines. They make exceedingly good premiums. Every one is interested in magazines and every one is glad to get them, furthermore they are cheap and that counts when it comes to buying premiums. There are at least a dozen good monthly magazines on which the subscription price (at wholesale) is not more than 80 cents a vear Any of them would make a premium that would be ap- preciated by any one who got it. Another thing that is worth considering about a magazine as a premium : It keeps coming as a reminder for a whole year. A western merchant who has tried giving magazines to his customers is very enthusiastic about them and says that they ^1 il ! I i 122 SALES PLANS have brought a great deal of trade to his store. He gives a coupon with every ten cent purchase and for two hundred cou- pons, gives a year's subscription to any of the following magazines : Woman's Home Companion, Ladies' Home Journal, Mun- sey's, McClure's, Pearson's, Success, Strand Magazine, Cosmo- politan, Delineator, Everybody's Magazine, Broadway Magazine, Leslie's Popular Monthly, Household, Good Housekeeping, What to Eat, Black Cat or Argosy. As a special inducement he will give any of the above magazines with a $15 cash purchase. If the customer prefers, he may get Harper's, The Century or any other of the higher priced magazines by turning in the coupons at the same rate of value. This scheme would cost less than four per cent if all of the coupons were returned. However, a great many of them are lost, others for some reason or other do not turn up, perhaps, because the customer does not get the requisite number. At any rate less than two thirds of those issued are returned for redemp- tion. This brings the actual cost down to something like two per cent of the cash sales which is not too much to pay for a good premium. This merchant does not have the magazines delivered to customers but requires that they call at the store for them. 88. Aluminum Dollars— Aluminum dollars given as souv- enirs were a feature of the opening of Boutell Brothers' big store in Minneapolis. Both the opening and the souvenirs were great successes. It was advertised that the store would be opened on a certain date and that each visitor would be given an aluminum souvenir good for one dollar in trade on any purchase amount- ing to ten dollars or more if presented on or before November i. The store was opened at 1 1 in the morning and at that time the streets were blocked. From that time until 10 o'clock at night it was necessary to close the doors of the store every ten minutes in order to keep the crowd in check. Although well prepared for a rush, it was impossible to handle the great masses of people that applied for admission. Some 33,000 souvenirs were given away and there were not nearly enough to supply the people who were clamoring for them. k i SOUVENIRS AND PREMIUMS 123 The first opening was on Saturday and on Monday there was a repetition with the same conditions prevailing. The souvenirs were about the size of a silver dollar. On one side was a view of the new store building and on the other was, "Good until November i for $1 on any purchase amounting to $10 or over." As an advertisement and a business getter the scheme worked well. The souvenirs were given away on the fourth floor and by this arrangement anyone who got one of them had to go through the entire store. People were willing to do this, however, as the souvenirs had been pretty well advertised and were talked about a good deal. As a result a great many possible customers were induced to look over the new stock. After the opening, the souvenirs began turning up at the store for redemption. At first they came in afr the rate of from 15 to 25 per day, but as the first of November drew near, they commenced to come in faster, and before the time limit had expired, a great number had been redeemed. They were turned in on all kinds of purchases, running from $10 up to as high as $550. The firm is well pleased with the plan and credit it with a good deal of extra business. The souvenirs cost a fraction less than two cents each. n 89. A Coupon Premium Plan— S. H. Olson & Co., of Dwight, Kan., sent out a new form of folder with a view to col- lecting the names of the farmers in their locality. The folders were also calculated to bring customers to the store. On one side was written the name of the farmer for whom it was intended; on the reverse were spaces in which the re- cipient was requested to write his name and address and those of two of his neighbors. When the blanks had been filled out and the folder was returned to the store, the holder was entitled to make a free selection of a 35c piece of glass-ware upon the purchase of $1 worth of goods. The inside of the folder con- tained the following: "Whenever we buy goods and get a bad bargain we can stand it— nothing could ever compensate us for the loss of your good will and friendship, and we must treat you the best we know how. True, we're in the merchandise business for every 124 SALES PLANS ■i 1 I thing else but our health. We want this business to grow, and grow faster and faster. It's doing that now. We dont want it to stop. We don't want you to stop coming and we re going to see that you do not. We're going to make you so welcome that vou'U want to come. Some of the new fall goods are m now- maybe you want to see the newest and hear of the latest styles for fall Our clerks are chock full of information and we U appreciate your visit whether you come in to buy or just to look. "Some smart man a long time ago said that economy was the greatest of all revenue, which is the same as saying that saving money is better than making it. We are holding out economy every day to our customers-saving money on necessary purchases is economy-buying goods that wear and look well is economy-trading at a store that enables you to do these things is economy — that's us ! . , , j i "Bring this folder to the store this month and buy one dol- lar's worth of goods, and then this coupon is good for the hand- somest piece of Mosaic ware you can find in our assortment. This coupon is good for this month only, must be cashed by you or some member of your family. It is not transferable under any circumstances. You cannot get this glassware unless you bring the folder with you. No two cards of the same issue will be cashed for any one person." 90. Souvenirs for Everybody-The Axt Drug C°-. Jort Madison, la., drew a great crowd to their opening by a libera distribution of souvenirs. It will be noted in the advertisemen reproduced here that the hours of distribution were so timed as to keep the store crowded all day. 91 A New Jersey Idea— Merchants have used a great many different kinds of inducements to promote trade but it seems that there are plentv of new and original schemes for drawmg busi- ness An idea' that has proved popular, is the employment of a professional palmist to read the palms of customers who visit the store. This was done by Hahne & Co.'s department store, in Newark, N. J. The following quotation from their adver- tisement explains the scheme : SOUVENIRS AND PREMIUMS 125 "To meet the wish of many patrons. Prof. Le Roy will be with us all this week. During his recent four weeks' engagement he read more than 3,000 palms, satisfying everybody, displeasing none. There is nothing of the charlatan or fortune teller in Prof. Le Roy's work. One dollar's purchase of Gloves, Millinery, Silks, Dress Goods or Muslin Underwear entitles the purchaser to a free reading of the hand from 9 a. m. to i p. m. and 2 to 5 p. m.. Many Valuable Souvenirs FREE To Every Visitor On Our Opening Day, Saturday. October 29th. You are cordially invited to attend oar Opening; Day Celebration on Monday, October 29. We want everybody in Fort Madison and vicinity to come to our store on that day and enjoy our hospitality. We shall do all in out power to make' your visit both pleasant and profitable. We want your visit to give you so much pleasure that you will long remember Ahe good time you had at our store on Opening Day. Every visitor.jon Opening Day will receive many fine sbnveairs— dainty souvenirs, nsefol souvenirs and valuable souvenirs. Don't miss this Opening on any account Come early. Every Lady Who viniti oar atora OB Op«MoK Otj •ill r*e*iT*a "SurpriM Bac" ooDUining a>*o/— but Uiat't •ber« U» turpriM ooae* io. ^ou •ill caruiolj be tar- priard uid ddligbUd with Ibe cootsou of /our bag. Btac7 lad/ TMitor will neai.a a btodaooia oroa- Uoa and alao a cbaoc* to rcc*i.« osa ot tin diffaraot •rtidia raload at froo tS 00 to 11.00 Tba BfM 80 ladiaa makioc a purcbaaa ie tha mora* lag will aaeli raraira a baautitul tray, litbograptaad ia oolora, aisa I3tl6 iocbaa. Tba firat 300 lad>aa makiiig a pttrcbaaa oa Opeaiac Da; Kill aacb receira a tao eaat eaka of Natnio BkiD Soap, a ramarkabl/ good toilat nap. Batvaae 1 aad 3 p. a. wa vill gi*a • fioa pafrof Seiaaon to aacb of tb% Brat SO ladiaa oiakiag • pur- cbaaa. Oo Opaeiog Day va •ill gif* foa fraa •itb avary parcbaaa aawaatiag to Sl.OO or o«ar. Toar cboioa Ol a botUa ol Reoaud a Creato ot Violata er a bottla of Ait'a DaotafoaiB. or a boUla ot 8ibariaa Violau Par- Inaa— oel; oaa to a cuatonar. For ooa weak ooBmboeioi •itb ovf Opaaiag Day, «• will giva a 2Sc tuba nf Witch Ratal Craam for tba taoa to awjr lady vbo buya a 3Sc cu ot Faihak OariaACo'aButbyBot Po«dar. MUSIC BY ORCHESTRA AftacBooo aad EtaaSic: Every Qentlemait Wbe eomea io oa Opaaisg Day will bagivaa ac to wie oaa ot tour botaa of prioM Cigar*. Erary gaoUaoiaB will alio laeain aooTaairMH^ •a aa«t lattfcar aiatcb aafaa. pocfcat kaifaai aab ttv* bay riag aovaltiaa. packagaa ot court plaatar, ate. To aacb ot tba brat 100 aoiukara »bo come ia oa Opaoing Oay wa will gi*a ao All Haraaa Tea Oaat C^r (Carl UpaBaat Booqoat Cigar). Tha-brat iO gaetlamaa wito purdiaaa SOe worth of V. R. Baca'a Mereaatila Cigara will aacb raceiva a baodaome Moroeca Leather Cigar Caae, wbicb alooa la worth Mc while the cigara tbaauelTea are a aptaa- ttUbraiid. Every Child Who cornea to tbe atore oo Opeoing Oay aceoapS- Biad by adttlta will recei** pretty ptctai* earda aad dauty parfBBMd blottan. Pvoi*vlww1 V punaaetag Cbioa «t Cut Olaaa every UUUy a«»obBtin«to 11.90 or orar.oa Opeoiag Day, will receive tree a Faaey Oaodla. Cbi^ dlaatick. Sbada aad Bolder. SPECIAL Ob OpaoiBg Oay ooly we will Wl tha ealabraked Tiowbridge'a Cbocolata CI' at We par poaad. No order* Oiled for I tkaaoae^oaad. K28c James Block, Fort Madison, Iowa. 1 J 1 I 126 SALES PLANS SOUVENIRS AND PREMIUMS 127 except on Wednesday and Friday, from lo to I2 o'clock, when Prof. Le Roy will devote the two hours entirely to men, in the Men's Department, uptown side, near Broad Street. Men have only to purchase one dollar' worth of goods in the Men's Fur- nishing, Hat, Glove or Cigar Departments, to obtain a free read- ing of the hand. 92. Crayon Portraits as Premiums — The Whitehouse Dry Goods Co., Spokane, Wash., advertised as follows: "No matter how great the bargain, no matter what you buy, we will give you, free of charge, with a purchase of $i or over A $3 BUST CRAYON PORTRAIT The portraits are 16x20, made of French crayon, by the world's best portrait artist, and are worth $3. We give these away absolutely free to each customer making purchases to the amount of $1 or over. We want everybody to take advantage of this free offer, but cannot make more than one portrait for each person. That there can not be any misunderstanding, please note carefully : Pictures will be enlarged from any photograph except stamps. A charge of 50 cents for material will be made for full figure portraits and for double portraits (two pictures on one mat). Pastel portraits will be made for $1, this charge being for material only. Bring in the photograph you wish enlarged, whether it be of yourself, father, mother, sister, brother or baby. It is all the same to us. Buy $1 worth of merchandise and receive a crayon bust portrait absolutely free. 93. Coal as a Premium — Lump Coal is a commodity that is not usually displayed behind the plate glass of a clothing store window. Nevertheless the May Clothing Co., of Cripple Creek, Colo., attracted considerable attention by exhibiting a ton of coal in one of their windows. This unusual display is explained by the following clipping from one of their newspaper ads which appeared at the same time: "Commencing Thursday, December 28th, until January 7th, 1905, inclusive, we will give away Coal Coupons with each and every purchase. To each purchaser of merchandise to the amount of $20.00 and over, we will give an order on the Colo- rado Trading & Transfer Company to deliver at your door in any part of the district 1,000 pounds best grade Canon City lump coal, which costs you absolutely nothing." The giving away of coal during a particularly cold snap was a most attractive as well as unique advertisement which at- tracted a large crowd to the store and boomed sales while the unusual offer was in effect. 94. Photographs as Premiums — Merchants who have tried them say that photographs make a very satisfactory premium. They are not very expensive, as the photographer is usually very glad to make a low price in the hope of getting to sell other pic- tures to the sitter. The following clippings from advertise- ments of stores in San Francisco and other California cities show how photographs are advertised as premiums: » THE EMPORIUM, SA!N FRANCISCO. With every boy's or girl's suit or cloak sold in our Juvenile De- partment, second floor, we will present absolutely free of charge an order on Bushncll's for a Platino photo of yourself or some member of your family. Platinos are the highest grade photos known in photog- raphy. Bushnell's makes splendid Platinos. These are in their best style. Full particulars in the department. rale's, SACRAMENTO. Free Photos. You are presented with a coupon for a free sitting at Hodson's with a purchase of $1 or over in any of the following de- partments at Hale's: Millinery, Ladies' Shoes, Boys' and Girls' Cloth- ing. WASSERMAN, KAUFMAN & CO., SACRAMENTO. Photographs given away. Absolutely free with every pair of shoes at $1 or over. An offer unparalleled in generosity, unmatched in liberality. We are determined that you shall know our shoes. We know positively that every pair of them is worth the price asked — yet, in addi- tion, we give you a certificate entitling you to one of Bushnell's Finest Platino Photographs in panel style, size 14 x 10 J/2 inches. We pay for the photograph to secure yeur attention to our shoes. See our men's house slippers and women's dress slippers. H. C. CAPWELL, OAKLAND. Beginning Monday, October 3, every purchaser of Millinery to the extent of $2.00 or more will be given a certificate-order on Bushnell's X K ST j2g SALES PtANS Oakland Studio for one large (8 x 5 inches) Platino Photograph, mounted °" V;7aWer\ir:;r.givin. general throughout the -,0- ^ t.^. Cce House, the millinery section, «i.h which we want every lady to be '"^ms is simply our method of drawing special -e"t^n to the Minin- ery Section, knowing full well that the values cannot be duplicated that each new customer will become a permanent patron. Feel no diffidence whatever about taking advantage of th,s off r^ We pay well for the photographs, and you will not even be asked to buy a second one from the studio. n, .hnpll's work There's no need to say anything about the quality of Bushnell s work. Specfmens of the styles of the photos can be seen in our windows. 95 Free Excursions-C. H. Robinson, of WoonsockeL, R. I opened a new store and made this liberal ofifer to get people in'terested. The following is from one of his newspaper adver- ''™ Wednesday, July :st, we will open a new store at thjd Mus^ Hall Building, 36-38 Main Street, Woonsocke. We have -^^ f n rf=fc::i^ ^ ^:^:^^^^^-^ -- - —nothing down, a Little Each Week. Wnnti<;ocket "Tn order to induce every man, woman, and child m Woonsocket fo'thfrtydaTs in addition to other liberal gifts we will give two round rurnTndilg fre; X:d fare both ways, free shore dinner, free sail '°^^»We"'ha\T fined 'u;'several specially furnished rooms, just as they we nave miLu if ^ jj ^^ pleased f^^ewith every piano; free toilet set with every chamber outfit. 96. Oil Paintings as Premiums-Weinstock, Lubin & Co.. San Francisco, employed a "Lightning Landscape artist to give Shibitions of painting in one of their show windows for several SOUVENIRS AND PREMIUMS 12y days. The paintings were given as premiums to customers. The following quotation from an advertisement will explain the plan : The Silk House has secured the services of Burt, the lightning land- scape painter, to give exhibitions of his skill and dexterity with the brush in one of our show windows Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, between 9 and 12 a. m. Burt works with lightning rapidity, producing beautiful landscape and marine views in the marvelously short time of eight to ten minutes. The Paintings will Be Given Away Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, according to the following plan : With every purchase (made between 9 and 12 a. m.) amounting to $5 and over we will give a paint- ing 14x22 inches. With every purchase (made between 9 and 12 a. m.) amounting to $10 and over we will give a painting 22 x 36 inches. Not more than one painting will be given to a customer, no matter what the amount of the purchase. Paintings will not be allowed on purchases made after 12 a. m. Paint- ings will not be allowed on purchases sent C. O. D. ft 97. Cash Souvenirs — G. W. Greig, a clothier in Wheeling, W. Va., held a sale during which he gave two-doUar-and-a-half gold pieces as souvenirs to purchasers of suits, overcoats or rain- coats. The following notice appeared in his newspaper adver- tisements : In celebrating this anniversary we do not overlook the fact that without the confidence, good-will and patronage of the people of Wheel- ing and vicinity, the phenomenal growth of this remarkable youngster would have been impossible. By way of showing our appreciation we will, on Wednesday, October 5th, from 7:30 a. m. to 6 p. m., present to every purchaser of one of our famous suits, overcoats, rain coats or top coats, a two-and-one-half-dollar gold piece as a souvenir of this event. Remember — ^This two-and-one-half-dollar gold piece is given as i souvenir and will not act as part payment of any purchase, as our unalter- able price remains the same, viz., $10.00, $12.50 and $15.00 for suits, $10.00, $12.50. $15.00 and $20.00 for overcoats and top coats, and $15.00 and $20.00 for Priestley's Genuine Cravanette Rain Coats. 98. Free Accident Insurance — The Leader, a department store in Seattle, Wash., gave a one hundred dollar accident in- surance policy free with purchases of $3 or more. The following is clipped from one of their newspaper advertisements: .1 ■Mi 1 :« A :< 130 SALES PLANS REMEMBER— In any department of our store, $ioo worth of accident insurance free with every purchase amounting to $3.00 or more; $100 in case of death by accident or $5.00 weekly for a period of five weeks in case of injury. The only conditions be- ing that you purchase goods to the amount of $3.00 or more in any of the departments of our store. Ask for free policy when have made your purchase. 99. Tea Kettles as Preminnis— The Bon Marche Dry Goods Co., Lowell, Mass., held a Thanksgiving sale during which they gave away 1,000 copper tea-kettles. The following clipping from one of their advertisements will explain the plan : We have had made to our special order 1,000 of these Tea Kettles. They are solid copper, heavily nickel-placed all over. They were made by the Rome Manufacturing Co., one of the largest and best makers of Tea Kettles in the world. The material used is heavy copper, the body of kettle is seamless with curved spout; dome cover; wide, flat, heavy bale; enameled wood handle and flat bottom. The actual weight of No. 8 size is 2 lbs. 6 oz. ; the actual weight of No. 9 size is 2 lbs. 10 oz. Guar- anteed by the manufacturer and by us for 5 years. We have been selling a kettle similar in construction, but not so sightly for $1.98. In this great sale you get a better kettle and our dollar's worth of merchandise all for $1.89. The prudent housewife will not let this golden opportunity pass by unnoticed. Even if one don't want the tea kettle offer, by read- ing over the following list they'll see that it means economy for everyone who attends the sale. 100. Large vs. Small Premiums— The Hamblin Clothing Co., of McMinnville, Ore., has tried a number of premi- um and prize schemes and, in their experience, are inclined to favor small premiums rather than large prizes. The Hamblin Co., writes as follows: "It has been our custom to give away each fall some premi- um to one of our customers. One year we gave a shot gun, and another, a gold watch. Last July we gave away $50.00 in cash which was divided into one $25.00 and five $5.00 prizes. While there is no doubt that all of these were a direct benefit to our business, we do not think that they are as good in the long run as the old-fashioned premiums where a certain percentage of sales (as shown by sales checks) is redeemable in china ware. SOUVENIRS AND PREMIUMS 131 Our experience in the past three years in giving large prizes, is that there are too many disappointed ones and the prizes as a rule have gone to persons with whom they do us the least good, from an advertising point of view.'* 101. Groceries as a Premium — Beginning early in Novem- ber, Wieboldt's department store in Chicago advertised a basket of groceries free with all cash purchases of $10 or more in their Cloak or Clothing departments. The baskets were advertised to contain the following: 2 lbs. of sugar, i pkg. recleaned cur- rants, I lb. Santa Clara prunes, i quart cranberries, i can early June peas, i lb. Java and Mocha coffee, 2 lbs. Jersey sweet po- tatoes, I pkg. leaf sage, i lb. best mixed nuts, i pkg. Monarch mincemeat, i pkg. Uneeda Biscuit, y^ doz. oranges, i lb. candy. Wieboldt's store caters to a popular trade and this offering is about as attractive as one could be made. The offer was good until Thanksgiving. 102. Premiums in Money— J. W. French, a merchant in Elk Point, S. D., made a success of a five per cent discount sale, which he explained as follows: $100.00 GIVEN AWAY. This is no lottery scheme but a donation of $100 to our customers. We will give you a FIVE CENT MONEY ORDER with each dollar's worth of goods purchased at our store and when twenty of these Money Orders are presented by any one person will pay $1.00 in Trade for them ; or, when you buy 50 cents or more worth of goods at one time, we will accept them as so much cash toward paying for same. We want every- body to avail themselves of this offer. Our store is headquarters for everything in our line and our prices are the very lowest. Come and see us and bring all your friends. Ask for a FIVE CENT MONEY ORDER with every dollar's worth you buy. Money Orders Given Only zvith Cash Purchases. 103. Premiums of Candy — A Michigan grocer has devised a new scheme to boom his trade in candy. He had a lot of tickets printed with figures in amounts of 5 and 10 cents around the edge making a total of $1.75. These tickets are given to all can- dy customers and the amounts of their purchases are punched out of the margin. Vl^hen all the figures have been punched the i ^ Ll =1! H 1 132 SALES PLANS SOUVENIRS AND PREMIUMS 133 ticket is redeemed with one pound of good candy. The tickets are not transferable. The grocer says that his plan has helped his candy trade wonderfully especially among school children. 104. A Grocer's Premitiin Plan— An eastern grocer has built up a large and profitable trade on a special brand of coffee that he puts up himself by using a scheme that has often been used by manufacturers. He encloses a letter of the alphabet in every package and when the customers get the letters that spell the name of the firm and the name of the coffee, they are given a choice of several handsome premiums. This plan msures a steady trade on the coffee. 105 Clothing Given Away— Curtis, of Enid, Oklahoma, re- cently held what he called a "gift sale." For twenty days he of- fered the following inducements to purchasers. With every suit of Men's clothes a good hat free. With every suit of Boy's clothes take your choice of hat or cap- With every overcoat one pair of gloves. With Ladies' cloaks, a nice fur neck piece. •With every Ladies' wool dress pattern, over 50c a yard, lining and binding free. 106. Inducements to Buy House Pumishings— C. H. Robin- son of Woonsocket, R. L, evidently believes in offering induce- ments to purchasers. Here are a few of the special oif ers he has "With every range, a six-foot dining table and a turkey to put on it will be given free. . "With every parlor suit, a tapestry carpet, two pairs of lace curtains, a parlor table and two framed pictures will be given free " '"With every piano, two pairs of lace curtains, a tapestry carpet and a parlor suit will be given free." 107 Free Matinee Tickets-Free matinee tickets were given to the customers of The Boston Store, at Wichita, Kansas, at a sale recently. One ticket was given with every $1 purchase, two tickets with every $3 purchase, three tickets with every $5 pur- chase and five tickets with every $10 purchase. Not more than five tickets were given to any one customer. 108. Theatre Tickets as Premiums— Hens & Kelly & Co.'s department store in Buffalo recently treated its customers to a free matinee performance. The store bought up the entire house for an afternoon performance and a free ticket was given to every customer purchasing a dollar's worth of goods on the specified day. A special list of bargains was offered during the sale. 109. Free Ice With Refrigerators— J. W. Pettee & Co., hardware dealers in Oklahoma City, made a run on refrigera- tors and advertised free ice with every one sold. With a $50 refrigerator the buyer got 2,500 pounds of ice and with cheaper ones lesser amounts were given down to 250 pouncfs, which was given with a $7.50 refrigerator. 110. Fire Insurance Free With Purchases — Friend's house- furnishing establishment in Pittsburg makes the following offer : If your purchases amount to $50 or more, on which you have paid $10, Friend will give you a fire insurance policy free, pro- tecting your furniture and carpets purchased here, from loss by fire for three years. The policy will be issued by one of the leading insurance companies. 111. Gold Rings as Premiums— Kuhn's Bargain House in Tipton, Iowa, gave a gold ring warranted for five years to every person who bought $5 worth of goods during a certain month. A ticket was given to each customer (only one to a family) and the amount of each purchase punched out of the margin. When one card had been punched out another might be had by applying for it. 112. School Books With Boys' Suits— Reitmeier & Ditzler, clothiers in Lafayette, Ind., advertised that with every boy's suit — six years and up — they would give free an order on any t ^ 134 SALES PLANS book store in the city for one school book of any kind that might be required. The oflfer was made about the time school opened and resulted in quite a lot of extra business. 113. Marbles to Boy Customers— M. A. Krug, a shoe dealer in Erie, Pa., offered a bag of marbles free with every pair of boys', shoes sold. This is an inexpensive premium that would prob- ably appeal to boys more than something much more costly but less appropriate. 114. Hosiery Free With Shoes— The Crescent Shoe Store of Longmont, Col, has added a line of hosiery to their stock and to advertise the new departure they gave away a pair of stockings with every pair of shoes sold. This offer lasted eight days. 115. Groceries for Premiums — In order to induce cash buy- ing, an Ohio department store advertises that with every $i pur- chase in the dry goods, clothing or shoe department, the cus- tomer will be given free 15 cents' worth of goods from the gro- cery department. For example, if a man bought a $10 suit of clothes he would get $1.50 in groceries, making the suit cost S8.50. 116. Duplicates of Purchases Given Away— Theo. F. Swan's department store in Elgin, 111., held a "Novelty Sale" of ready- to-wear garments of all sorts. For every garment purchased the customer was given a duplicate garment or one of equal value. 117. Free Dinners With Purchases— The People's Bargain Store in Danville, 111., held a sale during which an ice cream soda or soft drink was given with each 50c purchase. With $2 pur- chases a dinner was given free. 118. Flowers as Premiums — For one day during a special sale Robert Eraser, of Utica, N. Y., advertised that a blooming primrose plant in a pot would be given free with all purchases of 50 cents or over. Vr SOUVENIRS AND PREMIUMS 135 119. Free Pipes for Workingmen— The Continental, a de- partment store in LaCrosse, Wis., held a "Workingmen's Sale" and gave away briar pipes as premiums. A pipe was given with every purchase of $1.00 or over. 120. Collars Given to Purchasers of Shoes— The Hoffman Toggery Shops, Minneapolis, Minn., stirred up business in their shoe department lately by offering a 25-cent collar free with every $5 purchase of shoes. 121. Premiums for a Clean Sweep Sale— The Cash Bazaar of Pueblo, Colo., held a "Clean Sweep Sale," during which a good 25-cent broom was given as a premium with all purchases amounting to $i or more. a Li w \l\ CHAPTER IX. GETTING TRADE THROUGH CHILDREN. Merchants who use contests to promote trade have gener- ally found that those which appeal to children are more success- ful and profitable than those which are confined to grown-up persons. The children enter into the spirit of the thing with more enthusiasm than their elders although they usually manage to interest the latter if the scheme has any merit. Many of the schemes for children given here are intended only to give the store general publicity and no direct results are to be expected. There are others, however, that are planned to bring immediate business to the store. Of course, the results to be had from any of these plans will depend to a great extent upon how it is handled. 122. A Junior Salesman Contest— A very successful contest for boys was conducted by Tull & Gibbs, dealers in furniture, carpets and draperies in Portland, Oregon. Mr. Emmett C. Brown, who has charge of the advertising of Tull & Gibbs, man- aged the scheme. He tells about it as follows: During the latter part of June we exhibited in one of our front windows twenty-five prizes consisting of bicycles, foot- balls foot-ball suits, punching bags, rifles, cameras, base-balls, base-ball mitts and base-ball bats. With these were several large show cards stating that these prizes were to be distributed to the Junior Salesmen on the ist of August, that the twenty-five boys bringing us the most business between the ist of July and the ist of August were to receive these prizes, and that all boys were invited to become Junior Salesmen. GETTING TRADE THROUGH CHILDREN 137 In this same window we exhibited a celluloid button with the inscription, 'Junior Salesman, Tull & Gibbs. Your credit is good ; make your own terms." To every boy who entered this contest we gave one of these buttons and a supply of Junior Salesman cards, with the following inscription, "Looking for Business for Tull & Gibbs, complete house furnishers. Junior Salesman No. . Furniture, Carpets, Draperies, Bedding, Crocl^ery, Hardware, Stoves and Pictures. Bring this card with you and the Junior Salesman gets credit for the amount of sale." On the back of card was space for name of customer and amount of sale. The boys were instructed to solicit business among their friends and acquaintances, presenting these cards to all the peo- ple they called upon ; requesting that when they visited our store they would bring these cards and hand them to the salesmen who waited upon them. The salesmen would enter the names of customers and amounts of sales on the back of the cards, which would then be handed into the office with the sales ticket^. After each amount had been verified and checked by one of our ac- countants, the amount of the sale would be placed to the boy's credit in a book kept for that purpose. On the 31st of July these sales totaled nearly $5,000.00, the boy winning the first prize having brought in about $800.00 worth of business. Of course, a good deal of this business might have come to us unsolicited, but quite a bit of it we are certain was due to the Junior Salesmen. About 400 started out to solicit business, but I should say that not more than 30 per cent were in earnest. We spent very little money in advertising this scheme, relying upon our window display and the advertising it would receive by the boys among themselves. On the whole I should think it possesses sufficient merit to recommend itself to any retail house in need of a stimulant for its retail trade. The programme might be varied and little girls used to create an interest among their friends and relatives for the store. 123. School Buttons for Cliildren— The Sweeney Company, of Buffalo, N. Y., gave a "School Button" to practically every school child in that city. Thirty-five thousand buttons were dis- I ) n 138 SALES PLANS tributed. The plan was announced in an advertisement as fol- lows : "Buttons for the boys and girls — school buttons— just the thing that the juveniles of Buffalo will cherish most. The big department store has just received 35,000 school buttons for dis- tribution among the students of the public and parochial schools of Buffalo. 'The buttons are very handsome in design, circular in shape and one and a quarter inches in diameter. In the center of each one appears the photograph of a school and across the top, in neat lettering, is the name of the school pictured. There are buttons bearing the pictures of each public school from No. i to No. 61 inclusive, the three high schools and the School of Prac- tice, as well as the principal parochial schools of the city. ''Every boy and girl of the Buffalo schools will be glad to get one of these buttons with a photograph of his or her school on it, and the Sweeney Company proposes to distribute the entire lot of 35,000 buttons free to the students or parents who ask for them at the big department store. ^'Anybody, child or adult, who calls at the clothing depart- ment, main floor in the Sweeney store, and presents a purchase check showing that goods have been purchased in any of the 75 departments of the store— no matter how large or how small the amount, may have a school button for the asking. The en- tire amount of 35,000 buttons in assorted lot for each school, the number ranging from 100 to more than 1,000 for the schools that have the largest attendance. 124. Sales Made Through Children— Ed. Kiam, of Houston, Tex., made the following offer to children living in or near Houston : ''Between now and the first Saturday before the opening of school, we will give school children, boys or girls, no matter where located, two per cent of our sales when the sale is made by the use of cards furnished by us. "It is natural that an announcement of this character coming from one of the largest and best known stores in the south should arouse intense interest. We certainly would not have taken such \ GETTING TRADE THROUGH CHILDREN 139 a step unless we had been fully convinced that the idea would be enthusiastically endorsed. This plan offers advantages to boys and girls to start a savings account that should accumulate enough to fit them out with all necessary books, etc., for the opening of school. "Any child who calls at our store, or who will fill out and mail to us the coupon below, will be furnished with cards to dis- tribute among their friends and acquaintances. Whenever a purchase is made by any of the persons to whom you give the card, the amount of the purchase will be filled in and the per cent credited to you. Thus : Should you give your father or mother or some friend a card and they should purchase $20 worth of goods at our store, 40 cents would be placed to your credit and so on for every purchase made, no matter how small. On the first Saturday before the opening of the fall term of school, the total amount of your percentage will be given you in gash. In this way quite a snug little sum can be accumulated to purchase school books and supplies or whatever you wish." The coupon referred to in the above announcement con- tained merely a request that cards be forwarded and left a blank space for the name of the child. It also had a key mark indicat- ing the paper from which the coupon was clipped. Beside the foregoing offer there were other rewards for the children which are explained in the following note: 'Tn addition to the two per cent we will offer special prizes as follows: "To the school boy or girl whose cards show the largest total sales, we will give $10 in gold. To the second largest $5 in gold. To the third largest $2.50 in gold. The names of the children in the lead for the special prizes will be published in our ad in the Houston Post every Wednesday morning and posted in front of our store." I ^ I !l 125. A "Baby Advisory Department" — The Outlet, a de- partment store in Providence, R. L, has introduced a novel feat- ure called a "Baby Advisory Department," which promises to be popular. The purpose of the new department is to furnish free expert advice to mothers as to the feeding of babies during 1 ! I i 140 SALES PLANS the hot summer months. The following quotation from a news- paper advertisement will explain the plan: Most of the sickness in infants and children during the hot summer months is unquestionably due to improper feeding. Young mothers do not realize what a matter of importance the diet of their children is. Believing that we can do much good for baby we have fitted up a special Baby Advisory Department on the first floor of our store. We have secured the services of a graduate nurse, who will always be in attendance, under the personal supervision of a physician, who will cheerfully advise and teach mothers what and how to prepare nourishing food for use during the hot summer months. We want to lay stress on the fact that we have not created this de- partment in a spirit of charity and we don't want the patrons of this store to feel that it is charity for us to give this good, wholesome advice to young mothers. We believe that we can save many babies by advising mothers how to treat them during the hot months, and that is the only reason we have established this Baby Advisory Department, which, understand, is abso- lutely free to the many patrons of this store. We want it thoroughly understood that under no circumstances DO WE TREAT SICK BABIES. If your baby is ill we would advise you to send for your family physician. In conclusion, we cordially invite all mothers TO COME AND CONSULT THE NURSE IN ATTENDANCE. Baby Advisory Depart- ment, first floor, centre. •I "I . i 126. A Contest for School Children— The Dayton Dry Goods Co., of Minneapolis, conducted a prize essay competition for school children. At the store there was a large relief map of the Panama Canal and the children were invited to write essays upon this subject. The prizes of $15, $10 and $5 were not given to the winners themselves but to the "Piano and Picture Fund" of the school or schools they attend. The contest was conducted with the authorization of Superintendent of Schools and certain time during school hours was allowed in which the essays were to be composed. The following is from a newspaper announcement which defined the terms of the competition. The principals may state to the pupils that the map can be seen at the Beard Art Galleries on the fourth floor of the Dayton Dry Goods Co. GETTING TRADE THROUGH CHILDREN lit The compositions must be written in school and under the conditions imposed below: The $15 prize will be awarded to that school from which is sent in the best composition written by a pupil in the eighth grade. The $10 prize will be awarded to that school from which is sent in the best composition written by a sixth or seventh grade pupil. The $5 prize will be awarded to that school from which is sent in the best composition written by a pupil in the fourth or fifth grades. These compositions are to be written on Friday, Oct. 28, and the schools may use for that purpose the hour from 11 a. m. to 12 m. The principals will send to this office, properly marked, the best composition in each of the divisions mentioned abgve, and the final decision upon the merits of the compositions will be made by some one not connected with the grade schools. These compositions must be at the office of the superintendent not later than Friday, Nov. 4, or they will not have consideration in the awarding of prizes. 127. A Unique Voting Contest — Peter Diamond's Phar- macy, in Harlem, N. Y., held an altogether original voting con- test. It was advertised by means of a four-page circular, headed as follows: WANTED All the Babies and Children in Harlem, (They will be restored to owners in 3 weeks.) BABY WEEK AT P. DIAMOND'S PHARMACY, For two weeks beginning Monday, September 26th, we will present each baby under 2 years of age, and each child under 5 years of age, whose picture is brought to us, with a handsome Souvenir. These Pic- tures we will number in the order in which they are brought m, and display in our windows. For two weeks beginning Monday, October loth, a slip will be given with each purchase in our store, which our customers will be asked to rt- 'I 142 SALES PLANS « ir I fill out, stating which baby, up to 2 years of age (by number) they think is entitled to first prize, as being the finest baby in our collection, and which child up to 5 years of age, is the finest child in our collec- tion. To the baby securing the largest number of votes we will present one dozen cabinet photographs, free of charge, to be taken at Mandelkern's Photo Studio, 1670 Madison Ave., Cor. iiith St. To the one receiving the next largest number of votes, we will pre- sent an elegant baby's fall cap. To the child securing the largest number of votes we will present a beautiful gold frame for cabinet picture. To the one securing the next largest number of votes we will give a handsome child's rocker. Remember! That the selection is left entirely to our customers. We make no votes, a voting slip being given with each purchase. Bring us your baby and child. These circulars were distributed by the thousand all over the territory surrounding the store. They were wrapped in pack- ages and handed out over the counter. Dr. Diamond also got a number of grocers, butchers and other neighborhood stores to wrap the circulars up with their packages. At the store, the con- test was advertised by numerous large show cards. Candidates to the number of more than one hundred were entered and their photographs made quite an interesting display in the show window. A great deal of interest was taken by the public in the contest and when it closed a great number of votes had been cast. The judges were patrons of the store. In addition to advertising the "Baby Contest," the circular had a long list of prices on articles and remedies for babies and children. The scheme was an entire success and gave the store (which is a new one) a tremendous lot of advertising at a. small cost. 128. An Interior Attraction for Cliildren — The Geo. W. Mc- Alpin Dry Goods Co., of Cincinnati, O., had an interior attrac- tion which drew a good deal of attention to their store. It is described by John Jay Robinson, the ad manager of The McAl- pin Store, as follows: Our seaside display was dainty, attractive and quite satisfac- tory in accomplishing its purpose, which was to bring people into GETTING TRADE THROUGH CHILDREN 143 the store and keep them there. It was also intended as an added attraction to our restaurant which adjoined the display. The display was a full size reproduction of a fashionable hotel porch accurate in all its details. Society women were por- trayed by wax figures dressed in prevailing styles. These were posed in natural attitudes sitting and standing about the porch. In front of the porch was a 20x20 foot sand pile representing the beach with children (wax figures) playing, nurse girls stood about watching their charges. On one side the wall was covered by a large scenic background showing the sea and horizon be- yond. This added greatly to the realism of the scene. A neat trick arrangement was the placing a stand mirror opposite the elevators so the beach scene was reflected and caught the eye as one stepped from the elevator. The whole display was well worked out with careful regard for the little details. H 129. A Contest for Children — D. Loveman & Co., of Nash- ville, Tenn., improved and enlarged their shirt-waist and shirt- waist suit department. To advertise the event they made the following offer: A Chance for Boys and Girls of 16 Years and Under in Nashville and Neighboring Towns. We invite them to write and send us an advertisement of not exceeding 100 words convincingly showing the advantages of buying in our New Shirt- Waist and Shirt- Waist Suit Depart- ment. First prize, $10.00 in Gold. Second prize, $5.00 in Gold. Other ads considered good enough to use will be paid for at the rate of $1.00 each. To assure justice and impartiality to all contestants, we have requested the advertising managers of the three local papers to act as judges. Contest opens February 23 and closes April i, 1904. Names of successful contestants will be announced April 3rd. 130. A Writing Contest for Cliildren — J. H. Havill, of Hamilton, Ont., conducted a writing contest for children with a good deal of success. He offered prizes for the best specimens of penmanship submitted by boys and girls under the age of ten !# % I 144 SALES PLANS years. Each contestant was instructed to write ten words on a card and deliver it to the store by a specified time. The prizes and the specimens of writing were exhibited in the show window. Mr. Havill was well pleased with the result of his contest. He savs of it: **The contest for writing was one of the best advertisements I ever had for my store. I not only got the children interested but the fathers and mothers as well. I gave a gold watch for the best specimen of handwriting by g^rls up to ten years of age and another gold watch for the boys of the same age. I am now giving another prize for the best written ad for my store not to exceed forty words. This competition is open to all under twenty years of age." 131. A Clothier's Advertising — Hopkins & Howley, clothiers in Rutland, Vt., had a contest for boys which, if not new, was at least very successful. They made the following offer: "The latest, the best style and the best quality suit in our store to the boy who will send us before April i6, the largest number of English spoken words (no two alike) made from the letters comprised in the two names : H— O— P— K— l—N— S H— O— W— L— E— Y. "No proper names allowed. The list must be sent in a sealed envelope and only boys from 8 to 15 years of age are eligible. Every boy, no matter where he lives, is invited to take part in this contest." Hopkins & Howley say that this was one of the very best advertising schemes they have ever used. Boys from all over the states of Vermont and New York participated in the contest. The number of words in the lists sent in varied from 150 to 1,161. This same firm is now conducting a "Pumpkin Contest." Seeds were sent to a great number of farmers, with a letter ex- plaining that a $15 suit of clothes will be awarded to the person bringing to their store next fall the largest pumpkin raised there- from. A great deal of interest is being displayed in this scheme. 132. A Playground for Children in a Big Store — Snellen- burg's big store in Philadelphia had quite an elaborate play- GETTING TRADE THROUGH CHILDREN 145 ground for children which was called, very properly, "Pleasure Grove." The central attraction was a big tank of water upon which a number of miniature yachts were ready to be guided by little hands. Then there was a circular track of generous dimen- sions upon which the youngsters were privileged to ride upon tricycles, velocipedes, toy automobiles and other similar contriv- ances. A big "razzle-dazzle" upon which dozens of little people might ride at one time was a popular feature, but the best of all, perhaps, was a big sand pile, with lots of buckets, shovels, etc., where the tots might dig and play to their heart's content. There was a man to look after the small boys and a number of maids watched over the girls. Of course no charge was made, and the children could be left for hours with the assurance that they would receive the best of care and kind attention. This was a real boon to women who have to take their children shopping with them but do not'wish to be burdened by dragging them through crowds from counter to counter. "Pleasure Grove" proved a great success, viewed from the standpoint of either the store, the mothers or the children. 133. A Doll Show — A Rhode Island dry goods store held a doll show, which stirred up a good deal of interest among the little girls of the city. Five prizes were offered, as follows: For the best dressed doll, $5. For the second best dressed doll, $3. For the best home-made doll, $5. For the second best home-made doll, $3. For the funniest home-made doll, $3. It was stipulated that no contestant should be more than eleven years of age, and the parents were required to make a statement that the work had been done by the child in whose name it was entered. A part of the store was set aside for the show, and the dolls were kept on exhibition for several days. Awards were made by disinterested judges, and the winning dolls were displayed in one of the show windows. While it was in progress the show was well advertised in the newspapers, and by posters and show cards displayed about the store. All contestants who did not win 1.1 f 146 5 i SALES PLANS prizes were given handsome souvenirs, so every one was pleased and the contest was a great success. It will be repeated next year on a larger scale. 134. A Grab Bag for Children— Jacoby Bros., of Los An- geles, Cal., had what they advertised as a "Free Grab Bag" to stimulate business and draw attention to an enlarged Juvenile Department of their store. A large circular bag, five feet in diameter, was constructed and filled with packages containing such articles as pads and pencils, tops, bags of candy, trumpets, jack knives and other small, inexpensive articles. It was advertised that every child, accompanied by its par- ents, would be permitted to take a free grab— in other words, to reach into the bag and take his or her choice of packages. The idea was very successful and hundreds of parents brought their children to the department. It was not necessary to purchase anything in order to have a grab and the sole object of the scheme was to advertise the department. The results were so satisfac- tory to Jacoby Bros, that the plan was repeated a second time. This scheme was originated and carried out by the Maclntyre Advertising Co., of Los Angeles, who manage the advertising and supply these sales ideas for Jacoby Bros. 135. Interesting School Children— A western merchant de- vised a competition scheme for school children that has some elements of newness. With every twenty-five cent purchase he gave a coupon which entitled the holder to one vote. There are a number of schools in the city and the one receiving the highest number of votes was presented with a valuable collection of pictures with which to decorate the class rooms. A merchant in another city used a somewhat similar scheme and presented a library to the school receiving the greatest number of votes. 136. A Prize Contest for Boys— Bernstein & Co., clothiers in Jersey City, N. J., offered $ioo in prizes to boys for the best catchy saying to be used on their advertising signboards through- out the country surrounding Jersey City. The object of the contest was to obtain a mailing list and Bernstein & Co. say that - GETTING TRADE THROUGH CHILDREN 147 while results were fair, they did not come up to their expectation. They would advise other merchants who contemplate similar contests not to confine them to school boys, but to leave them open to grown persons. 137. Free Rifles for Boys— The Gray & Dudley Hardware Co., of Nashville, Tenn., gave away fifty safety rifles to as many boys. At one of the entrances to their store, they stationed a man with a covered basket containing a large number of tickets, fifty of which were good for rifles. Each boy passing through was allowed to draw a ticket and those getting one marked "rifle" were* given guns free. The guns usually sold for 50 cents each. 138. Contest for School Boys— Carr & Wein, of S^encerville, O., conducted a prize contest for school boys. Each boy purchas- ing a suit at their store was considered a contestant, and the one making the highest average was given $5 in gold. The sec- ond highest received a sweater and the third a cap. The prizes were awarded on Christmas day. 139. Free Kings to Babies — The Model Shoe Store, of Mc- Cook, Nebraska, advertised that it would give a solid gold ring free to every baby born in that vicinity during the year 1904. The only requirement was that the baby shall be brought to the store by some grown-up person. 140. Baby Shoes Free — M. A. McCraw, a merchant in Mill- edgeville, Ga., advertised that he would give a pair of shoes free to every baby born in the county during the month of April. ! 1 i •'f : i % m CHAPTER X. MONEY MAKING IDEAS. The following are ideas and plan" that have made money for merchants in all parts of the country. A great variety of suggestions are given here. They apply to all lines of business and to stores of all sizes— from the largest department store to the smallest cross roads grocery. These plans have all been tried and have proved satisfactory to the stores that have used them. Most of them are advertising plans and business getting ideas that would apply to one store as well as another. 141. A Successful Gift Scheme— The People's Outfitting Company of Kalamazoo, Mich., conducted a gift scheme which was productive of results. Their object was to familiarize the people of Kalamazoo with their store and the plan adopted was well calculated to accomplish that end. The presents given away consisted of twenty-three articles with an aggregate value of $200, and in addition to these 5,000 souvenirs were distributed. The souvenir was a cardboard folder containing a generous as- sortment of needles and bearing the firm's advertisement. The plan is explained in the large advertisement which is reproduced from a half newspaper page. This advertisement was followed from day to day by others of a similar character. Some of these ads were half pages; others were smaller; all were well written and had something interesting to say about the scheme. They were all advertisements that were calculated to keep the public's interest from lagging. The working details of the plan are given by The People's Outfitting Company as follows. This was written before all of >-> MONEY MAKING IDEAS 149 the gifts had been distributed, but even at that time the scheme had eone far enough to assure its unqualified success : ^This city we figured had 6,000 homes. We had that many cards or certificates printed like the accompanying one; each card was numbered consecutively from i to 6,000 These we ZlT^ each householder. Then we had six promment atizens wS 23 numbers on as many cards, and seal them up, they kept 5023 Presents wm b. .nve- .w.y at«o.«t.,r tree d-Hn. ^V.^S'^U'^Slrl Wt?H^- ""-"^jTa^ fcoUrt! leoiich. 1 Morris chair, I ^V*"*^. -t SS S^c^ITi rnr^ 2 pair. laoecurtalM. 1 parlw each Kparately so that we. nor other. *^«" ■?»>"•* JS rifts! MeaawhUe we shall mall a oer- trtll bTbroken and the chosen «««»«"«»'"***** *r?^„,21te will have a number oa the upper Slcafe to every house-holder In Kalamazw •«J,^'^"it^%„ "a" ,,om Sept. 14 to 19. brint Sy« hanVcor^er. Ail that y<»» "***"*• ^""'i;*:/^'S8wUth^^ one ou^our artincata, S^t':?««;r,^ *1 *1-he';V::^r /"e r.S'L'i^r u' -ot presented, then the ..« «oe. The certificate, win be malted the l^ter part of t^^^^^ J^ Kalamaxoof recelire ThlslsanexpenslvcundertaklnebtttttUOoneTo ^^^^ the .tor* to aea the Im- People's Outfitting Co., possessions of these numbers until Monday, when they were g^In to us and we placed them on the articles to be gwen away. Holders of the certificates were to call any day ^unng the week and if the number on their ticket tallies with any on the pre mTums, that article is to be theirs. Should not the "ght nurnbe turn up during the week, then we are to give the goods to those wh^ had presented the next lowest number. • This to inspire con- fidence and to show that we really give away the goods. "The souvenir we used was a package of needles put up m a very nice shape and containing our ad. which will be to some extend a permanent ad. We give the --enir °nl>^;° ^^^ of a ticket and he must put his name and address on the back of it delivering it back to us. These names we shall classify and It i 150 SALES PLANS it will give us a good, live mailing list — the right people — the right names and addresses. "We have been in business for nine years and have always advertised extensively, yet there is a large class of people whom we have been unable to get to the store ; no amount of newspaper advertising would draw them. For a city of this size we have a large store and it was necessary to get the laggards in to see us, and we can assure you we have succeeded. We accomplished our object and have made hundreds of new store acquaintances ; we will feel the result of this missionery work for a long time to come. "The 6,000 certificates were mailed; 3,000 of them came back on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday; Thursday was bad, rainy weather, yet 300 turned up, leaving but 2,700 out with Friday and Saturday left. This is a most excellent percentage LIST OF GIFTS ( Shleboanl 425 00 I Coach ... 20 00 I MotrltaMlr toco 1 Wanltobe 13 00 I Rocket 7 00 t - 7 00 1 •••»••■■■■•■>••• O ^^f t " 4 00 I • 5 00 I Khchca Cftbinrt.. 6 00 t DicMlng TsUc.:.. 12 00 I Ump. 5 00 I - „.. 7 00 f KUntle Clock. 8.00 I Dtencr Set.. 10 00 I Rttc « 00 I -. 5 00 t PtbLaccCurtcins 7 00 I Parlor T«Ue ~ • 00 I Udr*. Desk ~ 9 00 I Rcceptioo Ouir... 5 00 I Pair-I>rapes 8 00 Total 4200 00 A Pre sent fo r Yoa» We «»uill di!» aw aama-plata. ottk aw f>V vaiaaHfk. Ow kajp maikad «M MM- kac twr. Itetoni «b)a buacb a( htf*. kilara nan Ittmda,. «a ow aMca aa4 laeatva aa m raward the h a n d a e il i a na- kof any chUioaift aow ahaaa ia mm KEYS L08T «% will pnaam la ika pany vka m* lanu «• 118, bafara aaat Satuftfay, • bvMk al kaya rawtalalac ear aawa- pMb, with ow privata awt. aad krv No. IMT, tlw haadaooM mahofaay chlf- Reward! No. 1287! A luBdMnM nubofuiy Chlf- fonMT will b* givra to th« jwrtf who ratnmi to our itora a buneb 6f kajra, lost laBwwhen In Poit- Und. It eontuni our nam* pUU ind a flat kay with our print* mark. numb«i«d 13*7. BtoBtte lookout for it Somnrbar* m PortUad U > Dam* pUU and a fl»t }«t^ our priTato mark, ^"»»"»" iwr. If you Jtad it briB« it to onr itoro and r««»« »» » row" th* band»onie mahogany Cbir fonlor now thown in oor frow TlMa« k«yt arc loat aaaaawbara in I laad. X>on'\ fail ta aaaaiia kunch oi kcya y«u pick ap iw Iha kicky kay. Tull&Gibbs M&Oibbs Tuir & Gibbs Tull & Gibbs Oom^oto Ho«Mfaraiih«» Oonylttt Bowttaniidwn* The Number is 1287 flave Yoa Found ft? We Want Those Keys It'a pMmad aa a kay. Tha hay h •• a buach wtVa loal aaaaaw h ara ia Pan- lial:' Aba attached ia our nama-plaia with aur piintc mark. Ratum it ta ■a and you arill tacaiva ai a raward (ka handaamt Mahafany Ckilfaaiat ia Att Waaik at kaya «a laat It ka* •w aami fla-tT db' it wiik aw p ri— •M)*''>«Bd f llat kay aitabarad tMT. UyoB htia( k la aw atara yeu1l ra. kiln NO. IMT. Por toot a^y* «•**• feMB a'- Mrtiiiac fer a bvaidi e( km loit tomvwb** in Pertiaad.. Wo putiGqUrly waat a koy uBbw- •d Un. Oor ■•»• plaU dd ad- •««t« matk an alw atta^id to •Mm k«gr riq(. If you Sad it aad brtac u to w you wlU rocatvo •• ■ wwird a haadfemomahogHy Foqnd Those Keys? Wo'To loot a Vnach of koya ■omowbor* down town, tt ooa. taia* oor aatot pbto and a koy saabtM UtT. Wbooror r*. torn it to ■■ will rtooiTo a haad- noM mahofaay Oiiffonior. To« aaa MO a bnach of atmilar koyi aad tb* CUSoalor ia our fioak wiadow. Tun & Gibbs Caiaplata Maoaahiralahattb Tull & Gibbs II mil II lit ii% Tuil&Gibbs Tull&Gibbs Look Well Today Found! That bunch of kayi wo hava bean advartiiiag for baa not bow- found yot. Bomombor, wo want that bunch with koy Ho. US7. Cttnrn it to our ftoro aad w« wiU pnoont you with a liaadioiv* mahogany ChiffoniM'. no bunch of koyi Ibr whlA vo'yo boon advortiaiaf tho tail four days wai found at aooa yoi- torday by Mr*. Stdla TUala, SBS Waahlagton itroot. 8ho waa pra- •onted with a Sot Mahogiay Ohillonier, a* adTortlsad. Ooaplato HoaNfanlahdn. Great Opportunity Ooot look for thooo koyi any longer. Thay'ra found, aad tho lucky finder got tho Ohilfonler^ yoiterday at noon. Wahavtpro- tridod another great opportunity for you ta our Holiday Speoial. Bale, which begina today. In OTOfy department we're made doM rata ia prieea, aad ^11 flnd plenty of practical pru aat a at juft about half vahM. OamplaU HoaaafonlihMi. TODAY I ov ifciiir*'^ Hblldap •pedal Bale. R'a faD of great oppoctunitie* for IliOM wko aeek nodal holiday baiplaa ia Par- aMue, Ondcery, 0«t ^taa. Pie- tana ^d Druerld* watch ota> wiodowt aad tuiuiaiv*^ tiiequnt for dataOt TuU&Gibbs Tull&Gibbs Tull&Gibbs Tull&Gibbs ] i MONEY MAKING IDEAS 153 O— p>eU BooaefWaitbaii in sight two minutes after they had passed up or down the street. They dropped about ten or twelve bunches to a city block. On Tuesday and Wednesday the same programme was followed, dis- tributing two thousand bunches of keys in the same manner as on Monday and stimulating interest by the use of the small ad- vertisements. On Wednesday afternoon, the last day, the ring with key No. 1287 was dropped in the entrance of one of the big depart- ment stores. Ten minutes later there was a lady with the lucky key at Tull & Gibbs' store to claim the chiffonier we had offered as a reward. In all, there were distributed six thousand bunchcsJ of keys. At first it was not intended to advertise the lucky num- ber, but to have the finders bring the keys into the store and there ascertain if they had found the lucky one. After thinking the matter over, however, it was decided that the neivsboys and street urchins would gather up every key in sight and thus spoil the scheme by preventing keys from reaching the people we wished to interest. As it was, people were always looking for the lucky key. Not a single person was seen to throw away any of these^ keys, but instead, most of them carried the rings home with them as souvenirs. The chiffonier which was offered as a prize was exhibited in one of the windows with a few appropriate show cards, and the window was decorated with strings of keys. Many people went out of their way to get a view of the prize and the display caused considerable interest. Of course, the main purpose of the scheme was to create interest in the big hoHday sale, and it will be noted that the last of the series of advertisements call at- tention to that sale. These ads were followed up with a full page advertisement on the following day. 143. Biver Excursions— The firm of J. J. Poehling & Co., of LaCrosse, Wis., has the reputation of being one of the best advertisers in the northwest, and in consequence the store has been growing at a remarkable rate. Mr. PoehUng, the head ol the concern, is a young man, under thirty in fact, and only a very few years ago started his mercantile career as a cash boy, Pis speedy rise and the flourishing business done by the store are \t 154 SALES PLANS due to his energy and original advertising ideas. While Mr. Poehling is a generous user of printer's ink, that is not the only means he uses to keep things moving. One of the most successful schemes used by Mr. Poehling is a series of steamboat excursions. Six excursions are run each season: Two from points up the river and four from points below LaCrosse. Each excursion takes in some six or eight good sized towns, the farthest being forty-five miles distant. The number of persons carried on each trip runs from 1,200 to 1,700, and in order to get the cheap rate it is necessary for all of these people to visit the Poehling store and make a purchase. The excursions are widely advertised some time in advance, both in the newspapers and by enormous yellow posters that are stuck up all over the territory from which excursionists may be ex- pected to come. These posters explain the arrangements of the excursions, which are as follows : The fare is advertised as 50c to LaCrosse with a free return trip, providing the excursionist spends 5c at Poehling's store. This is the way it is explained: HOW TO MAKE THE TRIP FREE. This excursion is given under the auspices of J. J. Poehling & Co., dry goods merchants of LaCrosse, who chartered the boat for this occasion. Purchase a ticket at your place of starting for 50 cents. Present this ticket at our store, corner Fourth and Main streets, and make a purchase of 5 cents and receive a return ticket free, or make a purchase of $5.00 or over and we will refund you the amount paid for your ticket. These are the only conditions required, and upon no other conditions can this trip be made free. The entire store will have extraordinary bargain attractions on this occasion and we assure all who come to save them money on every purchase, beside being a pleasant day's recreation at little or no cost. SPECIAL ATTRACTIONS FOR THIS GRAND EXCURSION. Dana's Third Regiment Band will meet you at the boat and give a grand concert in front of the store. Music all afternoon by a special concert company. GOLD CLOCKS GIVEN AWAY FREE EVERY HALF HOUR. Tickets will be given with every lo-cent purchase, and a drawing takes place every half hour. These clocks are fully guaranteed and easily worth $10.00. The boat has big banners on the sides with the words: POEHLING'S EXCURSION. When it arrives at the dock in LaCrosse, at noon, the excursionists are met by a brass band. "' .. / MONEY MAKING IDEAS 155 which heads the procession to Poehling's Store, where other at- tractions are waiting. There is an orchestra in the store, and every one is given souvenirs with the store's ad printed on them. Then to keep up the interest there is the drawing for the clocks every half hour. So, in one way and another the greater part of the crowd is kept in the store until the boat leaves at 5 p. m. Now, it would seem that all of this would cost Poehling & Co. a pretty penny. That, however, is one of the beauties of the scheme— it does not cost the store one cent. This is how it is done. Poehling & Co. charter the steamer by agreeing to make good the deficiency should the receipts- from fare fall below a certain small amount. On the other hand, the Steamboat Com- pany pays Poehling & Co. 25 per cent of the receipts. As the excursions have proved wonderfully popular, the 25 per cent that the store receives has paid all the expenses of advertising, souvenirs, bands, clocks, etc. When the full 50c fare is rebated to customers spending $5 or over, this rebate amounts to only 37>^c, as the store receives 25 per cent back. This scheme has been used for three seasons and has grown to be regarded by the public as a fixed institution. Their popu- larity is gaining rather than diminishing and the result is that for nearly one hundred miles along the Mississippi River, Poehling's store is known to every one. 144. Getting New Customers— Friend's housefurnishing es- tablishment in Pittsburg is constantly doing something to attract attention and get people to visit the store. Hardly a week passes without some unusual plan being used. The following plan was used to get new customers. This is quoted from an advertise- ment : Friend wants new customers. The first person to bring us a new customer this week will receive a handsome Brussels Carpet Free. You do not have to purchase anything yourself to win this elegant prize. If you are the first person to bring with you to our store this week a friend who has never before dealt with us, and who will open an account, Friend will give you, free of all charge, a beautiful Brussels Carpet. You will have the privilege of selecting whatever pattern rhat suits yoii. Friend will measure the room for which you desire the carpet, and will make, line and lay the carpet free of all cost to you. ■ I ■I 156 SALES PLANS You will admit that this is a most liberal and a most unusual offer. But Friend has a reputation for liberality and fair dealing, and when he makes an offer like this the public has come to under- stand that the prize is one worth going after. You do not need to be told that the winner will be the "early bird." So better come as early as you can and bring a new cus- tomer with you who will open an account. It is not necessary that the new customer's purchase shall be of any great amount. We want new customers, to buy goods on credit, and will reward you liberally for bringing them to us. This extraordinary offer will be repeated every week till further notice. A week later another announcement was made along some- what similar lines. It was an offer that should have brought a good many people to the store. Here it is: Somebody will receive a beautiful Brussels Carpet from us ab- solutely free of charge, and you have just as good an opportunity as anyone to secure this magnificent gift. We wish to know you and we wish also to know your friends and acquaintances. Here's our idea of getting acquainted in the shortest possible time: To the person who comes to our store this week and brings with him the largest number of acquaintances (men or women) we will give a handsome Brussels Carpet absolutely free of charge. You need not bring them all in at once — come every day this weeek, if you like, and bring a few persons each time, or come once with a crowd, if you prefer. We want to meet all of you. Your names and ad- dresses will be taken and an accurate record kept of all callers. At the end of the week, we shall go over the list and decide who is entitled to the carpet. Two weeks from yesterday, Sunday, Novem- ber 19, we will publish the name and address of the successful person. We would publish the winner's name next Sunday, but cannot do so, as our store is open every Saturday night, and the competition will be open until the closing hour — 10 o'clock — which will be too late to prepare our advertisement for the Sunday papers. However, for a time we shall give a carpet away every week on these same conditions, so bring in your friends and acquaintances, and watch for our advertisements. This is no scheme or game of chance. It is simply a straight- forward, legitimate way of remunerating you for the trouble you take in introducing us to people who may some time become purchasers at this store. But keep this fact in mind — you are not obliged to pur- chase anything in order to enter this contest. You don't need to spend a penny. The person who receives this carpet has the priv- ) MONEY MAKING IDEAS 157 ilege of selecting the pattern that he or she likes best — ^we measure the room that you want carpeted and make and lay the carpet free of all expense to you. In case of a "tie" — that is, should two persons have exactly the same number of names to their credit, we shall give Two Free Carpets —one to each of the persons who brought to our store the most persons during the week. 145. Package Slips — Newspaper space is, perhaps, better than any other one means of exploiting a business and should form the basis of any retailer's advertising. It is not the only means, however, of gaining profitable publicity. There are many excellent ways of supplementing newspaper advertising. The large catalogue houses of Chicago and New York do a great deal of very efficient advertising by the use of what^are known as "envelope stuff ers." These are small booklets, folders or printed slips that are enclosed with every letter sent out. In most cases a number of "stuffers" are enclosed in each envelope and every one treats of a different subject. The same principle is applied by some merchants who en- close in each package sent out, a slip that corresponds to the envelope stuffer. These slips are reasonably sure of being read and can be made very effective if they are well written. They must be brief and to the point and one subject should be treated at a time. The trouble with most printed slips of this kind is that they say too much or talk on too many subjects. That is a mis- take. People will not take the time to read a long advertisement unless they are especially interested. Even if they do read it, there is too much to be remembered and it is quickly forgotten. Almost any merchant who can talk business should be able to write effective copy for these slips. The object is to impress upon the reader's mind some fact concerning the store or the goods sold. This is best done by taking one subject and hand- ling it in a few brief, strong sentences. Try to say something that will be remembered. In size the package slips need not be larger than four by six inches. They should be in large, plain type on fairly heavy paper of good quality. White paper is best for this purpose and black or some dark colored ink should be used. A plain border and small ornaments, or a decorative in- f iti 158 SALES PLANS itial may be used to make them more attractive, but they should not be too ornate. It is a good idea in using package slips to have as great a variety as practicable and to issue only a few hundred of each kmd. This will cost slightly more for printing but it will pre- vent the same customer from getting several copies of. the same slip. Instead of using package slips some merchants use printed envelopes for enclosing small purchases, such as ribbon, gloves, etc. These envelopes bear advertisements similar to those used on the regular package slips. 146. A Prize for a Catch Phrase— Brill Broth-rs, the New York clothiers, offered a prize for a catch phrase to use in ad- vertising their stores. Their specifications called for '^something short, snappy, terse and to the point, original and individual." Twenty-five dollars was offered as a first prize and for each other phrase that could be used. Brill Brothers offered an order good for a $i.oo purchase at any of their stores. In response to the offer several thousand replies were re- ceived and the first prize was awarded to a young lady who sug- gested the phrase "Get the habit— go to Brill Brothers." There were nearly one hundred other phrases which were considered worthy of the $i.oo prizes. We print a number of them as they offer valuable suggestions for show cards and for general ad- vertising : Brill fills the bill-Prices that tell; goods that sell. We sell- you buy-both happy. It's all in where you buy. What you buy we stand by. If it's from Brills' it's worth wearing. If it's here it's right Get suited right, for day or night, at Brill Brothers'. You'll buy at Brills agam-The clothes that make the man. 'Tis undeniable-Brills' are reliable. If it came from Brill Brothers' it must be right There are others but not on the clothes line. It's right, or we make it right Come in and have a fit. With Brills' there are no frills-Brills' guarantee is a written contract. You're satisfied or we're not The store that never disappoints. The no botheration store-Good making making good. Customers always come back again. By the name you know our fame. The clothes that made the firm. If you once wear Brills' you always will. We've always made good. Brill will suit you. All a man wears. Wear Brill wear. Where the well dressed rnan buys. Four stores-one story-We make good we're here with the goods. Bnll Brothers' merchandise is good. Money worth or MONEY MAKING IDEAS 159 i' ^ money back. Come once — you will come after. To go once is to go twice — to Brill Brothers'. We make good. Men's wear that's fit to wear. If you buy at Brill Brothers', you're safe. Every thing that is worth wearing. Looks well, wear well — Brills' guarantee means something. The two kinds — Brill Brothers' and others. We gratify and satisfy. If from Brill Brothers' it's the best. Something doing at Brill Brothers' — If nothing else suits, try ours. Looks right, wears right and is right. Look swell, you might as well. Brill Brothers' — forget the others. We put you on top by selling you at the bottom. Brill Brothers' have it for less. We deliver the goods or make good. The all-right stores. 147. Advertising a Shoe Sale — Lay & Lyman's department store in Kewanee, 111., advertised a special sale of boys' shoes in a decidedly clever way. One week before the sale they filled a window with boys', youths' and little gents' shoes, which were offered during the sale at 98c for all sizes. In the center of the window, close to the glass, was one of the shoes cut completely in two from heel to toe, to show that they were made of solid leather all the way through. The main attraction of the window was a wheel about three feet in diameter, with the spokes made of insoles, as shown in the drawing. On either side of the hub of the wheel were at- M'/'Ai'"///,/ /,//.' >/-Xi//'///>-/W.'y///'//'. //,//.//.// '//'■////./////////.//.//■^//■Z/Mf, Jiiy fi/(n coiynecttd m tached electric wires, which ran to the rear of the window. These wires were solely for the purpose of misleading the ob- server or electrical tyro into thinking that the wheel was turned by a direct electric current. The floor of the window was filled with the shoes, all alike, excepting one which had a hole cut through the bottom, through t 160 SALES PLANS MONEY MAKING IDEAS 161 which came a tin tube, as shown in the drawing. When the shoe was laced this tube was invisible to any one standing in front of the window. A motor with a fan in the basement be- neath the window supplied a strong current of air, which passed ' I For :Boy^ Only! ^ee the perpetual ntotion ma* ohine in our bifindotu* To the fitsSt tt»o hoys buho hand in the correct ^uess in toriting hotif this ntotion ts produced^ ttue tutil ^i'Oe a pair of our L» /^ L. Special shoes F^EE These shoes fa^ilt be on sat& nejct toeeKFrtday tn our Shoe Department. Special purch* ase of alt solid Little Cents^ youths and Doys shoes * states 9 to Sy» tuorth fl.IS^ fil.2S and ^1.35 at 98c and many observers, even electricians, were deceived by the clever way in which the current of air was carried through the shoe. The contest and the sale of shoes which followed were a great success. 148. Orders by Telephone — The all-night telephone service that is now being advertised by a number of stores in New York and Philadelphia is a greater convenience to cus- through the tube, striking the rear of the wheel. The insoles on the wheel acted as paddles and the current of air striking them spun the wheel around at a lively rate. The accompanying advertisement was published in the news- papers offering a pair of shoes each to the first two boys who guessed correctly as to how the ''perpetual motion" was pro- duced. The revolvmg wheel attracted a great deal of attention THB JOHN WANAMAKBII STORt Store closes at 5.30. Phii^ieiphi.. Wednesday. «uy % im Weather todttf: fair ^-, .1 nil tii}i;,i;,!i![ii;iiiiiuiii)ii!ii: Mt'fifiii!H:i Pine Dress-Goods in Short Lengths (MainAUlt) ^Id Women's $25 Redingote Suits ^ 162 SALES PLANS MONEY MAKING IDEAS 163 tomers than might appear at first glance, and many shoppers are taking advantage of the arrangement. One advantage found is the fact that shopper can file her order for bargains as quoted in the evening papers without the inconvenience of vis- iting the store during the day rush. The use of the telephone the night before also serves to anticipate the "all sold out" feat- ure that is a frequent source of annoyance in connection with cut price offerings. On the other hand, there are objections to the telephone service from the merchants' point of view. Special bargains are usually advertised for the purpose of bringing people to the store, that they may buy something else. This purpose is to a certain extent defeated by the use of the telephone, as the cus- tomer stays at home and her purchase is limited to the advertised article. The accompanying reproduction is from a clipping of one corner of an advertisement of Wanamaker's Philadelphia store. It will show how this store first announced its all-night tele- phone service. Almost every advertisement now calls attention to the service. 149. A Corner Drug Store — A store on a corner that is passed by a street car line can pick up a good deal of extra patronage if it is prepared to take advantage of its position. This is especially true in small cities where cars are often a considerable distance apart. There are always people standing about on this kind of a corner waiting for their car and it is no trouble to get them to come inside. A druggist in one of the suburbs of Chicago says that he has doubled his trade by get- ting people into the habit of waiting inside his store instead of on the walk outside. He has set off a little section with chairs, etc., in the front of the store for the convenience of people who are waiting for their car. This space is made the center of an elaborate display of goods. On one side is the show window space which is al- ways filled with a variety of useful articles. This window is trimmed with a view of catching customers both from the out- side and inside. In it there are usually two large show cards: r one facing the street and the other turned toward the inside of the store. All the goods bear price tickets and they, too, are in duplicate facing both ways. Large glass show cases form two sides of the enclosure. They are used more for display than as receptacles of goods. They are the kind having the glass extending almost to the floor with shelves inside. These cases are kept carefully trimmed. Every two or three days the goods are changed and all articles shown have price tickets attached. The tickets used are miniature reproductions of window cards bearing suggestive phrases. Thus, with goods cleverly displayed on all sides, a person cannot help looking at them. No matter which way she turns something is suggested to her and almost every time she comes into the store there is something new to see. Even if a purchase is not made at this time, this is the best possible kind of advertising. ♦ Large mirrors are placed at an angle just outside the win- dow which enable a person inside the store to see when a car is approaching from either direction. The mirrors reflect the street in both directions for more than a block, so the approach- ing car can be seen at a glance long before it reaches the store. Outside is a conspicuous sign inviting people to "Come Inside and Wait for the Car." This druggist says that people have always been in the habit of waiting in the store to some extent, but since the conveniences have been arranged for them, the number of "waiters" has been increased wonderfully. 150. Eural Delivery Service — An Ohio merchant has estab- lished a system of country delivery which has proved quite a suc- cess. He writes about it as follows: "I am situated in a small city which is surrounded by a thickly settled agricultural com- munity. Several years ago it occurred to me that I could get a good deal of business from the farmers by sending out solicitors to take orders from them and delivering the goods the next day. "By way of experiment I sent out one of my best salesmen in a buggy and had him call upon all the farmers living along one of the principal roads leading into the city. On the first trip the proposition was altogether new to the farmers and the sales- man did not secure a great many orders. Most of those he did r! I r-5 * 1(>4 SALES PLANS get were small, but he did enough business to convince me that the plan could be worked on a paying basis in time. I sent him out on the following week to cover the same route, and on this trip he got more and better orders. After experimenting along this line for three months, I concluded to get an extra wagon and put it on a regular route. "My plan was to send the solicitor out about five miles by one road and have him return by a parallel road. Each day he took a different road until at the end of the week, he had cov- ered all of the important roads entering the city. The delivery wagon followed the solicitor on his rounds, being one day be- hind him. "I got up some good circulars addressed to the farmers in which I announced my scheme and gave the itinerary, stating on what days the solicitor would be on each road. In these cir- culars I quoted some low prices and asked for trial orders. I also advertised in the county papers and personally told every farmer I happened to meet. In this way my scheme had a good deal of publicity at the beginning; but, notwithstanding that fact, the first trips brought in very few orders. "For three months I kept the wagon going at a loss, but the business kept growing steadily and by fall it had commenced to pay. Since that time it has continued to increase and, in the following spring, I put on another solicitor with another larger delivery wagon. I divided up the routes, making two trips each week instead of one, and I also got out a good-sized catalogue in addition to the circulars which were issued at frequent inter- vals. "I believe that the persistence with which my solicitors called upon the farmers had much to do with the success of the plan. On each trip they called at every farm house along the route and many people who at first were not inclined to order from me, were eventually influenced to place small orders, and in the end became good customers. My country delivery service has now been in operation more than two years and still continues to grow in importance. It has also advertised my town business to a large extent. Of course this plan could not be made to pay MONEY MAKING IDEAS 165 in a sparsely settled country or in one where the roads are not improved." 151. Pushing Tea and Coffee Trade — A grocer's tea and coffee trade can be made very profitable if it is rightly managed. There's not so much money to be made from the cheaper grades, but high quality coffees and teas pay handsomely and they serve as the best kind of an advertisement for, the store. There is WORTH 25c COUPON WORTH 25c '^OUT IT OUT" Durin;;: This Week, Ending Saturday, Jantiary 30, 1904, wc t»l!l Give Away 1-4 lb. of The Best Dollar Tea (Choice of Oolong, Green, Mixed, English Breakfast, Pekoe Ceyloo» Assam, Young Hyson, Gunpowder) » To every customer at any of our stores. Main or Branch, who pre* senls and deposits this coupon, and makes a purchase of goods excepting -sugar Amounting to Fifty Cents (SOe) or More Or makes a purchase of Goods in any of our New Departments amounting to Twenty-Five Cents (25c) or more. Oouponm Bmomhrgtl vHlh Mmtl Ordt.. - , ^..^ _. wrir bm Hmeogolna I nUVELDI LLfiRAYCO. WORTH 20c COUPON WORTH 20c During This Give Aw To every cusi sent* and dep TlH (PuAct of Oo ^^CUr IT OUT'^ Week, Ending Saturday, February 6, 3 ay 1-2 lb. of Best Mooha and Jav omer at any of our stores. Main or Brat osits this coupon, and makes a purchase of 1 Best No. 1 Dollar Tea ftor 4i long. Green, Mixed, English Breakfast, ] Assam. Young Hyson, Gunpowder) L904. we wiU ^a Coffee ich, who pre- E one pound of Do. E-LtRAYCO. 1 iwnujn nothing the grocer sells that can be made to bring in so many desirable customers as good tea and coffee. It is to his interest to make a special effort to get the best goods he can find in these lines and push them for all they are worth. ^ I 1^ 166 SALES PLANS It depends largely upon the grocer whether his customers buy 20C or 40c coffee. The natural tendency with most people is to buy a medium grade, but by pushing and advertising they can be got into the habit of buying better goods which give the grocer a wider margin of profit and are more satisfactory to handle. The E. E. Gray Grocery Co., of Boston, has been using tea and coffee as leaders to advertise its fifteen stores. They are working upon the principle that if they sell people their tea and coffee, they will have a very fair chance of supplying them with the rest of their groceries. They therefore are making a strong effort to push their better grades of teas and coffees which are sold at a very reasonable price. One of their principal schemes is to print coupons like the accompanying ones in their newspaper advertisements. A va- riety of weekly offers were made through the medium of these coupons and they had the effect of greatly expanding the busi- ness done by the E. E. Gray Co. 152. Decorating a Store Without Cost — When a merchant decorates his store elaborately for an opening, he usually expects to pay a good round sum for the decorations. The C. W. Mc- Clain Co., of Marion, O., has found a simple way of getting the store decorated without any expense whatever. This is the way it was done: For several years some church or society in Marion has given a chrysanthemum show for the benefit of the flower loving public. This event was anticipated one year by the enterprising McClain store, which made arrangements with a local florist to give the chrysanthemum show in connection with the fall open- ing. The florist was anxious to display his flowers and readily consented to bring them to the store without charge. He ar- ranged them on every floor of the big store, as well as in the windows. Every feature of a chrysanthemum show was pre- served in that the plants and flowers were for sale. An orchestra was employed to furnish music and every- thing possible was done to show visitors a pleasant time. In the evenings no goods were sold, but the entire McClain sales ,. MONEY MAKING IDEAS 167 force was present to escort visitors through the various depart- ments of the store to view the fall stock. The exhibit, which lasted two days, Thursday and Friday, was a thorough success, both as a flower show and a fall opening. A much greater crov/d attended than could have been got together had the affair been merely an opening. This is what the McClain Co. has to say of it: "The Chrysanthemum Show certainly was a winner. We gave our regular fall opening in connection with the Chrysan- themum Show, and it was the best thing we have evei done in that line. Our local florist was glad to bear half the expense of the music, and do a great deal of his own advertising. As an advertisement it was a great success, and we shall certainly re- peat it next season. We shall also plan for an Easter opening of the same kind. We certainly can commend it to any one look- ing for something new to add to the attractiveness of their opening.'* 153. Training People to Read Ads — If every one who reads a newspaper read all of the advertisements carefully, the bene- fits of advertising would be multiplied many times. Unfortu- nately for the advertiser, this is not the case. Many readers give but scant attention to the advertising columns and others ignore them altogether. A great many ways have been devised by ingenious merchants to attract attention to their advertise- ments. To accomplish this end, one merchant conceived the idea of marking his ads with a blue pencil. By arrangement with the publishers of the paper, he had a boy to encircle his ad with a blue pencil mark in each copy of the paper as it came from the press. The plan worked very well for the first few times as every one thought the advertisement was marked especially for him. Of course this scheme could not be used with a paper which has a large circulation nor could it be used a great number of times. In the same way another advertiser had bright red pasters stuck in a blank space in the middle of his ad. The brilliant spot of color caught the reader's eye immediately, but this scheme i i m mm- 168 SALES PLANS also would be found impracticable except with a paper of small circulation. The weather indications printed regularly in an advertise- ment will influence many readers to turn to that particular ad and some merchants print the daily base ball scores, which an- swers the same purpose. For a number of years an Eastern merchant drew attention to his advertisements in an unusual way. Each day there ap- peared at the top of his ad a humorous observation on some cur- rent event of national or local importance. These "squibs" were always bright and witty and after a while they came to be looked for regularly by almost every one who read the papers in which they appeared. They were written by a newspaper man who was probably paid a good price for them. It would be difficult to say whether the advertiser derived any real benefit from this scheme, but it is probable that he did. At any rate he got quite a bit of general advertising. A grocer set apart a small space in one corner of his adver- tisement in which he published daily a cooking receipt. The re- ceipts were carefully selected and wer^.always seasonable. This would no doubt appeal to the housewife. Another advertiser published a conundrum daily with the answer in the following day. The conundrums were for the most part originated by himself or were old ones twisted about to suit his purpose. All of them were made in some way to apply to the store, and as most people are more or less interested in riddles, these furnished considerable amusement and talk. They probably served very well the purpose for which they were intended. Another plan that has been used frequently is to offer a reward to the first person who discovers and reports a misspelled word or typographical error appearing in an advertisement. To add to the interest of this scheme, words are sometimes mis- spelled purposely. A scheme that is popular just now is to offer prizes for the best rhymes or jingles written about the store. In fact there is no end to the variety of schemes employed to induce the attention of the reading public. On the other hand, many advertisers will have nothing to do with devices of this sort. They consider such methods as undignified and outside MONEY MAKING IDEAS 169 i the pale of legitimate advertising. We are disinclined to agree with them in that respect. Of course dignity in advertising is all well enough, but it can be easily overdone. Many advertise- ments which the writer fondly believes to be dignified are, as a matter of fact, most commonplace and prosy. Advertising is a matter of business, not of sentiment, and the best advertising is that which yields the best returns in dollars and cents. Any straightforward, honest scheme which serves to draw attention to an advertisement is legitimate and permissible. 154. An Odd Gift Scheme — Talbot & Company, Nashua, N. H., used an unusual idea to advertise their store. They dis- tributed thousands of queerly folded little pieces of paper. They were folded compactly into a small square, with one end stick- ing out in a long strip. On this was printed in goo^ sized letters, "THE HIDDEN HAND." That was the only lettering that appeared on the outside. This unfolded into a sheet of paper about 9x6 inches, upon which a large hand was printed in bright red. Each hand is numbered serially and the following explana- tion is made: "THE HIDDEN HAND may hold something for you and summons you to our store to participate in a mammoth system of Gift-giving. "To give away free, hundreds of dollars' worth of splendid, reliable merchandise, will sound strange to you, but the idea is a business idea, with the object in view of inducing you to visit Talbot & Company's store, which means advertising our business. "You need not buy — ^no charge — no obligation at all — sim- ply a bona fide making of gifts. The inauguration of the gift- making will be 9 o'clock Monday morning, June 12. "Keep the hand. See if the number corresponds with any number in our window. If it does, the article is yours free, even if it be our finest suit of clothes. Hundreds of gifts numbered throughout the entire big store. If your number is not in the window it may be in the store. Adults only can participate in the great gift system, with numbered Hidden Hands." A show window was filled with a variety of articles all num- bered, and the goods in the store were also numbered. This « \ I M i > I 170 SALES PLANS seems an excellent idea for getting people into the store and causing them to look the stock over carefully. After a few good presents had been given out and the news had been circulated, it is likely that this plan would draw big crowds to the store. 155. A Bargain Window— A number of stores have been using "bargain windows" with very good results. A "bargain window," as the name implies, is reserved especially for the display of bargains. Unless the store is a very large one, with a good many windows, the bargain window is usually a small one, sometimes at the side of the building and sometimes it is only a part of a large window. Some stores have had small win- dows built especially for the showing of bargains and others use narrow display cases on the sidewalk for the same purpose. The idea of bargain windows is to get people in the habit of watching them for the daily leaders that are displayed. Of course bargains are shown occasionally in the large windows of the store, but they arc an exception rather than a rule, for those windows must be used for the display of new goods and stock that is sold at regular prices. Bargain windows, on the contrary, are never used for any but exceptional values, and people soon learn this. Tom Murray, of Chicago, has a bargain window, and there are a great many people who go out of their way daily to see what that window has in it. They are always sure to find a bargain of some kind. One day it will be $1.50 shirts selling for 85 cents; the next it may be gloves or suspenders, or perhaps all three of them, marked at a price far lower than usual. Every day the goods are changed. The bargain window's purpose is primarily to advertise the store and to bring in customers, but it is also a great help in getting rid of broken lines of goods. When there are only a few odd sizes of some article left they are sometimes very hard to :dispose of in the regular way. The dealer does not care to advertise the articles because there are too few of them and people who might buy them do not happen to visit the store. The bargain window will dispose of these articles quickly and without the least trouble. 1 MONEY MAKING IDEAS 171 156. A Clothier's Scheme— The Peru Clothing Parlor, Peru, 111., used an original advertising scheme with a good deal of success. A lot of of suspenders that usually sell for 25 cents were ripped in two in the back and mailed to a selected list. With each half of the suspenders went the accompanying circu- lar, which will explain the plan. Of all the pieces sent out, only a very small percentage failed to be returned to the store promptly, and those that are out will undoubtedly be brought in eventually. Of the many people who were brought into the We herewith present yoti free of all cost, one-half of a pair of good, regular 25 cent suspenders. If you will bring this to our store we will give you the other half of the pair and re-sew them for 5 cents to pay for printing and postage on this package. Or if you will return this piece and do not want the pair, we will give you 10 cents for it. We also want to call your attention to onr superb line of fash- ionable, up-to-date clothing, hats and furnishings which is unequal- led in this vicinity. It would please us to have an opportunity to show you these goods and quote you prices even if you don*t buy. Joe Tilds, Fourth Street, Peru, III. Open till Noon on Sundays. store by the scheme, almost all made purchases that far more than paid for the suspenders. Aside from the immediate profits, the effect of the advertisement will no doubt prove lasting and make many new friends for the store. Mr. Tilds, the proprietor, says that considering its cost, this is the best plan that he has ever used. The same general idea might be used in a great many ways. 172 SALES PLANS 157. A Loose-leaf Cook Book— A Washington grocer gets out a 'ioose leaf" cook book for free distribution among his customers. It has proved a popular novelty. The covers, which are about 5x7 inches, are flexible and covered with white oil cloth such as is used on kitchen tables. These covers are sep- arate and each has two eyelets on one side throueh which a string is passed for binding in the leaves. In the front are a number of pages ruled for an index. Fol- lowing these are a number of pages of classified recipes and after them are inserted blank leaves on which recipes may be written or pasted. At intervals of a week or so the grocer issues extra leaves to be bound into the books. These usually contain a series of recipes on one subject. For instance, one leaf will be on the subject of cheese, giving recipes for welsh rarebit, cheese balls, cheese salads, etc. Another leaf will deal with the preparation of macaroni and so on through the long list of food stuffs sold by grocers. The grocer's advertisement does not appear on the covers of the book, but at the bottom of each page, about an inch of space is used to call attention to articles for sale at the store which may be used in the compounding of the recipes shown on that page. On the blank pages these notices are in the nature of general advertising. For the leaves of the book is used a light brown smooth surfaced paper similar to smooth manilla wrapping paper. This withstands the grease and dirt incident to a kitchen better than the ordinary white paper. 158. Getting a List of Piano Buyers— The C. C. Mellor Co. Ltd., music dealers in Pittsburgh, devised a very clever plan for learning the names of the possible purchasers of pianos in the city of Pittsburgh and vicinity. Their scheme is as ingenious as it is effective and, so far as we know, it is entirely new. By giving away a piano that retails at $400 they got a Hst contain- ing the name of practically every person in their locality who has an old piano but would like a new one. The following is the plan as explained in one of their advertisements: "Your piano or organ has a serial number. If it is an organ, you will find the number on or inside the back of the case. If a square . MONEY MAKING IDEAS 173 or grand piano, the number is on the soundboard or pin block. If an upright piano, the number is on the frame near the stringing pins. Send or bring us, plainly written on a card, the name of your piano or organ — its number, your name and occupation and correct address, and the name of the paper in which you saw this adver- tisement. The receipt of your card will be acknowledged in the order in which it reaches us. In our window, 319 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, we now have on display a beautiful Krell-French piano, in mahogany case, price $400. The number of that piano is known to only one person. He has stamped a number in the customary place on this piano, has covered the number so it cannot be seen, and the covering has been securely sealed. This seal will be broken at noon, July 15, 1904, at which time the number of the piano will be announced. It will then be determined who sent us the card bearing the number NEAREST that stamped on the new $400 Krell-French piano. The person who may have sent the number nearest that stamped on the piano can then exchange here his old piano or organ for this new and handsome piano WITHOUT ANY COST WHATEVER. Should there be more than one winning number received, the second one received will entitle the sender to one of our beautiful Chauncey pianos, worth $300. This contest is open to every owner of an old piano or organ and it costs you nothing to enter. You have an equal chance to get a magnificent instrument in even exchange for your old piano or organ, regardless of how worthless your old one may be. We are the oldest music house in Pittsburgh, and our reputation is sufficient guarantee that this contest will be conducted with absolute fairness to each contestant. An illustration and description of the free pianos will be sent to each contestant when we acknowledge receipt of card. But don't forget that we shall make the award July 15 and that all cards must be received not later than July 10." 159. Getting Information as to Customers — The Kimball Piano Co. devised a new way for getting information as to possible customers. A representative goes into a town where there is an agency and calls upon the various schools, informing the teachers that he intends to have made photographic buttons of the schools, one of which is to be given free to every pupil. Each child was given a printed card stating that on presenting it at the Kimball store the bearer would be given a neat button 174 SALES PLANS bearing a photograph of his or her school. Of course this offer appealed to the youngsters, and on the appointed day the store was besieged by a great crowd of children. Each child presented his or her ticket in turn and the rep- resentative was on hand with a stenographer. Every youngster was questioned as to his parents' name, address, etc., and whether or not a musical instrument was one of their household possessions. As much information as possible was elicited from each child and all of this was recorded by the stenographer. The result was a practically complete piano directory of the city ; information of the greatest value to the store was secured at an altogether insignificant cost. Aside from this they ob- tained a good deal of general publicity from the scheme. The same plan could be used by any music dealer to get a live list of names. 160. Dirty Money— From time without date, money has been the attributed "root of all evil." The wisdom of our fathers is in the saying, and perhaps they are right ; but the "evil" im- plied in this ancient aphorism is moral, not physical. It re- mained for latter day scientists to discover a physical menace in money. Distinguished advocates of the germ theory now are crymg a warning against paper money as a "harbor" for all sorts of microbes and consequently as a prolific disseminator of disease. Whether or not these learned gentlemen are right is not in our limited experience to say, but it is certain that much of our paper money looks as though it might be a harbor for almost anything unclean. At any rate there are a great many people, particularly women, who have a very justifiable abhorrence of dirty paper money. It is not surprising, either, for few things are more offensive than a filthy, foul-smelling bill even if it does represent the United States Treasury Department. A number of years ago a store in an Eastern city adopted the plan of giving its customers only new bills in change. Little things count in merchandising as well as in everything else, and this store soon came to be known as "the new money store." MONEY MAKING IDEAS 175 Many people made purchases there simply to get rid of ragged, dirty bills, knowing that the bills received in change would be crisp new ones fresh from the treasury. Later other stores took up the same idea, and now there are a great many stores that never give out dirty money in change. Some of them call attention to this fact in their adver- tising, and there is no doubt that it would have weight with a good many customers. 161. Gave Away an Automobile — Hall & Lyon Co., of Prov- idence, R. I., gave a high grade automobile to one of their cus- tomers. Their plan was, in some respects, original. It is ex- plained in the following: "Every customer receives one Auto Purchase Ticket, no matter how small the purchase. On all purchases alnounting to more than lo cents — one Auto Purchase Ticket for every ten cents' worth of goods bought. "The customer saving and bringing to us the largest num- ber of Auto Purchase Tickets, receives a Cadillac — one of the most popular gasoline machines on the market. "As an extra inducement to encourage you to save Auto Purchase Tickets, we will give one dollar each to the sixty-five consecutive customers saving the next consecutive largest num- ber of Auto Purchase Tickets. "Save every Auto Purchase Ticket, as they are valuable. We give lo cents for every i,ooo Auto Purchase Tickets brought to us. "SPECIAL NOTICE— All Auto Tickets must be brought to our Westminster Street Store, tied up lOO in bundle, with your name and address, between September 28th and October 2d. "We allow five days in which to bring or send your tickets to us. Absolutely no Auto Purchase Tickets will be taken in before September 28th, or after October 2d. "NOTE — While we give you 10 cents a thousand for your Auto Purchase Tickets — every ticket is placed to your credit. 162. Circularizing an Office Building — The following looks at first glance like expensive advertising. Perhaps it is — ^per- 1 l^g SALES PLANS haps it isn't. The Men's Wear Co., Frank J. Cole, manager, opened a store in the big Metropolitan Life building in New York. Mr. Cole sent a leaflet to the hundreds of officials and clerks of the Metropolitan, in whose building he is located. Ihe outside page bore these words : "Will you sell us five cents worth of your time?" And a nickel, a hard bright nickel, worth more than dollars toiled for, in a way, nestled in each letter. Will the Metropolitan man sell five cents' worth of his time? Why, you couldn't pull him away from reading the remainder of the leaflet but by a cry of fire. Mr. Cole went on to talk in a gen- tlemanly way to gentlemen about shirts, collars and cuffs-the sort that discriminating people like to wear, and yet at fair and decent prices. At the close it is explained : "This is a take your time store. That's our way. When you come to our store for haberdashery you needn't hurry. We have time to wait on customers properly. A hurried customer is rarely a suited cus- tomer." A card of invitation for "opening day" was inclosed. 163. Hardware Displays for Women-Many women hesi- tate about going into a hardware store. When they want kitch- enware or household goods they usually go to a department store for it They have the impression that hardware stores are "men's stores" and they feel out of their element when they are inside of one. The hardwareman who does not attempt to cor- rect this impression and make an effort to get women in the . habit of trading at his store is making a mistake. At regular intervals he should devote a window to articles o interest to women. Women can always be interested in a display of kitch- enware. Every woman who "keeps house" is interested in this kind of goods and a good window display of pots, pans meat cutters and the many other articles of this class, will always be productive of sales. , • ^ .^z^ One of the best ways to show kitchen goods is to trim the window to represent a model kitchen. A very good back- ground for this kind of a window can be made of boards cov- ered with wall paper of a modest pattern. By using a range, a kitchen table and one or two cabinets the window can be ma^e to look sufficiently like a kitchen and a great variety of goods MONEY MAKING IDEAS 177 can be shown legitimately as belonging to this sort of a display. Another window that will invariably attract women is a wash day display. In this window may be shown tubs, buckets, wring- ers, sad-irons, etc. The display can be made more attractive by using a wax figure posed in the act of ironing, leaning over a tub, or in any other characteristic position. 164. A Modem Guarantee — Stewart & Co., of Baltimore, publish the following sweeping guarantee in their newspaper advertisements. It is unnecessary to say that the store lives up to the letter of this promise. This is an excellent example of the broad gauge policy upon which the best stores are conducted. WE GUARANTEE the price of every article we sell to be as low as, if not lower than, the same quality of goods can be bought anywhere else in the United States. ^ WE ALSO GUARANTEE the style, value and wear of every article to be exactly as represented, either in our store or in our ad- vertisements. WE STILL FURTHER GUARANTEE every purchase to be a satisfactory transaction to the purchaser. We do not consider the sale completed until our patron is fully pleased. IF WITHIN SIXTY DAYS AFTER BUYING you beheve that any part of either the letter or the spirit of the above guarantee has been violated, the matter will immediately be adjusted upon presenta- tion of merchandise and sales check at the Complaint Desk, or if for any just reason whatsoever you conclude you would rather have the. cash than the goods, return the merchandise in as good condition as when purchased and your money will be promptly and cheerfully refunded. Bedding, Hair Goods, or Hair Ornaments, Brushes, Combs or other sanitary articles, for health reasons, cannot be exchanged or credited. It is our principle to keep faith with those from whom we buy as well as those to whom we sell, therefore, we must maintain the price on a trademarked and widely advertised goods, when such is established by the manufacturers and beyond our control. 165. Free Street Car Tickets — The accompanying reproduc- tion of the Cleveland Dry Goods Co.*s half page advertisement shows how that firm meets trading stamp competition. One street car ticket is given with every dollar's worth bought at the store. In case the customer lives out of town and has no use for street car tickets, she is given a rebate of five cents in cash. H 11 I • t 178 SALES PLANS If the store pays full price for the car tickets (and that is not likely) the cost of this scheme would be five per cent. It should rr|0-« jarisiT. ivl^riTi'' ^^'(l^tl/M.f)"^(^""1' •yT..-=i.5-=r! -50— SAVE YOUR CAR FARE -.^ «^— ■»»■«» »»«« — » jww ^m_^^m mjm «»«iy J. »i ^ ^Z^^ 1" H Vm ■<« TW* 0«Nw«' Wwfh Vmi Oj* T«w 1 :~;r:".n „ JS M Vm ■? r»iir 0«N«r»' WarMi Vm I limn hma 09pL 5f an-V^ i«i !>«•«-" lis ■i-T.s-'irrasc; gZra?-' l-SrSTr-STa m»tiii— MM •- g-.— . Ml TT.trt.— — -.m TJ^T-r -IS ■rs."v-— —.I* tax%sr«o — ji ■svTxan. Ik •sarrs.-ssB" . . lb •ssi-aTvnr.-.jS •5.Ta«sr- — I* s«t« FURNITURE CARPETS RUGS CURTAINS 5^.25 prove a strong inducement to buyers, however, and should bring in enough extra trade to pay the cost of the tickets. 166. Inexpensive Advertising— H. A. Young & Co., of Lake City, Minn., have been in the mercantile business for over forty years, having in this time enlarged their business from a small room and two clerks to a building of twenty-two thousand feet of floor space, and a force of twenty-five clerks, all this in a town of 3,000. They do not attribute their success alone to high- grade merchandise and good business principles. Those features, of course, have been strong factors in building up their busi- ness, but their extensive and diversified advertising has also had much tc do with their success. In advertising, they reach the people through the medium of country papers, booklets, circulars, and, lastly, but not least, by means of painted signs. These signs are the most economical way of advertising yet found for a country merchant. These signs are made from wooden boxes and painted during the dull seasons, each sign costing not more than 10 cents, not counting the time. When a number of these signs have been finished, a team is employed to distribute them through the country, cov- I MONEY MAKING IDEAS 179 ering a radius of about thirty miles, from Lake City. These signs are put up about twice a year and are a very showy method of advertising. The firm considers their "name cut" a strong feature of their advertising, being distinctively different from anything ordinarily used in their community. It catches the eye and is impressed upon one's memory. 167. Testing Newspaper Advertising — Jacobi Bros. & Mack, of Galesburg, 111., hold what they term their "Annual Weekly Paper Test Sale." The following quotation from one of their advertisements explains the idea : "For the benefit of our patrons and to test thoroughly which of the weeklies will bring the best returns during* the year, we follow our usual spring custom and offer for one week a special discount of ten per cent to the readers of this paper, provided you bring this coupon with you. Be sure to bring the coupon, as you will not get the discount without it. "To make this sale a memorable one, we have marked extra low prices on our great stock, acknowledged to be the best and biggest in Knox County. From these low prices, the presenta- tion of the above coupon gives you an additional ten per cent. 168. Bulletin Ads — A merchant in a small eastern city has a bulletin scheme that is worthy of mention. By an arrange- ment with the local telephone company, he obtained permission to fasten small bulletin frames to their poles. He then had cheap, wooden frames made about 8x10 inches in size with a hinged glass door which permits a bulletin to be placed inside. The frames were placed upon telephone poles all over the city. They were fastened to the poles by screws and were put about five feet from the ground facing the sidewalk. The bulletins used are mimeographed from a type-written copy — at the top is the date and the weather forecast for that day. Below this is a list of goods with prices. The goods listed on the bulletins are always seasonable and the prices are always as low as possible as these goods are in- tended primarily to bring people to the store. About forty cases * 180 SALES PLANS are placed at various points about the city and each one is sup- plied with the daily bulletin before 8 o'clock every morning. This scheme appears to be a good one which would be practi- cable in almost any town. If permission could not be obtained to put the frames on telephone poles, there would be plenty of other equally good places to put them. A cheaper plan would be to use small bulletin boards and paste the sheets on instead if using glass cases. 169. A Wanamaker Idea— Wanamaker's Philadelphia store ran a series of ''letters" to advertise their clothing department. The letters were somewhat on the order of the "Old Gorgon Graham" letters that were at that time attracting so much at- tention. The accompanying reproduction of a typical letter will give a good idea as to the typographical appearance. 170. A "Problem'* Ad — Here is an unusual advertisement. It occupied the upper half of a page in the St. Paul Globe re- cently. The idea of submitting this sort of a problem in an n( R. lAUL OLOBtt'llOXDAT. MAlICa W U* t What would TO0 do if your best friend had s job. much better than yours, and your friend's place was offered to you? The best answer to this question received by Friday Morning will entitle the sender to a Gordon Hat The sender of the next best answer will re- ceive a pair of Gordon Gloves. If two or more answers are equally good, the one received first will get the decision. Mail your answers to GK>rdon, St Paul, Wan. GoHon ClOVM tOOB advertisement is an odd one. Whether or not this kind of ad- vertising pays what it costs may be open to debate, but it is assuredly an ad that would attract attention and cause a good many arguments. ., MONEY MAKING IDEAS 181 WANAMAKER STORE NEWS ' PHILADetPHIA. APRIL 14. I*M fMtt ^^M^W^P^Vv^WV ^^^ s Another Letter on Clothing from a Self-Made Merchant to His Son Walking Coat-Suit Fabrics ar* tooey cbtv ioM and worateds. $25. I Black cutaway suita. %ZO knd »2S Jiain- Coats ' Ttialatastcut. Mora popu- lar Utan ever, and ccr* lainir indUpenaable. SIS. tl8. S20. 525, S30. . fktuhU- Breasted Sack Coat-Suit^ StyliaMl' cut: deep cen- ter vent, broad ahouktera. Trousar* ive hall p«t. Lapele long and narrow. Fabrics — worstede and ehevlota: also tl«e new weavee in mixed ('eye. • 15 to MO Philadelphia, April 13- Dear Peerleea: You're about aa spirited as that filly I bad last year. Every time I craoked a whip over her head she tried to jump/ out of her harness. Simply because 1 say you pay too much for clothes, don't be a fool and try to break your way into the tramp-gang by wearing poor clothes. It Isn't what you wear that bothered me; It was what you paid for your clothes and what you got for your money. Much clothing nowadays re- minds me of horse trading. What you think you buy and what you actually get are tw9 different things. After a month's "ear the suit usually looks like a broken down, wizened and dilap- idated olij race horse that was doctored up to sell high at auction. I suppose the manufacturers think they're smart in putting cheap stuff In their clothing, •but they remind me of that smart Aleck out West who mixed m sawdust with the wheat he fed his chickens, saying, "they will never know the difference" —only ta find later when he hatched out some eggs htf had woodpeckers for a crop^ If I've got to foot the bill for your clothes I'm going to buy them for you— and I'm going to know what 1 get. Tomorrow at John Wanamaker 's in Philadelphia, at 10 A. U. , 18 the time I want to see you. NO, that isn't a bit too early in tha irornlng. Set your alarn clock" for 6 and take the 7.30 train cut of Jersey City. I am hustling this along by special delivery Your affectionate DAD. Single- Breasted Sack Suits Tbrec-bunoB. wide lapaL broad cencare ahouUeta. BuUt tor young men. Coat haa deep center venL Fab. rice are neat wotS'ada. caasimerea aad cbayieM. SH 5 to S35. ¥ f The Short Box-Ceitrt Overcoat EapecUtly adaf*a« lai spring. Made in aeTOfal abodes ol taa. Len^lia average SS Inchee. s> 223. Advertising an Optical Department — A jeweler who has an optical department keeps a list of all the persons for whom he has fitted glasses. At intervals of several months he sends a letter to each one asking him to call and have his glasses straightened or otherwise repaired free of charge. The cost for repairs is very light and the jeweler thus keeps his optical department in the minds of people who wear glasses. 224. Testimonials from Customers — May, Stern & Co., the house-furnishers of Kansas City, devoted a whole page in The Journal to the portraits and testimonials of some of their pleased customers. The portraits are all of young married couples and beneath each is the name and address with a brief testimonial in praise of May, Stern & Co. None of the testimonials ex- ceeded twenty words. 226. Advertising a Red Tag Sale— An ordinary shipping tag with a hemp cord attached was used by E. R. Bradley & Co., of Chicago, to announce a "Red Tag Sale." On one side was the address and on the other, in imitation writing, was a request to "please tag this to your memory, so you will be sure not to miss our 'Red Tag Sale' now in progress," etc. The tag was mailed to customers. 226. Unpublished Bargains— The Gray & Dudley Hard- ware Co., Nashville, Tenn., print the following in their news- MONEY MAKING IDEAS 201 paper advertisements: "On each day during the week we will ofi'er some Special Bargains in each department, and for that day only, that will not be advertised. It will pay you pretty well to come to our big store every day." 227. A Traveling Bulletin Board — A grocer in an Illinois town has a delivery wagon from which he gets a good deal of free advertising. The wagon is the ordinary covered kind and the sides are black bulletin boards on which are painted in white letters the names of about twenty staples. After each name is a blank space in which the grocer chalks up each day the price on that particular commodity. A liberal space at the top and bottom is left blank and this serves as a blackboard on which to call attention to special bargains. This scheme gives the grocer a traveling price list that has a greater circulation than most newspapers in small towns. ^ 228. Advertising Diamonds — A Chicago jeweler has adopt- ed a convincing method of advertising his diamonds. He states that if any one who purchases a diamond from him will return it within a year, the purchase money less ten per cent will be re- turned. This advertisement has two very desirable effects. It convinces the customer of the jeweler's confidence in his dia- monds and leads him to believe that he is getting the stone at only ten per cent above wholesale price. 229. To Test Returns — To test the returns had from adver- tising in the various New York papers, Bloomingdale's printed a coupon in each of their ads, which when presented with $1.29 was good for a handsome silk umbrella worth more than that price. Only one umbrella was sold to a customer and none was sold at that price unless the newspaper coupon was presented. The coupons were keyed, of course. 230. A Prize for a Heading — A firm in Burlington, la., pub- lished an advertisement without a heading and offered a prize of $10 for the best suggestion for a caption. Five prizes of S2 each were oflfered for the next best headings. It is likely that 11,1 I i:| * 202 SALES PLANS this scheme induced many people to read and think about the ad, who otherwise might not have done so. 231. Lasting Advertisements— A good quality of mechanics' aprons with the stores' ad on them are used as an advertisement by merchants in some of the manufacturing towns of New Eng- land. The aprons are not given away but are sold at a nominal price. 232. Personal Solicitation— A Louisville shoe dealer has built up quite a trade by sending out solicitors. The solicitors carry samples and call principally upon men who work in offices and factories around the city. The shoes are delivered to the customer by the solicitor who took the order. He collects for them at the same time and a great many shoes are sold in this way to people who have never been inside of the store. 233. A Jubilee Celebration— The Barrett Hardware Co., of Joliet, 111., held a "Jubilee Week," during which biscuits were served free everv day. A range and complete outfit were given away and another prize was an $8 carving set. In addition to these attractions a prize of $io was given for the person bring- ing the largest number of men, women or children from out of town in one wagon. 234. Corn Cure Publicity— H. W. Weeden, a Oshkosh, Wis., had a clever window display to "corn-cure." A number of old shoes of various arranged in the window. They were filled with which stalks of corn were growing to a height foot. Accompanying the display was a show card the virtues of the medicine as a "corn harvester." druggist in advertise a kinds were earth from of nearly a proclaiming 235. A Premium for the Names of Piano Buyers— The Spe- cialty Co., a music house in Des Moines, la., offered to give free transportation to St. Louis and return to anyone sending them the name of a person who would purchase a piano within a cer- tain time. A coupon was printed in the newspapers to facilitate *' 1 MONEY MAKING IDEAS 203 sending in the names. This seems to be a good way of getting a list of possible purchasers. 236. Helping the Sale of Skates — A hardware dealer in an eastern town issues a daily bulletin in his newspaper space and on the blackboard at his store, giving the condition of the ice on the several ponds around the town. The information is al- ways accurate and is a convenience to skaters. Incidentally the hardwareman calls attention to the fact that he sells skates. 237. Special Bargain Lists — Some of the department stores are using small printed slips to call attention to the bargains for each day. The slips are about 3x6 inches in size. At the top, the day and date are printed conspicuously and below fol- lows a list of special bargains in the various departments for that day. One of these slips is handed to every one who enters the store. 238. Advertising Balloons — ^Jos. Bedinger, a shoe dealer of Waukegan, 111., sent up a number of balloons from the roof of his store, each one having a card attached that was good for a pair of $3.00 shoes. One balloon was sent up each night for several nights and the small boys of Waukegan had a good deal of fun chasing them. 239. Scissors Given Away — A New York concern recently used shears as an advertising novelty. The shears were taken apart and one blade was sent to a mailing list of about 2,000 per- sons. A note was enclosed stating that the recipient could have the other half by calling at the store and presenting the notice. 240. A Butch Auction — Pickard Bros., Fort Wayne, Ind., held a "Dutch Auction" in one of their windows a short time ago. They displayed a handsome oak dining room set and a bedroom set and marked a price on each. Every day the price on each set was marked down one dollar until they were sold. 241. A Free Dinner — Schroeder's Store in Rock Rapids, la., gave customers a free dinner of roast goose recently. A prize 204 SALES PLANS (-1 } r of a pair of shoes was presented to the man bringing in the greatest number of ladies and the lady buying the largest bill of goods was given a new dress. 242. A Library to Help the Sale of Shoes— An eastern shoe store put in a library of boys' and girls' books and with each pair of shoes sold gave a membership ticket, good for a certain length of time. The library, which was started on a small scale, became so popular that it had to be greatly increased in size. 243. A Domestic Help Department— The Leader Depart- ment Store in Pittsburg conducts what it termed a "Domestic Help Department." It is advertised that "positions m first class families and the best of help can be secured" by visiting this department, which is situated on the second floor. There is no charge either to employer or employee. 244. Cow-bells as Souvenirs— Brown Bros., of Cleveland, O., recently held an opening, during which bells were given away as souvenirs. They were made in the shape of small cow-bells and each bore the inscription, "Ring the Bells for Brown Bros." The bells made a good deal of noise and at- tracted a good deal of attention. 245. A Little Accommodation— Bock & Son, hardware dealers in Battle Creek, Mich., advertise that they have bought a dozen special card punches especially to loan to ladies giving card parties. This is done purely as a matter 6f accommodation and no charge is made. It is little things like this that make a store popular. 246. A Broad Guarantee— The Continental, a department store in La Cross, Wis., runs the following brief but bold notice in its newspaper advertisement: "We will duplicate any offer made in any catalogue of any mail order house in America and save you the expressage to boot. This is a PROMISE." 247. For a Grocery Department— The Wm. Barr Dry Goods Co., of St. Louis, advertises its grocery department by small ., MONEY MAKING IDEAS 205 circulars containing a considerable list of goods at remarkably low prices. The prices quoted are good for one month, and the little circulars are put in every envelope that is sent out. 248. A Free Shooting Gallery— F. H. Woodworth & Co., San Francisco, Cal., give free "shoots" in the basement of their big hardware store every Saturday night. A shooting gallery has been provided and each person is allowed three shots free. The highest score made during the night wins a prize. 249. A Magician in a Show Window— The Towle & Spreter Co., of Clinton, la., employed a magician to give daily performances in one of their windows for one week. The per- former was a good one and the attraction drew large crowds while it lasted. 250. Carriages Sent for Customers — An advertisement ap- peared in the London (Eng.) Mail, which contained the fol- lowing inducement to shoppers: "Private brougham sent upon request to convey intending purchasers from any part of Lon- don and back. No charge. Luncheon provided." 251. For a Soda Water Fountain— The Daniel & Daniel drug store in Roswell, N. M., had a novel window display to ad- vertise their soda water business recently. The window was filled with soda water straws and a very large sign read as fol- lows: "Wanted — 50,000 Suckers." 252. Save Your Sales Slips— Early in the fall the Capitol, a clothing store in Columbus, O., offered one hundred dollars in gold to the person securing the greatest number of their sales slips by Christmas morning. As a second prize, the choice of any suit in the house is offered. 253. Hosiery ITsed to Draw Customers — Leigh Bros., of Wayne, Neb., recently distributed to a large list of ladies in that city, packages containing a single stocking. A circular informed the recipient that the mate to the stocking might be had by calling at the store and paying ten cents. 206 SALES PLANS 1 254. Encouraging Early Shopping— To encourage early at- tendance of shoppers at a sale they were holding, Kohn Bros., of Anniston, Ala., offered a dress pattern of fine wash goods to the first ten purchasers on the opening day. 255. Boys in Livery— Laird-Norton's Store in Pipestone, Minn., held a demonstration of stoves and advertised it by cir- culars that were distributed by boys dressed in bright red and green livery. t CHAPTER XI. CONTESTS. Contests have a regular place in merchandising. It is true that many stores never use contests — on the other hand, thou- sands of good stores- do use them and find them profitable. In this chapter are described a great variety of contests. Some of them would require a considerable outlay, but the majority are comparatively inexpensive. A number of these contests have brought large, direct returns to the stores that have used them. Most of them, with slight alterations could be made over to fit the needs of almost any store. These contests are all legitimate and straightforward business plans. If they are used under proper conditions, they will succeed. It may be stated here that any contest to be a success, must be properly advertised. 256. A Domino Contest — Mr. Henry J. Garrison, advertis- ing manager of The Hargadine-McKittrick Dry Goods Co., of St. Louis, hit upon a clever advertising scheme that has been used by a number of stores with a good deal of success. Some time ago he was making a trip through Texas, where dominoes is a favorite game, being played to the exclusion of cards. In a hotel one evening, Mr. Garrison overheard a traveling man say, "I would give five dollars if I had a double-six so I could beat you," speaking to another drummer. It then occurred to Mr. Garrison that it might be a good advertising scheme to dis- tribute dominoes throughout the country, with the merchant's advertisement on the back and offering a prize to the first per- son returning a complete set. It would be part of the plan to ; i« I i 2og SALES PLANS hold back a few of the dominoes in order to make it hard work for the collectors to fill a set. Mr Garrison first had some wooden dominoes made but these proved too expensive to be given away in great numbers. He then had them printed of cardboard, 2>4x2>4 inches m size. ?his gave plenty of room for the advertisement on the revers side and the cardboard answered the purpose quite as well as wood. A number of merchants in different cities were per- suaded to try the plan and in every instance they were well pleased with the results. For example, Newton Cannon of be- dalia Mo., used this scheme to advertise a special sale. He dis Sbuted i;,ooo dominoes all over the city and county and offered a prize of $5 in cash for the first complete set presented at his JL The dominoes were distributed ^-ooo per day for Jv days during the sale and there was a great deal of interest taken in the contest, especially by children. Mr. Cannon says tharthe plan was a great success. A number of other merchants have used the dominoes with the same results Writing of the plan, Mr. Garrison says : The children take readily to this scheme and, broadly speaking, every child has a father or mother that buys some goods that the merchant ha to sdl In one town in Tennessee, the School Board cen- ':;ed the merchant very severely for putting out Jhe pU^nd diverting the attention of the children from their lessons- ^ happened to be present at the time and succeeded in gettmg published a column write-up on the strength of this. The Seme has attracted a great deal of attention everywhere it has been used." 257. A Contest to Advertise a Sale-The "B-y Boston Store " of Marion, Ind., is an aggressive and original adve fiser Aside from its extensive newspaper advertising, which is tiser. Asiuc iiu ^ methods ■ always bright and snappy, this store uses many ,,,„„;„„ to keep well within the focus of the public eye. The following was a veTy unusual contest that was used to advertise an Easter "•""Mout a week before the opening of the sale, the accom- panytg "parrot" advertisement or notice made its appearance I ] CONTESTS 209 in the newspapers of Marion. This occupied about 17 inches double column and was followed by similar notices. These no- tices were all anonymous and there was nothing to connect them with any store, except the phrase: "This concern's the best, most popular and most complete department store in Marion." Five dollars in gold was offered to the person guess- ing nearest to what the parrot would say and what store it con- cerned. It v;as stipulated that all answers should be sent to "Parrot" in care of one of the newspapers in which the notice appeared. The first "Parrot" notice appeared in the papers of April 4, and they were continued until Saturday, April 8, when the contest closed. In the mean- time large advertisements of the Boston Store appeared in every issue of the newspapers. Much interest was manifested in the contest, and while few people were in doubt as to the store concerned, there was a good deal of curiosity as to what the parrot would say. When the guesses were counted, it was found that there were 732 con- testants and of all these only 28 had failed to guess correctly what store was referred to. In the papers on the following day IN GObD TO TMB PCRSOIN GU&SSINQ WHXrWILL THE PARROT SAY TH5C(»;CERNS THE BEST AND HOST POPULAR STORE IN MARION J^ »«.Mn MitKatr4 r«arMt to «li«t tit* pmrrm wm «av wrt «^ «•« k mrtna «iu tf««n« |ijM m oM. nuriM *■ aMwn la ■Ml.4 MtvSopt t« 'P^noi.- csn mt .\'TMkHMk MO A^MWfl^ coMwoMto Arrcn A^iuk t. ^^ ^ '""'■ WHAT WlbLr TMB PARROT SAY p ^l r 210 SALES PLANS there appeared the accompanying full-page advertisement with a large picture of the parrot, and what he said was : ''Meet me at the Boston Store Easter Opening, Wednesday Night/' It was also stated in this ad that the name of the winner would be an- nounced at the opening, which was advertised to occur on the fol- lowing Wednesday. For the opening night the store borrowed all J%SmS^ StoJo'ctoc-k. Formal Easter Opening Wednesday Night ""lo'^.r^ST,^ Th* KaiWJt «•< B«*« rrodmcUomt Will *• Stiottn S^trh S^VImt «/ Wotman't GarmtwU 0««rAtUte ^mmm***" itr** ;VeW miiineni Crtatlons Meet Me at The Boston Store Easter Opeaing Wednesday Night — "MU" \ A Mo^t CompUU Asstmblag* of '>'*^ ,^"J[*^'i ^ . - 17-(ac» Jllb N< «rMB<»MM«l> Swa- JWU (I.H ■w^ JM> U — the available talking parrots in town— some twenty m all— and distributed them in different departments throughout the store. They were suspended from the ceiling and under each cage was a card inscril^d : "What did the parrot say?" CONTESTS 211 The novelty of the whole affair caught the public fancy and caused a good deal of comment. The newspapers gave the Boston Store a good deal of free publicity and in one of them was published a hum.orous cartoon referring to the contest. In fact, the contest was in every respect a great success. 258. An Ad Writing^ Contest— The music house of Sher- man, Clay & Co., of San Francisco, conducted an advertisement writing contest which they say proved an excellent advertise- ment for the house. It is a scheme which could be adapted readily to any line of business and could be conducted upon any desired scale, large or small, as the generous prizes given by Sherman, Clay & Co., could be reduced to suit the more moder- ate circumstances of a smaller merchant. In their newspaper advertisements, Sherman, Clay & Co. made the announcement that they would give $225 in prizes to the thirteen persons who wrote the best advertisements for their store. The particulars of the contest were not given in the newspaper ads, but all interested persons were invited to call or write for a booklet which explained fully the terms and condi- tions. Many thousands of these booklets were distributed and therein lay the true value of the advertising scheme, for it is safe to say that every one who received the booklet read it care- fully from cover to cover. It was a remarkably clever booklet and anyone who read it could not fail to be favorably impressed with the store it represented. The following are the conditions of the contest as set forth in the booklet: TERMS OF THE CONTEST. "We are willing to pay $100 for the best advertisement written for us between now and April 4th, 1903. "We will pay $50 for the second best advertisement, $25 for the third best advertisement and $5 each for the next ten best adver- tisements. "We want a straightforward, honest statement, arranged in shape for newspaper publication, telling people why they should buy their pianos from us. "The advertisements may be illustrated or not. "They may be of any size. "They must be devoted exclusively to pianos. "Each contestant will be allowed three advertisements. Ip m 212 SALES PLANS CONTESTS 213 I. 3,' 'Those sending more than three will not be allowed in the contest ^"Advertisements containing untruthful statements will be rejected. "Flease write name and address plainly upon the back of your copy and send same to: Sherman, Clay & Co., Advertising Dept.. San I'rancisco, on or before Saturday, April 4th, I903- "These various advertisements will be submitted to a committee of three gentlemen. . "The advertising manager of one of the San trancisco papers will hz selected as chairman of this committee. "The second member of the committee will be a practical piano man not connected with the firm of Sherman, Clay & Co. "The third member will be some prominent San Francisco musician. "Such a committee will be able to judge of the merits of each advertisement from every standpoint. They will "^^et Apr, 6th. Checks to the winners will be mailed April 7th, on which date the names of the winners will be published in the San Francisco daily papers. Then follow some facts concerning Sherman, Clay & Co., that are to be taken into consideration by the contestants. While these facts are ostensibly for the guidance of the contestants they are in reality directed to any one who may chance to read them and thev constitute an ideal advertisement. The matter is cleverly written and the various points of superiority aboiit the Sherman, Clay & Co. store are impressed upon the reader s mind in a wav that is thoroughly convincing. In speaking about the returns received from the scheme, Sherman, Clav & Co. have the following to say: "We received about one reply in the shape of an ad for everv hundred books sent out. Some ten or twelve were worthy of use: the great majoritv of them were absolutely worthless of course, being compiled by amateurs and people quite ignorant. ''The booklet is readable and arouses curiosity. The scheme must of course be supplemented by proper newspaper promi- nence and we concluded that it was quite a profitable advertise- ment for us. -Another similar scheme we indulged in a few months pre- viouslv-i. e., we put out sixty or seventy thousand booklets with a misspelled word pretty well along towards the end, and offered a selection from several of the most popular pieces of music to all those who would return to our store a booklet with the misspelled word underscored. We took up the booklets when the music was delivered and some 600 people brought in book- lets. *'We supplemented this, however, with a joke on ourselves by misspdling a word along in the forepart of the book — a typographical error — and that caught about one-half of the popular sheet music, somewhat to our chagrin." 259. A Missing Word Contest — A clever missing word con- test was conducted by W. V. Snyder & Co., of Newark, N. J. The contest was to advertise a ''School Supply Sale" and was open only to school children— but it is safe to say that the interest aroused by the scheme was not confined to the children. The following is the announcement of the contest as it. appeared in the Newark papers: PICK THE WORD THAT WINS $5. It isn't an easy task we have set the school children— to pick a word from one of this week's advertisements that has not appeared in any of our ads for more than a year. It might be easy to pick a word that will be used only once this week, but to select a word that has been frequently used by every other dry goods house, yet has not been used by this one in more than a year— perhaps in several years — is something cf a job. Close regular readers of our ads may have noticed the absence of this particular word from our announcements. If they have, they can guess readily. If they haven't they will have to go it blind. Anyhow, school children are advised to read this week's ads care- fully and catch the word that appears only once. The first one that sends it in gets $5. The next five correct guesses get $1 each. PVrite the word on a slip of paper; enclose it in an envelope on which you have written your name and address, and hand it in to the advertisement department — rear main floor. These additional particulars were published on the following day: We want to make plain to all the school children in town the con- ditions of our word contest. Try to understand the points clearly. First— The word that we intend to use this week will appear only once during the week. Second— This word may have been in Monday's ad or it may be in this one or it may not appear until Monday. Third— It will be a word that has not appeared in any W. V. Snyder & Co. newspaper ad in more than a year. ^1 I H 11: i 1 S; I 214 SALES PLANS Fourth — Only one guess is allowed each competitor. Fifth — No guess will be counted, even though correct, if handed in before the word appears in the ad. Sixth — All guesses must be handed in to the Advertising Department, not mailed. Seventh — No purchase is required to admit your guess. The prize-winning word appeared in Thursday evening's ad. The sentence in which it appeared follows : "The Bedding Sale has been the bargain event of the month." The winning word was the much over-worked ''bargain*' which has not been used in a W. V. Snyder & Co. newspaper ad in several years, remarkable as that may seem. From the fact that twenty-nine correct answers and several hundred incorrect ones were handed in, we judge that the contest awakened a good deal of interest and we suspect that W. V. Snyder & Co.'s advertisements were pretty thoroughly read during that week. This would also indicate that the public is pretty familiar with the firm's methods of advertising. In writing of the contest, J. S. Fettinger, ad manager for Snyder & Co., says: *'We think that it proved good advertising because it cre- ated wide-spread comment and interested thousands. Many school children entered the contest and personally brought in their guesses. Many children were accompanied by their par- ents." 260. Picture Puzzle Contest — ^The accompanying illustration is from an advertisement of the Rochester Clothing Co., of Hillsdale, Mich. It explains a contest conducted by that com- pany: Each of the ten pictures shown represents some article for sale by the Rochester Clothing Co. For instance, No. i represents a neck tie ; No. 2 is coats ; No. 3 is pants ; No. 4 is sweater ; No. 5 is a smoking jacket, and so on. In the middle of the ad is a coupon with blanks for the names of the articles represented by the pictures. Ten prizes were oflfered to the first ten persons sending in the correct solution of the puzzle. The prizes were as follows : First, a $5 silk umbrella ; sec- ond, a $3 hat; third, $1.50 gloves; fourth, a $1.50 shirt; fifth, a $1 necktie. To each of the next five was given a 50c necktie. CONTESTS 215 Any person winning a prize had the privilege of exchanging it for anything in the store of equal value. It was specified that all contestants should use the coupon form for their answers and all answers were required to be sent to the store by mail. In ■KUDAU WAIfPAKP TUlaOAT. FEBKUAKT n. VOL Roc hester Clothing Company Prize Picture Puzzle. li»«<0rrf«Cl«>i.tM4CtM.' y i nl *i. t i««»il»^M»' * ON* •smrcacwT* a nMeKrw. iiPratf««M« . Or. ^^ •ol • a TMI9 COUPON ONLY. . * -• t m. * — — *■— — ^r-* •-* *,«..——.- 1, '' — : — -: f-^y * ROCHESTER CLOTHINQ COMPANY, MIGHIQAM. HILLSDALE, D order that all might have an equal opportunity it was stipulated that answers should not be posted before Tuesday, March ist. Letters bearing an earlier postmark were thrown out. The con- test closed five days later. V. 1 1 21C SALES PLANS This scheme is a kind that is always sure to attract atten- tion. Nearly everyone has a weakness for testing his wits on a puzzle of this kind and no matter how busy a man may be, he is pretty sure to spend considerable time in figuring out the meaning of the pictures. The original advertisement from which this reproduction was made occupied a full newspaper page less one column. It will be observed that the drawings are not what might be termed works of art, but they are sufficiently plain and answer the purpose as well as if they had been exe- cuted by a master hand. 261. A Cooking Recipe Contest — The cooking receipts of their neighbors are always a source of interest to housewives, and upon this fact a Kentucky grocer based an ingenious varia- tion of the contest scheme. He offered three good prizes to be given to the authors of the three best cooking receipts submitted during the month that the contest remained open. The fact that there was no stipulation as to the nature of the receipt would have made it impossible for a jury to decide on the merits of entries differing altogether in charactei. The grocer therefore shifted the responsibility of making the awards, leaving the decisions to be settled by ballot, one vote being allowed for every 25 cent purchase or for every 25 cents paid on account. One month was allowed for submitting receipts and during that time a number of receipts, each signed with the author's name, were published each day in the grocer's advertising space in the newspapers. The remainder of the space was de- voted to prices on such goods as were called for in the receipts. This insured the daily reading of the grocer's advertisement and in many cases the advertisement was cut out and preserved for future reference. The receipts were all published during the first month and a second month was allowed for voting. Beginning with the second month the names of the ten contestants receiving the highest number of votes were published daily in the advertising space. This had the effect of developing a great deal of interest and had a marked effect on the daily sales. The merits of the receipts were almost altogether lost sight of and the issue be- CONTESTS 217 came one of personal popularity between the contestants. In this way a number of ladies were drawn into the contest who would have refused to allow their names to be connected with a popularity contest. As the time limit drew near the interest increased the demand for votes and ran up the sales in a very satisfactory manner. After the prizes had been awarded the grocer published a little booklet containing all of the receipts and distributed it free to his customers. 262. A Hidden Word Contest— C. E. Whfte, ad-man for the Boston Store, Fort Dodge, la., devised a ''hidden word'* con- test that was quite a success. The advertisements of the Boston Store appear in some ten or a dozen newspapers* published in Fort Dodge and surrounding towns. They occupy 3]^ inche? across the top of the page and in each ad the phrase "your store" appears twice. Twelve prizes amounting to $30 in cash are offered to the persons bringing to the Boston Store the greatest number of its advertisements with the phrase correctly marked. The phrase is printed in ordinary type and placed in different parts of the ad in such a manner that careful reading is neces- sary in order to mark the ads correctly. Mr. White tells about his plan as follows: "The contest is to run six weeks, and in order to keep track of the contestants, advertisements must be handed in every week. Monday is the day we have set apart for this and a book is kept with the names of the contestants and the number of advertisements they turn in each week. Although we are only in the second week of the contest, we have at least one hundred contestants on our books from all over the country as well as from the city, and it is needless to say that every household in the city and, as near as I can figure it out, in the country as well, have their Boston Store ads all promised to their friends who are contestants. So far the greatest number of ads handed in by one contestant is 740, which have, of course, been collected within two weeks. The names of twelve leaders are published each week and a bulletin with the names of leading contestants is placed in our show window. During the last week I expect to put all of the ads brought in in the show window, if it will hold f^ Si 5 •I ■' n V ° 218 SALES PLANS them. It may not, as I have a large dry goods box full now with only two weeks of the contest gone. Although I have run a good many contests and published a great many very successful ads in the seven years of my advertising experience, this ap- pears, so far, to combine more successful ideas than any I have tried before. 263. A Newspaper Advertising Scheme — Carwalho's Cloth- ing Store in Keokuk, la., used a new idea in their newspaper advertising to arouse curiosity and call attention to their policy of guaranteeing goods. A notice was printed ir the papers re- questing the public to read the Carwalho advertisements care- fully as a sentence would be printed in one of them which would afterward be used as the basis of a guessing contest. In one of the advertisements the following sentence was given prominence: A NEW GARMENT FOR EVERY UNSATISFACTORY ONE. There was nothing to indicate, however, that this was the important sentence. On the following week a large letter A appeared in the ad- vertisements. A notice stated that this was the first of a series of letters, and readers were requested to cut them out as they appeared, for they would prove valuable to some one. The let- ter A was followed the next week by a letter N and so on until at the end of seven weeks the first letter of each word in the sen- tence had been printed as follows : A-N-G-F-E-U-O. The people were then asked to guess what these letters sig- nified and a handsome cut glass box with silver top was offered to every one who furnished a correct solution. A good deal of interest was manifested in the schem.e and quite a number of per- sons were able to solve the meaning of the mysterious letters. A great many others saved the letters and took them to the store to have them explained. This gave an excellent opportunity for the merchant to explain the guarantee to which he wished to call attention. It also gave him a chance to make visitors ac- quainted with the store. Mr. Carwalho says this of the scheme: "This advertising brought better results than any we ever had in our papers. We gave a souvenir to every one who brought in the advertisements CONTESTS 219 and the many hundred that were brought in shows that a legiti- mate, catchy advertising scheme of this kind pays." 264. A Conundrum Contest — The Denver Furniture and Carpet Co. of Denver, Colo., ran a Conundrum Contest which lasted several months. Each week a coupon containing a con- undrum was published in the newspapers and everyone was in- vited to send in solutions. The following is the announcement of the contest: "Until Christmas, we shall present each week one conun- drum, or riddle, to be solved — fourteen in all. Some will be easy, some harder, but each has its answer. We offer four prizes for their correct solving. NO BUYING IS NECESSARY. You may send in as many answers as you wish to each con- undrum, but each conundrum must be accompanied by one of these coupons. This condition is positive. It will take just a few minutes each week. Worth trying, isn't it? The gifts will be delivered the day before Christmas, and the names and addresses of the lucky winners will be given in the newspapers on Christ- mas day. First Prize — To anyone solving all of the fourteen conundrums correctly, we will give an elegant $200 parlor suit. Second Prize — To anyone solving not less than twelve of the fourteen conundrums correctly we will give a handsome $125 buffet. Third Prize — To anyone solving the largest number of con- undrums less than twelve correctly, we will give an elegant $35 combination book-case. Fourth Prize — To anyone solving the next largest number of conundrums less than twelve, we will give the choice of any $15 article in the house. In case of a tie for any prize, the answer received first will, of course win. 265. Stow Window Contest — A display which causes passers by to stop and scrutinize carefully, every item in the win- dow certainly accomplishes the purpose of window display. fi ! r 1 1 i. I..; I ! 220 SALES PLANS Mohs' clothing store in Hillsboro, Wis., had such a display and his plan is well worth copying. It is as simple and effective as it is inexpensive. Mr. Mohs explains his scheme as follows: The window was filled with men's wearables. In the center was displayed a card calling attention to the fact that one article necessary to the proper dressing of a man had been omitted and that one dollar would be paid to the first person to discover what the missing article was. The window was left in for a week and it was interesting to see the people studying the entire dis- play, trying to make out what was lacking. On the afternoon of the last day of the contest, a boy of 13 discovered the missing article which was a small sleeve button left out of one sleeve of the shirt we were showing. Both sleeVes had been pulled out so they were in plain sight and the very sim- plicity of it made it hard to see. Next day a card called attention to the missing button and made it clear to every one. The query ''What man would feel properly dressed with only one shirt sleeve buttoned?" left no room for quibbing as to who guessed correctly. And the window sold goods for us as people took time to read the show cards and look over each article displayed. Those wishing to try for the prize had to come into the store, so it brought them inside. 266. Auto-Car Contest— Willner Bros. & Co., Dayton, O., conducted an "Auto Car Contest" for boys. The prize was a "boy power" auto made in imitation of the large machines. It was quite an expensive machine, with ball bearings, cushion tires, 6 ■'. 1 6 6 6 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 6 6 6 6 6 10 10 10 1 10 10 10 10 86 86 AUTO-CAR CONTEST • NAUOUNATCO BV WIUCNKM BHOS. * CO. roK THB BEMBFIT OF THB BEST BOY HUSTLER IN DAYTON Tbi« card it NOT trantferable. and ii Itsued eiclutivaly to 16 16 16 16 86 86 86 86 86 86 86 86 86 86 Nam« Streit Ev« pric*. Cod 60 60 ry boy who laket part in Ihia conteat will be given a even If he can'c win the Auto-Car. 1 ^ Q test cloaea November 1. 1903. 1 e / ' J 86 86 60 60 60 91 91 91 91 98 98 98 96 96 60 1 60 1 60 91 91 91 91 92 98 98 96 96 I" '-:f CONTESTS 221 upholstered seats and many other points, making it very desir- able from a boy's point of view. The accompanying ad (reduced from two columns) was inserted in the newspapers and larger circulars describing the machine in detail were well distributed BOYS! This Automobile boysi To the Best Boy Hustler in the City. We want every boy who sees this a4verti8ement — ^no matter how oW or how young he may be— to tome to Willner Brothers' store and see this littk beauty of aa automobile. We want every boy to take part in the most interesting contest ever condu(;tQd jn this city. It's just awfully easy, boys, and that's all there is to it. Come down totlie stoic. I^t us tell you aU about it. Tlien you can start to work right away (it's more like play than work) and maybe you'll show everybody that you're the best boy hustler here. REMEMBER THAT EVERY BOY WHO TAKES AN ACTIVE PART IN THE CONTEST WILL BE GIVEN A PRIZE, EVEN IF HE DOESN'T WIN THE AUTOMO- BILE. YOU HAVE EVERYTHING TO GAIN AND NOTHING TO LOSE— SO, COME ON I 'WiLLNERBROS,&@ N^ 224 SALES PLANS ccnld be adopted readily by any grocer and should prove a very profitable advertisement being both practicable and inexpensive. It is explained in the following advertisement: "We will give the person making the best loaf of bread from Challenge Flour, one barrel of Challenge Flour free. There will be three competent judges appointed; each loaf will be num- bered ; no names will be on the loaves. The best loaf, in the opin- ion of the judges, will receive eight sacks of Challenge Flour free, "This contest is open to all users of Challenge Flour and all new ones who wish to purchase a sack. All bread must be sent to the store with name and address of maker not later than one week from next Wednesday noon, Oct. 7, which gives you ten days notice. "We have from Mr. Patterson, the city poor commissioner, a list of names, and all the bread sent us for this contest will be distributed Thursday, Oct. 8, to the needy. "This offer not only gives you a chance to get a barrel of flour free but also gives you an opportunity to donate a loaf of good bread to a needy person. Remember the date your com- peting loaf must be sent to the store." Mr. Shank says that the scheme worked out even better than he had expected. The public took a lively interest in the contest and it proved a most profitable and satisfactory advertise- ment. 270. A Remodeling Sale Contest— Drey fuss' clothing store in Denver was being remodeled and a big sale was conducted while the building operations were going on. To add to the interest a weekly contest for boys was con- ducted in the following manner. Each week there was published a photograph showing the process of remodeling and the best boy's suit in the house was offered free to the boy who wrote the best composition on the picture. The following quotation from one of their advertisements will explain the scheme: THE BEST BOY'S SUIT IN THE HOUSE FREE. The above scene represents the dismantling of our show win- dows. We will publish from week to week a different picture CONTESTS 225 of the progress of the work of remodeling. We ask the school- boys of Denver to cut out these pictures and return the same to us with a short description (of not more than 200 words) giving full name, address and age. The boy sending in the best story of this picture will receive free of charge a complete suit, which he may select with the assistance of his parents from our entire stock. The distribution will take place every Saturday night at 8 o'clock, the week following the appearance of the picture. Con- test No. I closes March 16, at noon. The result will be an- nounced Saturday, March 18, at 8 p. m. 271. An Original Contest— W. J. Mitchell of Waco, Tex., has devised an out-of-the-way plan for keeping public interest centered on his store. He conducted a scheme that had several points to recommend it. The plan was announced* in his adver- tisement in one of the Waco newspapers as follows : IN THE CORNER OF THIS AD APPEARS THE LETTER W. In each succeeding issue of the Times-Herald will be pub- lished a different letter, either at the head or in the corner of my advertisements. When the entire series of letters are published the letters taken from these ads will form a sentence. Cut the letters out as they appear; they will be valuable. I shall offer premiums of worth for the entire series when published. Read my ads and keep up to the minute. Mr. Mitchell's plan is to buy useful articles from the lead- ing stores of the city, not in his line. These articles are displayed prominently in the windows of the store from which they are purchased. They are ticketed as follows: "This Article is Premium No given by W. J. Mitchell, the Cash Qothier and Shirt Man, for the entire series of letters taken from his advertisements now being published in the Times-Herald." The idea of showing the premiums in the windows of dif- ferent stores is a good one as they will be seen by many people who might otherwise miss them. 272. Getting a List of Names — Something new^ in the way of prizes were given in a contest held by the Lyon-McKinney- ■«i««lMI yf \ ii .^ ! ' 226 SALES PLANS Smith Co., of Los Angeles, Cal. Six months tuition in a local business college was given to the person who got the greatest number of persons to read the firm's advertisement during a cer- tain time. Three months tuition was given to the second con- testant and the third, fourth and fifth received other prizes of value. Contestants were instructed to take several sheets of paper, ruled for names and addresses. These sheets were pasted to- gether and at the top was placed an advertisement which was to be read by the persons who signed their names below. The com- petitors were governed by the following conditions: Contestants must send in their lists of signatures once each week so we may compare and examine them. **We reserve the right to erase duplicate signatures, to dis- qualify dishonest contestants and throw out stuffed lists. "Successful contestants will be required to make affidavit before a notary as to the genuineness of their lists. (This will be in addition to our examinations.) "No signatures of people under eighteen years of age or more than one in a family are to be accepted. "Friends of the contestants are privileged to start lists and secure signatures for them." 273. Drawing Attention to Ads — Any scheme is a good one that will induce the public to pay special attention to a merchant's advertisements. The IXL Clothing store of Stockton, Cal., ac- complished this in a new way. Their plan is explained in the following clipping from one of their advertisements. "We want your opinion and will pay for it. We publish, as you know, a new picture every other day in our newspaper ad- vertising. We have all kinds of pictures : Comic, pretty, histor- ical, fashions, portraits, decorative. Now we want to find out the kind you like the best and will pay for the information — Ten prizes. Cut out our advertisements every other day during Novem- ber; mark with a cross (X) the four pictures you like the best; place the clippings in an envelope, your name and address in- side and send the envelope to our store before December 2. CONTESTS 227 All the envelopes will be thrown on a table face down, and in the presence of three representative business men, ten .envel- opes will be picked out at random. The first envelope opened will receive a suit case ; the second, a fine fur hat ; the third, a leather traveling bag ; the fourth, a silk reefer ; the fifth, sixth and sev- enth, silk suspenders; the eighth, ninth and tenth, silk umbrel- las." 274. A Store Arrangement Contest— White & Davis, of Pueblo, Col., altered and enlarged their store. To interest peo- ple in the event they offered some valuable prizes for suggestions as to the arrangement of the new store. Also two new depart- ments were added and prizes were offered to the two ladies who imp Tut nuamrtr SmeSTtM. Prizes For (L Little Help In Arranging The New Store Wc have b«en pumsllnv our baadt •ftcnit tbr floor ptaa if mm •ftluTvd storr. In (u-t. w« havr b6 rvunr ttottktaa lliat «•(■■« wlllliiC to P*r •om« of our rrl«nA« to sh«rc tfcom vtm 1K •■tf Utink Ukerc «r« many pooptc who cM.rt Nrtp iw Ottt In i iost whei'v is best to put our •cvcrai departnwais. wtUi I ary flxturvo. So wc oSm" First Prize of $25 in Gold A Second Prize. $1000 in Gold For tflMsratna vhowinc mmx «• •b&U eowiatr on%acHMlM 'mt 4*pitrtin«nu. atoiM and Axfcna. Aw«fe vlano afewtU cwm^ntmmt two ii«w departments of ladtts' apparel. Decfakan wm W mm^ upon the merits of the arrancemenL btit dr««-|nsa alM«M bo neatly and cicaMr made upon sood poper or Briatal bawd, tlwi icstania may consider themselves fros to Uapact our vnnas Boer anrnnceoicnt as mucll aa d«aire4. Prizes For Ladies Only rtrml T r im ClMrtc» of oar tl« Silk UmbrvOu Second PHs»— Chotc* •( our H Pklent LtotlMr Bbooa. rtf nrw Moro •in iMTi room for TWO NEW DB >AIIT' MCNTS or LJkPIEIS' APPAREl Wlul ihlll tlwr k>? PW- hmvm iht U41M know wt&t onm ar« in «a>a la P m kik To tlw ladles who snraoM UM doportmonta whlca wo ahall «arM» ko add. itlvlnc thr beat ra a ao M why ac akould add cknk tta afeaw pnSM will b« CtVOB. Aa iltii ta4 tunmt to k«U Uh tkcn tnnti wffl to cnrtkd la tkt dtAtr •( tMr ncaifi. O* *at agt jti —mm to tkd« tot tat ran iMw la » MtM laMtsft imt mdmt Witt Od ptea or tannt. ADDU88 TO ADVXSTISIlfO DETAkTMnT. WSDB k SATIS *ad toan at aaakiat'a 4dak « aajL had the best suggestions as to what the new departments should be. The accompanying reproduction is clipped from the corner of a full page advertisement of an alteration sale. White & Davis say that the contest proved a great success and many re- sponses came in. » f ■Jiufitii'iTTiirTrrntr'r my I 228 SALES PLANS 275. A Photographic Contest — A store in San Francisco ex- cited enthusiastic rivalry among the amateur photographers of that city by offering cash prizes aggregating $ioo for the best day or night photograph of its seven story building. The first prize was $30 ; the second, $20 and there were five others of $10 each. The competition was free to all bona fide amateurs, no purchase of goods or other requirements being nec- essary to participate. The conditions governing the judgment of the pictures were as follows: First, lighting; second, chemical quality; third, fin- ish of print. Enlargements will not be considered, and the ama- teur must own the camera. The photos must be mounted with- out any name or address on the back. They will be identified by number, and the names and addresses recorded in a book when the photos are submitted at the store. 276. A Prize for Fishermen — Bourne & Bond, sporting goods dealers in Louisville, Ky., have thought out a new way for bringing probable customers into their store. They offer a hand- some gold badge to the fisherman who lands the largest bass during the fishing season. The following conditions govern the contest : To enter as a contestant for this prize you must call at our place of business and register. Bass must be caught with a rod, reel and line, and within 100 miles of Louisville. The fish is to be weighed at our store, 319 West Market street. The button will be presented to the person making the first catch from this date, and he to be the holder of same until some one making a larger catch. At the end of the season, date of which has been set as October 15, the button will become the personal property of the holder. 277. A Writing Contest — The writing contest in which a prize is given to the person writing a given sentence on a postal card the greatest number of times, is not new but it is a contest CONTESTS 229 that usually proves popular. It has some value too as an adver- tisement for a person who has written a phrase several hundred times is not likely to forget it soon. Hobson & Gove, Jewelers and Opticians of Washington, Iowa, used this kind of a compe- tition. The conditions were as follows: All ladies over fifteen years of age may compete for this fine Ladies' Gold Watch. The one who writes "Hobson & Gove, Jewelers and Opticians," the greatest number of times on the back of a postal card, will receive the watch. The writing must be legible, otherwise the card will not be considered. Each card must bear the name of the contestant, also. - The address side of the card must not be used for any purpose excepting to ad- dress Hobson & Gove, Washington, la. 278. A Suggestion Contest — Edwards & Nichols, shoe deal- ers, in Mason City, la., used this scheme to get ideas for an an- niversary celebration. The following is quoted from an advertise- ment : "Saturday, October 15th, is our first anniversary, and to the one giving us the best suggestions for the purpose of celebrating that day, we to be the judges, we will give, free, their choice of any $4.00 shoe or under, in stock. All suggestions must be in writing, properly signed and handed or mailed to us on or before Oct. 1st. Suggestions are now pouring in — ^better send us one, it costs you nothing. 279. An Essay Contest — The Douglass Dry Goods Co., Boone, la., offered a prize of a fine silk dress pattern to the young lady who would write the best essay on the subject, "How the Douglass Dry Goods Co. Came to Make Such a Success." The contest aroused considerable interest and there were numerous competitors. The essays were handed in sealed in an envelope, and the name of the competitor was enclosed in another envelope, so that the awards were made without knowledge of who had written the various essays. Three school teachers acted as judges. 280. A Word Bnilding Contest— W. E. Stofflet, a jeweler in Shamokin, Pa., gave a valuable clock to the person who con- 1 II 1 n I! 230 SALES PLANS structed the greatest number of English words from the sentence : *'Wm. E. Stofflet, Jeweler and Optician." Letters were allowed to be used only as often as they appeared in the sentence. An- other firm which used this idea is Sourwine, Kuhns & Kerschner, of Allentown, Pa. They offered a suit of clothes to the person making the greatest number of words from their name. The prize was won by a 12 year old boy who made 2,058 words from the name. 281. A Doll Naming Contest — A New England merchant has been conducting for some time what he advertises as *'Doll Naming Contests." An elaborately dressed wax doll is placed in the show window. A large show card explains that the doll has been named after some Bible character and the first person guess- ing the correct name receives the doll and a two dollar bill. A guess is given with every purchase amounting to fifty cents. As soon as one doll is taken away another is put in the window. 282. An Ad Clipping Contest — Longley's Clothing Store in Woonsocket, R. I., offered prizes to the man and boy who clipped and returned the greatest number of the storeys advertise- ments appearing in three papers between April i and June i. The man who brought in the most ads was given a good suit of clothes and the boy under 16 years of age who collected the greatest number was given his choice of any suit in the Boys' Department. 283. A Pie Baking Contest — W. E. Heskett, a furniture dealer in Columbus, O., offered a $24 steel range to the woman making and baking the best pumpkin pie upon a range in his store. Over two hundred pies were entered in the contest 3.\A all of them were baked at Heskett's store under the supervision of the various contestants. The judges were four representatives of the daily press of Columbus. The pies entered in the contest were distributed among the Salvation Army and the various charitable institutions of the city. 284. A Proofreading Contest — E. Nahm & Co., clothiers in Bowling Green, Ky., published an advertisement containing a CONTESTS 231 number of typographical and other mistakes. A prize of $5.00 in gold was offered to the first boy under twelve years of age who handed them the advertisement as it should have been printed. Quite a number of boys tried for the prize. The en- velopes containing the corrected ad were stamped with the date and hour of receipt. ^ 285. Prizes for Pretty Children — Chapman & Co.'s Depart- ment Store in Brooklyn, is advertising its photograph gallery by offering $100 in prizes for photographs of the ten prettiest chil- dren. There are five prizes for girls and five for boys. It is un- necessary to add that the photographs entered in the contest must be taken in the Chapman studio. 286. A Druggist's Contest — F. B. Lillie & Co.'s drug store in Guthrie, Okla., placed twenty specimens of common drugs in one of the windows and offered $5 in gold to the person who first handed in the correct names for all of them. Other prizes were offered to the second and third contestants. 287. A Jingle Contest — The Busy Boston Store, Marion, Tnd., recently offered a prize of $5 for the best jingle or poem of twelve lines or less concerning the store. The verses were pub- lishd in the papers. 288. A Queer Contest— W. W. Wilkins & Co., Newkirk, O. T., displayed four worn hats in one of their windows and offered a new hat to the three persons guessing nearest to who wore them. 289. A Co-Operative Pnmpkin Contest — Pumpkin contests of different kinds are not new but the contests conducted by Hertzler & Boesch of Burlington, la., have several elements of newness. This firm conducts an annual "Pumpkin Growing Con- test" from which they get an immense amount of good adver- tising at a cost that is purely nominal. This sort of a competition ii I M si ; I'! 1 f I 232 SALES PLANS appeals to the farmer and could be adapted with benefit by any merchant who draws his trade from the agriculturist. The principal feature in which the Hertzler & Boesch con- test diflPers from others, is the co-operative method of giving the prizes. Instead of donating all the prizes themselves, this firm gets a dozen or more other merchants in non-competitive lines of business to give one prize each. This divides up the expense and does not detract in the least from the value of the advertisement to Hertzler & Boesch. It is manifest that a dozen merchants together can afford to give a great deal more money for a scheme of this kind than one merchant could give individually. Thus, instead of one or two prizes a long list is offered and the interest in the scheme is in- creased proportionately. In the spring, fourteen prizes of the aggregate value of $180.00 were offered to the farmers raising the heaviest pumpkins from seeds supplied by Hertzler & Boesch. The seeds were given free. The following is a list of the prizes offered : 1st. — One steel Range worth $50.00. 2nd. — A Bicycle worth $25.00. 3rd. — A Hot Blast Stove worth $20.00. 4th. — A suit of clothes worth $18.00. 5th. — Dry goods to the value of $i5.oa 6th. — A clock valued at $10.50. 7th. — A harrow worth $10.00. 8th. — Dry goods to the value of $8.00. 9th. — A i2-piece bed room toilet set worth $5.00. loth. — One year's subscription to daily paper, nth. — Ten pounds best Mocha coffee worth $3.00. I2th. — One pair of boots worth $3.00. 13th. — One pair of ladies' rubber boots worth $2.00. 14th. — One pair of men's plow shoes worth $1.50 This is a list of prizes that would appeal to any farmer. There were very few conditions to the contest; all that was re- quired was that the contestant should raise the pumpkin he entered ■from seed furnished by Hertzler & Boesch and that he should deliver the pumpkin to their store on a specified date. Only one pumpkin was allowed to each contestant. In advertising the competition, the newspapers were used liberally but the chief means of gaining publicity was through a CONTESTS 233 four page 12 x 18 circular called "The Hustler." This circular contains a full statement of the conditions of the contest together with a list of the prizes and the names of the donors. The prizes were all described fully. *'The Hustler" is published by Hertzler & Boesch individually and aside from the pumpkin contest news, there is also a good deal of advertising for their store. However, each of the other firms donating a prize is represented by a lib- eral allowance of space. There is also quite a little reading mat- ter of a humorous nature scattered among the ads and reading notices. About the first of March a quantity of pumpkin seed and copy of **The Hustler" are sent to each farmer in the vicinity of Burlington. The distribution of seeds is made very thorough so that no one will be missed. In September a fall edition of "The Hustler" is issued and distributed. The fall issue is similar to the spring edition and calls attention to the coming contest. Large cards bearing the words: OCT. I4TH, PUMPKIN DAY AT HERTZLER AND BOESCH'S shoe STORE. are tacked up throughout the city and surrounding country. It is a red-letter day for the farmers when the contest is de- cided. They come from miles around and from all directions. Hundreds of them bring in pumpkins and hundreds of others come to see the fun. A lively interest is taken in the affair. More than two hundred pumpkins were dumped out in front of Hertz- ler & Boesch's store and then came the weighing. A luncheon of pumpkin pie, coffee and hot rolls was furnished free in the rooms over the store and last year between three and four hundred families were served. It is one of the conditions of the competition that the exhibi- tors retain the ownership of the pumpkins and they will be re- turned to them if called for. Very few of them are called for however and after exhibiting them for several days, an advertise- ment is inserted in the papers stating that any person calling at the store at a stated time will be given a pumpkin free. This offer is responded to enthusiastically and results in more advertis- ing, as mammoth pumpkins may soon be seen rolling away from the store in all directions. They are too heavy to carry any dis- I 234 SALES PLANS r tance and an hour afterward boys may be seen rolling pumpkins, blocks away. 290. Another Pumpkin Scheme — Here is anotker pumpkin plan which was managed in a different way, but which was equally successful. It was conducted by A. Appel & Co., of Rockford, 111., and they were very well pleased with the results. In the latter part of May a package of pumpkin seeds and the accompanying letter were mailed to a large list of farmers in the vicinity of Rockford. During the summer, the contest was adver- I', *n U n til. . rt B.^ CrhifM Wi4 C- .Kk.1 pMI.. CMUm'. CImW tu Dnmm CM.I. 11.4. Cwl.1.. D—>»»*'>nm4^m Dtwa CM4.. WMb Ml4 DtM. Utn. tMto.Mwf K..M.I fal.1. CrdM OlM.il. CIWM Ciwil. M« T M I. M . HaWkvcbM. H.I. HM>.rT Hmm Piir.l.M.c. LM). CtUlM MbllingS ««4 Mtf. VMS ..4 ..T*' ClMhlM He.|- P.iAUkM. Ui)liii.ffT Mil.. r.iiHa M.tllM NMlMIt Oil ClMk P.iBI Bl Pw.t.1* PinaM. PrtBM ■ ikbM. ■ •.tof ClMkli«' •w SlM«l« ... CmM ftbair Haf.w... bliiti \.aiw« tiMaa-Waa-a W.aM*t an. Ckii.*..'. Silka an. ValvaM Stiaamaf. •talMMvy T.iM AritalM TMlal %m* Ttwha a.4 V.llHt UMte.llaa t'A.avaaw Varatak tiaJM Vaaai / Wall hfM Walhln. Skin. Waab Caa.a WkUa CM.a Wi..«« Sba.M Wm... a.. Will.. Wm. Tu. Rockford. !11.. May 18. 1903. To Our Friondo and Fatrono t touyno doubt, kavt already heard, thnugh tkt ntkepaptrt and other $ourt4*, ef Soek/ord't ntiiitt tmdiHf place. Though hut lately ettabliehed hsre, we have made many frienJi and patron* ieeaiiie of out^ determination to give the mneeee good rellabU marchandls* Of right priets. In order that you may underetand and appretlate our waye and our up-lo-dat« methede of doing bueineee we are going to tell you eomething about euritloee. Wehave'by far, the beet store in Kotkford—it ie th* "Great Store" of Koctcford. J^ple who have $een our store nnd our stock pronounce it euch. "Hockfard hat long b**n in neod of a stor* Ilk* App»l'*" — this remark we hear every daw — and it is, because we are striving to gtve the people what thty want — a homelike plait in which to do their trading, where, for their comfort and rest, many aeeent- modations are provided and placed fHely at their disposal. ffe cordially extend to you an invitation to make thie etore your "fMod* qmQrttrs" 'whenever you visit this city. We have check rooms, rest rooms, teilet rooms, telephonee, etc., the use of which you may freely enjoy. You get very tired in carrying 'your bundles <^ut town. Come in and let us cheek them for you; or if you wish to enjoy a quiet hour's rest, au-ay from the crowded streets, we invite you to make our "Rest Room" your "Home." If you bring your lunches along tvilA you, you may eat here. IVe have provided tables for that purpose. In fact, it ie our earnest wish that you come here and feel as though this were part of fomr store. Of course you will want to see the President on the 3rd of June. That will ft* "Roosevelt 1>ap"in Rockford. We will make preparatione te receive yew. you may be sure of a wrleoine here. We herewith eneloee you some pumplUn seed, ftant theee now, and in order H berome acquaintetl with you atid to have you, keep ut in mind, we make yets tk» following offer; Oi Tkarilty. Oct*ttr ttt, of tkit irttr, W* will wy to mt MfMi briif li( to oor Mort tM UrfCH raaikli. tk« «■■ ef tlS 00 Wc will gi> to tht ptraoi OrlKlif to oor Mort tko ttcoii LorrtM Fuinio. tko «•■ of IS.O* Wt will oiy to tk. tenet krloflof to oor uoro tko tklrl LorrtM Poaiklo. tko Ma of Wo will Biy to tkc ocnoo krioflar to oar itoro tk* fOarik Larrtat faaokla. tk* na of Wo win pay to tk* ttraoa triaf lit to our (tart tk* flfik Urrtat raaokla. Ike soa of Wa will My ta to* *«r*oa kriarlat to oar star* tk* aliik Larf » CHAPTER XIII. VOTING CONTESTS^ The voting contest as a factor in advertising a store, is as old as the hills. There is absolutely no end to the ^variety of vot- ing contests that have been used with varying degrees of suc- cess by merchants everywhere. It would be impossible in a book of this size to attempt anything like a complete list. This chap- ter, therefore, has been confined to a brief but suggestive list of contests, containing some elements of newness. 297. A Voting Contest for Charity — The Siegel-Cooper Co. came out with a $io,ooo scheme. The management donated that amount to the various charitable institutions in Greater New York. Having decided upon this plan, the company was "con- fronted by the difficulty of determining how and where to dis- tribute this sum, and called upon its customers to assist in the decision. From October lo to January 31, 1905, the sales slips received by each customer were used as ballots by writing on the back the name of the institution they desired to favor and then depositing the sales slip in a locked box, placed in a prominent store location, before the latter date. Every dollar represented on the sales slip ballots was counted as one vote. The institution receiving the largest number of votes received $1,000 ; next, $500 ; $400 ; $300 ; $200 ; and the next 76, $100 each, making $10,000 in all. A committee of five was selected from among the directors of five charitable institutions of New York to count the votes and make the awards. In a similar manner. Weinstock, Lubin & Co., of San Fran- cisco, gave $1,000, divided among several of the charitable insti- I*li w \ .if ?► 244 SALES PLANS tutions of that city. The charities to which the money was given were decided by the store's customers, a vote being given with every purchase. This contest proved wonderfully popular, and during the first week more than 40,000 votes were cast. Wein- stock, Lubin & Co. were quite candid about their scheme and made no pretenses that it. was anything other than a matter of business enterprise. 298. Excursion Trips as Prizes — George I. Kelly & Co., Waltham, Mass., held a successful and popular contest. The con- test was conducted in much the same way as similar contests — its popularity lay in the desirability of the prizes. Every ten cents spent at the store entitled the purchaser to one vote which had to be deposited at the time the purchase was made. There were three prizes to the three persons getting the highest number of votes. Each prize consisted of a vacation trip for two. The first prize was two round trip tickets to any one of six summer resorts all of them at a considerable distance from Walt- ham. The second prize was two tickets to one of eight resorts somewhat closer to Waltham and the third prize was two tickets to resorts still less distant. The tickets were all good for two months. A little folder was used to advertise the contest. 299. An Anniversary Contest — To celebrate their twentieth anniversary, the store of William G. Brown & Company, of Gloucester, Mass., held a voting contest and offered prizes of $300, $200 and $100 to the three most popular ladies' organiza- tions, lodges or auxiliaries. With every purchase of 25c one vote was allowed. About ten organizations entered the contest, and there was developed a sharp rivalry which resulted in a great increase in sales. A novel window display was a great help in advertising the affair. In a large show window the entire amount of the money for the prizes, six hundred dollars, in crisp new one dollar bills, was displayed. The bills were strewn about the window in all sorts of positions. They were laid on the floor, displayed on tables and suspended from the ceiling by threads, making quite '4m VOTING CONTESTS 245 an imposing display of wealth, which had much to do with the success of the contest. 300. A Sample Voting Contest — The following paragraph appeared in the advertisements of C. Yetter, Iowa City, la.: Special Notice — The little girl under twelve years of age re- ceiving the largest number of votes receives a beautiful doll worth $25.00. The miss or woman receiving the largest number of votes receives a handsome black dress pattern worth' $20.00. Ask for your votes when purchasing. In explanation of his plan, Mr. Yetter writes as follow^s: *'This is the second year that we have conducted this kind of a contest. We give one vote with every 25c purchase, two votes with a 50c purchase and so on ; in fact, with every quarter's worth we give a vote, no matter how large the bill or how small. It is a perfectly legitimate and honorable plan of business and we find that it makes things very interesting. We are altogether satisfied with it." 301. Business Scholarship as Frizes — Redlick's Department store in Fresno, Cal., conducted a Scholarship Voting Contest. One vote was given for every 10 cent purchase made at the store and the two contestants receiving the highest number of votes were given free scholarships in a first class local business college. When they have graduated from the business college, the two winners will be given permanent positions in Redlick*s store. In addition to the votes given with purchases, a coupon good for a vote was printed in the newspaper advertisements. To keep up the interest, a list of the candidates with their standing is published in the newspapers every day. The novelty and value of the prizes makes this contest a popular one, and a great deal of interest is being shown in it. 302. A Unique Voting Contest — Popular voting contests have taken many forms but there is usually a good deal of simi- larity in them. A western merchant, Harvey De Long of Omaha, recently conducted a contest that appears to be original with ^fifli 1 til I i." If' I, < 1 i if n 246 SALES PLANS him. He called it a "Grandma Voting Contest." As the name implies the contest was restricted to grandmothers and the one receiving the highest number of votes was given a valuable prize. One vote was given with each ten cent purchase. Some twenty or more candidates were nominated by their friends and the contest became a very warm one which resulted in considerable extra trade for the store. 303. For the Most Popular Young Lady — A popular voting contest was conducted in Kansas City on somewhat new lines by the Martin & Vernon Music Co. Every one was allowed to vote but each person was restricted to one vote which must be cast at the company's store. The contestants were confined by the terms of the contest to any saleswoman, stenographer, cash- ier, bookkeeper or young woman employed in other capacity in Kansas City. The contest was for the purpose of advertising a clearance sale of musical goods and the young lady receiving the highest number of votes wns presented with a $300 piano. 304. For the Most Popular School — A music-box contest was conducted by Schipper & Block, Peoria, 111. The music box was valued at $350.00 and was offered to the school, paro- chial, private, or public, receiving the greatest number of votes. One vote was given with every ten cent purchase providing the customer asked for it. This firm also offered $50.00 in gold for the best three specimens of art needle-work submitted during a certain time. Ladies com.peting for the needle-work prize were required to buy their materials from Schipper & Block. 305. Co-Operative Voting Contest — A number of the best stores of Jacksonville, Fla., held a co-operative voting contest. A $1,500 library was given to the club or organization that was voted the most popular. One vote was given for every ten cents spent at any of the stores. Much interest was shown in the con- test and the sharp rivalry that developed between some of the contestants promised increased business for the stores concerned. 306. Voting for the Most Popular Minister— The H. W. Weber Hardware Co., of Bay City, Mich., offered a $100 por- VOTING CONTESTS 247 celain refrigerator as a prize to the most popular minister in that city. The privilege of voting once was given for every dollar spent at the store, being restricted, however, to cash pur- chases or collect telephone orders. The contest lasted thirty days. '307. A Popularity Voting Contest— The Euwer Store in Youngstown, O., finds many original ways of keeping well before the public. One of its plans was the conducting of a voting con- test for the most popular young married couple. A vote was given with each 25 cent purchase and the winning couple received a furnace worth $100. 1 ft CHAPTER XIV. GUESSING CONTESTS. By a recent ruling of the Post Office Department, guessing contests of a certain class have been barred from the mails. This rule embraces all contests that are dependent upon chance rather than skill or judgment. For instance, under this head would come contests for guessing the number of beans in a jar ; guess- ing the majority of a candidate in an election or the attendance of the World's Fair. While there is some judgment necessary in contests of this kind, they depend for the most part upon luck in hitting upon the exact number. In the future all matter per- taining to them will be excluded from the mails. This does not mean that the merchant may not conduct guessing contests — it only prohibits him from advertising them in newspapers or circtdars that are to be sent through the mails. If there is any doubt in the merchant's minds as to a con- test he proposes to use, he had better submit it to the local post- master for approval. 308. A Legitimate Guessing Contest — There are many schemes closely related to guessing contests but which would not come under this ruling. For example, W. J. Mitchell, of Waco, Tex., has just concluded a contest to which the postal authori- ties could take no exceptions. In his newspaper ads he published this drawing of a show window containing several hundred hats. The accompanying reproduction is not as distinct as the original, but it will serve to illustrate the idea. One hundred dollars in cash prizes were awarded to successful contestants who counted the number of hats correctly. As the counting of hats was purely GUESSING CONTESTS 249 a matter of skill and patience, the contest could not be called in any sense a game of chance. 309. Getting People to Read Ads — Many ways are used to influence the public to read the store's newspaper announcements. The following is a plan that was used successfully by O. H. Berry & Company of Richmond, Va. This firm has a large men's, boys' and children's outfitting establishment and considerable newspaper space is used to advertise it. The advertising man- ager for the firm devised a scheme that insured his advertise- ments being read by practically everyone in the city and its vicin- ity. Mr. Norman's plan involves a guessing contest in which really valuable prizes are awarded to the persons guessing near- est to the number of words that will be used in the Berry ads during a given time. A clever and decidedly well printed little folder was used to advertise and explain the scheme. It read as follows: I r, 1 250 SALES PLANS A $25 BERRY SPRING SUIT FREE FOR A GOOD GUESS. TWENTY OTHER PRIZES — OPEN TO EVERYBODY. We want you "to get the habit" of reading our ads. They'll keep you . posted on what to wear and where to buy it. THE PLAN— TRY IT. Guess the number of words we will use in our daily advertisements as published in The News Leader during the month of March. You can have the first twenty days of the month to size up our advertisements and count the words— but we may suddenly use a half-page advertise- ment — no one can foresee — even we ourselves do not know whether our advertisements will be long or short. Make your guess on a card with your name and address, place this in an envelope and seal. Write on the outside "Fo- Guessing Contest" and bring into our store on or before the 20th of the month. The last day of the month, in the evening, our store will be open to decide the contest. The envelopes will all be thrown on a big table and one envelope at a time will be taken out at random from the heap and opened. The name of the person in the first envelope containing the correct guess will receive a present of a $25.00 Berry spring suit. If no one makes the correct guess the $25.00 suit will go to the nearest guesser. The second nearest guesser will receive a $15.00 smoking jacket. The third will receive a $5.00 Dunlap hat. The next three will receive $2.00 umbrellas. The next five, $1.00 imported white metal soap boxes. The next ten, 50c scarfs. The editor of The News Leader will count the words in our adver- tisements, and his decision will be final. Every word counted above the signature, except those in and a part of the "cut," including words used in explaining the contest. Compound words counted as one word. Prices counted also as one word. Yes, we shall have a Booby Prize. No, we will not describe it, but — it is to laugh. If we have failed to make every point clear, come in or write for details. As to the results had from the scheme, the ad manager has the following to say : We have been using the "Guessing Con- test" for three months past with very great success. We are lit- erally swamped with guesses both through the mail and brought in person, on the 20th of each month. Even after that time the guessers look for our ad every day and keep up with the count to see if their guess is going to be a winner. It is one of the GUESSING CONTESTS 251 best schemes we ever heard of to get the people to read one's advertisements. 310. Guessing When a Clock Will Stop— Anthony Kehl, a jeweler of Connersville, Ind., recently used a good plan to get people to visit his store. He says it was a great success and tells about it as follows: *1 wanted to get the people to look in my show window and wanted them to come into the store to see my stock. This free guessing contest did the work, for while it was in progress fully two thousand people visited the store. The details of the plan were as follows : "Prominently in one of my windows, I displayed a small, gold plated, twenty-four hour clock ; above it, an attractive show- card stated that the clock would be wound at 9 o'clock on a cer- tain morning and the person guessing nearest to the number of minutes it would run would receive $5 in gold. The second near- est would receive the gold clock. "In our store we had a large box on the order of a ballot box and any one wishing to guess was furnished with a blank card on which they wrote their name and address and guess and deposited the ticket in the box. No one was allowed to have more than one guess and every one was given to understand that if their name appeared on more than one ticket, all tickets with that name on them would be thrown out. "Of course this scheme would not work unless it was given publicity through the newspapers. The total amount that was spent on this scheme including the cost of prizes and advertising was about $25, and I will say that it is a scheme that will cer- tainly draw a crowd and cause lots of fun and talk." 311. Contests to Advertise Workingmen's Sales — The Stumpf & Langhoff stores of Milwaukee hold regularly a semi- annual sale, during which workingmen's goods are featured ex- clusively. These sales are liberally advertised and have come to be widely known in and around Milwaukee. One of their Work- ingmen's Sales was advertised by a novel contest. As a border to a full page advertisement, fifteen pictures were used. Each It Mi r ¥ 252 SALES PLANS one represented a man working at his trade and surrounded by his tools. For instance, there was a carpenter, a blacksmith, a miller, a moulder, etc. Twenty-five prizes were offered to the first persons sending in a correct list of the trades represented. The prizes were as follows : For the first five correct answers, a 44-piece dinner set each ; second five, a nickel watch each ; third five, a fountain pen each ; the next ten, a Japanese ash tray each. The pictures were all exceptionally good so that anyone with any knowledge of trades could tell at a glance the ones represented. During an- other sale, all of the show windows were piled high with goods, not with any view of showing off the garments, but to get as much goods as possible in each window. Garments of all kinds were piled as thickly as possible from floor to ceiling. Then it was advertised that valuable prizes would be awarded to the persons guessing nearest to the correct number of garments in the windows. The first prize was a $15 winter overcoat; second, a pair of $5 trousers ; third, a $3 hat. 312. A Penny Guessing Contest — A guessing scheme was conducted by Ray P. Schultz, manager of the Geo. A. Martin clothing store at Earlham, la. Twenty-five silver dollars were offered to the person or persons who guessed nearest the number of pennies that were displayed in a tray in a show window. Mr. Schultz explains the details of his scheme as follows : "Our penny guessing contest was a grand success. I first bought $35 worth of pennies and had the cashier withhold a certain number of them, the number withheld being unknown to himself and myself. The balance were piled on a tray and placed in the window. I also had the prize of $25 in the same window. "For every $1 purchase the customer was entitled to one guess : with a $10 purchase ten guesses were allowed, and so on. The name and guesses of each customer were written on a sepa- rate ticket and put in a sealed box which was not opened until December 25. On that day the cashier and myself counted the pennies in the store before all the people, so that everyone would be satisfied as to the fairness of the count. The prize of $25 was GUESSING CONTESTS 253 to be given to the person or persons guessing nearest the correct number, and in my contest, the number was 3,300 even and five people got the prize, which made $5 each ; a very nice Christmas present. "The contest started November 7 and lasted till December 25. ' During this time there were 1,300 guesses registered, each one of which represented a purchase of one dollar, although this does not represent the sales for that period, as many purchases were under one dollar." The Martin store sells clothing exclu- sively and considering that the population of Earlham is only 800, the returns from this scheme were rema'rkably good. 313. Every Twentieth Purchase Free— The E. B. Henry Dry Goods Co., Enid, Okla., published the following in a large advertisement, announcing a ten days' sale: "Beginning Wednesday, April 26, every twentieth purchase will be returned to the purchaser. The cashier will keep accurate account of every purchase. When the twentieth purchase is made and check returned to the desk, it will be stamped *Free,' and the money returned to the purchaser. Every time a purchase is given away a big bell will ring. Listen for the bell." The results of this sale were very satisfactory. During the ten days of the sale four and a half per cent of the receipts were returned, while business was increased about one-third. Many of the customers, who were fortunate enough to have their money leturned, spread the news among their friends, and in this way the sale was very liberally advertised. In fact, the advertising obtained in this way was of more effect than that had through the newspapers. 314. An TTnusnal Gnessing Contest — The ways of the ad- vertiser are indeed devious and full of surprises, but it remained for an Indiana merchant to make use of a barnyard rooster as an advertisement. A Veedersburg merchant put a big rooster in his show window and advertised that the person guessing nearest to the number of feathers on the bird would receive a prize of ten dollars. Other prizes were offered for the next nearest estimates. A guess was allowed with every twenty-five cent purchase and Ill W^' 5^ 11 i» p I 254 SALES PLANS on Christmas day the rooster was killed and the feathers counted. The novelty of the scheme attracted quite a good deal of atten- tion. 315. Distributing a Clothing Circular — J. E. Hood & Co., clothiers and furnishers in Sparta, 111., got out a capital circular to advertise their new fall stock. It was a single sheet a little less than the size of an ordinary newspaper page and was headed *'Men's Wear." The copy was cleverly written and the illustra- tions (in stipple) were excellent. They showed a number of the leading styles in suits, overcoats, etc., which were described at some length and, of course, priced. Instead of sending out these circulars in the usual way, each one was placed in a folder lithographed in exact imitation of a bank book filled with bills, checks, etc. Each book had a num- ber and on the inside was the following: "KEEP THIS BOOK— it may be valuable. Compare the number in red ink on the front cover with the prizes in the win- dows at HOOD'S YELLOW FRONT. If your number cor- responds with the number on any article displayed, you will be presented with the same free." Then followed a list of ten prizes, the first being a pair of $4 shoes and the last a choice of any article worth 25 cents. The prizes were displayed prominently in the show window and the winning numbers were selected at random by the editor of a local paper. On a specified date the numbers were placed on the articles in the window and the prizes were awarded. 316. Helping the Sales on TTnderwear — Earl A. Hulse, pro- prietor of *The Underwear Store," Toledo, O., held a contest in which a prize of two suits of the best underwear in the house was oflFered to the person who should guess nearest to the correct number of boxes in the store. Ballots were given visitors as they entered the store and no purchase was necessary in order to make a guess. Many people were interested in the scheme and came to look over the store to estimate the number of boxes. Another good idea was used by Mr. Hulse to reduce his stock in a certain line. He had on hand a lot of garments that ■ GUESSING CONTESTS 255 cost $4, which he wished to get rid of without cutting the price, which was 50 cents per garment. The following advertisement accomplished the purpose: ONE SUIT OF UNDERWEAR FREE WITH EVERY TWO SUITS PURCHASED SATURDAY. We have too much 50c underwear. To reduce our stock quickly and avoid cutting the price on such good quality, we will give you one suit free with every two suits purchased Saturday at $1 per suit. Look elsewhere first; then come here— our quality sells without an argument. This advertisement sold the underwear and reduced stock quickly without cutting the price, which would have had to be marked up again, as the goods were staple. Nothing was lost ; prices were not demoralized and altogether the results were most satisfactory. 317. A Carpet Free— Friend's housefrrnishing establish- ment in Pittsburg conducted an unusual gift scheme. It is ex- plained in the following quotation from a newspaper advertise- ment: "Do you understand our offer of a Brussels Carpet abso- lutely Free ? It's this way : We place six letters of the alpha- bet in an envelope, which is sealed and handed to the business manager of The Press. The envelope will be opened next week, and the customer whose family name contains more of these let- ters than are contained in the name of any other customer, will receive a Brussels Carpet absolutely free of charge. "For example, say we select the letters. A, B, C, D, E, F. Any person having such a name as Abcrombie would stand a fine chance of winning the carpet, for this name contains four of the six letters in question. "It makes no difference how small the amount of your pur- chase, nor whether you buv furniture, carpets or any article for household use or adornment. Just leave your name and address with the salesman and they will be placed on record. In case two or more persons have names containing the same number of letters, the one who made his or her purchase first will be de- clared the winner." N h- 256 SALES PLANS 318. A Grocer's Guessing Contest — F. E. Shank, of Lan- sing, Mich., filled one of his windows with a great lot of package crackers and invited the public to guess as to the number of pack- ages. The contest is explained in the following clipping from an advertisement : "We have placed in our window an enormous stock of fresh biscuits direct from the factory. Everybody knows what these crisp, handy lunch biscuits are : , "The contest will be conducted as follows: Each person buying a package of these biscuits at our store within the next ten days will be given a free guess as to the number of packages stacked in the window. "The person guessing the right number or coming the near- est will be given one dozen packages free ; the second will be given ten packages free; the third, six packages and the fourth and fifth, four packages each. All that is required is to purchase one 5c package of biscuit." 319. Guessing the Size of a Collar — The Washington Shirt Company of Chicago is constantly doing out of the ordinary things to keep itself well within the focus of the public eye. One of its latest advertising schemes was a guessing contest. An enormous collar, some three or four feet in circumference and a foot or more in height was placed in the show window and prizes were offered to the persons guessing its correct size. To the person making the first correct guess a $5 umbrella was given ; to the next was given a dozen collars and the third received one-half dozen collars. 320. A Clothing Store Contest — The Famous Stores in Durango, Col., made the following offer: "Whoever guesses nearest to the number of men's suits in the store will have the choice of any man's suit in the house. Whoever guesses nearest the number of youths' suits in the store has the choice of any youth's suit free, and whoever guesses nearest the number of boys' suits in the store has the choice of any boy's suit free. Every one can guess. All you have to do is to call at the store and write your guess in a book and sign your name and address. GUESSING CONTESTS 257 321. Advertising a Refrigerator— Pike & ISIadoc, of Utica, N. Y., held a guessing contest last season to advertise their re- frigerators. They placed 145 pounds of ice in a refrigerator at 9 o'clock Monday morning, and offered the refrigerator, which was valued at $23, free to the person who guessed closest to the number of pounds it would contain the following Saturday at 9:30 o'clock. A guess was allowed with every cash sale. 322. A Cash Register Contest— Elbert's grocery store, of Cambridge City, Ind., offered a handsome prize of a $15 four- piece silver tea set to the person who came nearest guessing the number of times they would open their cash register during the month. The final inspection took place on the last day of the month, in the presence of a large number of customers, and it was found that 4,851 registers had been made. 323. A Window Show and Guessing Contest— Pushman's Rug Store in Chicago had an Armenian rug weaver in one of their windows for several weeks. For several hours each day he worked away at a handsome rug, illustrating the painstaking care with which oriental rugs are made. In connection with the exhibit was a guessing contest, the rug being presented to the person guessing closest to the number of stitches required to make it. 324. How Many Collars?— The Hub Clothing Store in Helena, Mont., had a window display of collars and prizes were offered to the person guessing nearest to the correct number shown. Two dozen collars were given for the closest guess and one dozen for the next closest. One guess was allowed for every collar purchased and the scheme resulted in a tremendous sale. >^ 1 1\m CHAPTER XV. PACKAGE SALES. The Post Office Department has ruled that Package Sales are in the nature of a lottery and therefore cannot be advertised in newspapers that are sent through the mails. For this reason merchants who contemplate conducting Package Sales should make arrangements to advertise them by means of circulars, post- ers or otherwise than through the newspapers. Package sales would not be appropriate for all stores, but there are many in which they could be used. 325. Surprise Package Sale— C. E. Longley & Co., of Woon- socket, R. L, used what they call a "Surprise Package Sale." The following is from a half page display advertisement used to announce the sale : "a free gift for you ! COME AND TAKE IT AWAY. "Owing to the tremendous increase in our business this season, amounting to over a third more than in any previous season, we feel called upon to celebrate in an extraordinary manner the approval the public has bestowed upon our liberal business methods and low price policy. To this end we shall give away $425.00 worth of merchandise. It will be just like finding money. "To every customer purchasing goods to the amount of $1 or over at our store on Saturday, June 13, we will give an opportunity to select one of our Surprise Packages. Each package contains something of value taken from our regular stock such as light and winter overcoats, suits, trousers, fancy vests, boys' suits and overcoats, underwear, shirts, gloves, sweaters, suspenders, etc. These surprise packages will be of uniform size as far as possible and will all look alike, so no one, not even ourselves, can tell what any of them contains. "Some will get overcoats, others suits; every body will get some- thing for nothing. Here are the only restrictions: Whatever package PACKAGE SALES 259 you first put your hand on, you must take. Handling the packages will not be allowed. Packages or their contents cannot be exchanged and tw package can be opened in the store." Longley & Co. were well pleased with the results of the sale ; this is what they have to say about it : "The surprise sale is a 'winner.' It is particularly good in a dull season to make trade lively for a Saturday or even for two days. For the prize packages, we used small shirt boxes which were all as near the same size as possible. Each one must contain something. A coat spring, necktie, suspenders, handker- chief or something similar will answer very well for most of the boxes. In some of the boxes I put suits (some of them mis- mated), in others, overcoats, trousers, vests, etc. If the mer- chant so desires, he can see that these packages of clothing will get into the hands of people who will advertise him. This may be done by putting a private mark upon the boxes. "Sales of this kind are an excellent way to get rid of old shop- worn stock. One Saturday I put out about 1,000 packages in which the goods cost not more than $100 when new. They were for the most part old, however, and would not have brought more than $25 at auction. In these sales, while most of the packages may contain old goods, some of the articles to be given away should be bright and new even if. cheap. "The boxes should be wrapped in clean paper and piled close to the glass in the show window. Exhibited thus, and supple- mented with appropriate signs, they will make quite a show. Any one who tries this scheme may be sure of a big day no matter liow dull the season. We intend to make a regular thing of the surprise package sale and will hold them three or four times a year or as often as a sufficient number of boxes accumulate." 326. Another Package Sale— The Model Clothing Co., of Albert Lea, Minn,, used a similar package sale. They explain the plan as follows: "We made a display of the best articles such as the overcoat, suit, pants, shirts, ties, etc.. in one of our windows with the pack- ages piled up behind them completely filling the window and making a very effective display. On the garments displayed, we i 260 SALES PLANS I -'^l > had cards stating that a duplicate of this article would be given away Friday and Saturday to our customers. Every person pur- chasing goods to the amount of two dollars or more to receive a present of value. We advertised the sale in all the local papers, giving a partial list of the articles to be given away. The accom- panying advertisement is a sj)ecimen of those used in the news- papers, the original being three columns in width : THIS IS THE DAY I \2VE> OIVE> I * Last Friday and Saturday we gave our hundreds of presents to our customers but on account of the rush, a large number who came in late, were disappointed. This week we are prepared to accommodate a larger number of people, so that no one will be disappointed. Here Is a List d! Some of me flrticles Wftlcn Will Go Into Pur Surprise Packages Men's Suit, Talue^lS.OO Handkerchief* Men's Overcoat, value S8.00 Ties Hats, 11.00 to 12.00 values Boys' Suit Gloves— Adler's make Boys' Overcoat President Suspeoden Overalls Swefttera Mot's Pants Hosiery" And in Akct Some article out ot Each line In our stock Each tnstonier purchasing $2.00 or over wilt b« entitled to oile of the packages. You may get a suit or you may Rct an overcoat. Every customer will eet somethine of value. Whatever number yott draiT will cost 3rou at>solutcly nothing. It will be like finding money. model Glotliliig Gampany "On Thursday evening we placed signs on all the roads lead- ing into the city, stating that $200 WILL BE GIVEN AWAY ON FRIDAY AND SATURDAY BY THE MODEL CLOTHING CO. CALL AND SEE THEM. "By doing this everybody coming to the city from the country en those two days were notified of the sale. We also used hand- bills on the streets, so the sale was thoroughly advertised. It was a WINNER, as our sales for the two days amounted to $863.14, PACKAGE SALES 261 which was very good, as business was at a standstill owing to wet weather. *-We could not get enough boxes of the same size so we numbered every box after it was wrapped and had correspond- ing numbers in small sealed envelopes placed in a collar box which we handed to the customer to select from. After domg ^o he would present his number at the window where we had a boy who would give him the package with that number on. We intend to work the scheme every two or three months as we be- lieve it is a very novel plan to work off a lot of odds and ends." 327. Package Sales— Below are given announcements of two sales which, if not new, at least have always proved successful when tried. The following is quoted from the advertisement of Frank E. Pearl, a jeweler of Hutchinson, Kans.: GRAB SALE. "Beginning at 9 a. m. Saturday, November 14th, I will place on sale one thousand packages containing merchandise^ from my stock con- sisting of watches, clocks, rings, brooches, silverware, etc ranging m value from 25 cents to $12.00. The packages will be wrapped separately and no one will know what the package contains until it is opened. Every package is guaranteed to be worth at least 25 cents and some as high as $12.00. Twenty-five cents buys a package; come and try your luck and remember there are no blanks." SPECIAL PRIZES. "In this lot of packages is one Gentleman's Gold Filled Watch, one Ladies' Gold Filled Watch, one Genuine Diamond Ring and others nearly as valuable." A somewhat similar sale is advertised by H. T. Bedell, of Rochester, Minn. His advertisement explained the plan as fol- lows: 10 CENT PACKAGE SALE. Saturday afternoon, Nov. 7, at The Snnshine Store. We have ar- ranged in our display window a large number of packages which will be sold at lo cents each. No article is of less value than lo cents and many are worth 35 cents and 50 cents. The idea is a novel one. The purchaser will not be allowed to exchange after purchase is made. Each article is nicely wrapped. Be on hand at 2 o'clock and select any that .s desired from the lot. There will be plenty of fun m the purchasing. 1 l»r ti.^ 262 SALES PLANS M U s TMt TIektt EntniM ttit IMd«r lo Ont Chanet on $361.00 WORTH OF PRIZES Flr«t Prizt, Sidtboard worth $200.00 Soeond Prizo, 3 Pairs Laeo Curtains worth. . .60.00 Third Prizo. 9 X 12 Wilton Rug worth 35.00 Fourth Prizo, Sowing Maehino worth 35.00 fiHh Prizo, 40 Yds. of China Matting worth... M 00 Sixth Prizo, Room of Wall Papor worth 10.00 Sovonth Prizo, Largo Carpot Swoopor worth ... 5.00 HARRY H. SMITH & CO. Furniture, Carpets. Wall Paper and Curtains, Cboapsido and East Broad Stroot, ELYRIA.O. TWO STORES. ELYRIA.O. SEVEN PRIZES SEVEN PRIZES CO CVi CO CM To be Drawn July 2, 1904 To be Drawn July 2, 1904 328. A Successful Drawing Contest— One of the best tests as to the worth of an advertising scheme Hes in the question whether or not the merchant would care to use the same plan a second time. Harry H. Smith & Co., of Elyria, O., has been using a gift scheme for several years with a good deal of suc- cess. The following is Mr. Smith's explanation of the plan: "One year ago this spring we conducted a drawing contest in which we gave away from our stock five prizes having an aggregate value of $200.00. This contest was highly successful and in six months our business increased more than $6,000. 'This year we are offering seven prizes amounting in value to $316.00. We give a coupon ticket like the accompanying one with every purchase of 50c at either of our two stores. The cou- pon is detached and deposited in a large box which is shaken up to thoroughly mix the coupons. The customer retains the ticket and the drawing will take place on July 2, 1904. A com- mittee of three or four newspaper men will act as a committee to supervise the drawing. We hold the drawing in our show window which is in itself a good advertisement. "While the scheme is in progress, we advertise it thoroughly and display the prizes in our windows. This attracts a great deal of attention to the store and makes a fine ad. Several days .before the drawing comes off we announce the date in large, bold type in our newspaper advertisements, and when the time arrives our windows are surrounded by a large crowd anxiously waiting with their ticket for the prizes to be drawn. We adver- tise very extensively in other ways but have found that this brings us better and more direct results than any other means." PACKAGE SALES 263 329 A Circus Day Plan— Friedman Bros., Caldwell, O., have the following to say of a plan they used to draw a crowd to their store one dav when a circus was showing m their city. The scheme is not new except for a few details that were altered to suit the occasion. Here is the plan as they describe it: -We had a large number of tickets printed like the one be- low and each ticket had a serial number. The tickets were thor- oughly distributed and throughout the day great numbers of people called at the store to leave their tickets. The tea urn offered as the prize was exhibited in a show window with appro- I/o. 2082 REWARD! We will present to the party who brings to us the lucky number before 6.30 p. m. Show Day, a fine silver Tea Urn displayed in our Show- Window. You may be the winner. FRIEDMAN BROS., CALDWELL, OHIO. Sisn here No one allowed to deposit more than one ticket. rriate cards and attracted much attention. The winner was de- cided by chance, a number having been selected at random and placed in a sealed envelope. "Altogether the plan was very satisfactory. The store was crowded from morning till evening and a splendid business was done The most important effect, however, was the new cus- tomers that the ad brought. Many people came to the store for the first time and we were able to interest a number of them in paving us a second visit. We followed this up with a half- page ad announcing the winner. We are of the opinion that this scheme paid for itself several times over." »^' li ) . I 111 III ll CHAPTER XVI. SENSATIONAL ADVERTISING. Different methmls have to be used bv different stores in (^rder to (h-aw trade. Much depends upon the class of customers that patronize the store. Some stores that enjoy a very high class trade can afford to be very conservative in their methods— they hold, and with reason, that any advertising that could be considered in the least undionificd, would be distasteful to their patrons. However, the stores that can afford to stand always upon their dignity, are few and far between. Most stores sell to a popular trade— that is, they sell to all classes, and in order to reach the greatest number, they must employ methods that an exclusive store might consider beneath its dignity. Many stores take the ground that a store must plan its advertising methods to make them appeal to the greatest possible number of people in their trade territory. 330. A Cinderella Slipper Contest— One of the most novel advertising schemes that has ever come to our notice was con- ducted by Curme, Davis & Gray, shoe dealers in Richmond, Ind. It was a daring scheme and one which might easily have' been made a failure of. In this case, however, thorough preparation and careful management made it a tremendous success. In a few words, the scheme was this: The store had made for it the finest ])air of slippers that could be bought and offered them to the woman whose foot they fitted the best, the fitting to be public. The newspaper announcement was made in a large dis- play advertisement, the text of which was as follows: SENSATIONAL ADVERTISING 265 CINDERELLA SLIPPER CONTEST AT CURME'S SHOE STORE! The contest will not be restricted to marriageable young ladies, as in the fairy story, but will be open to all ladies whether married or single, as the object of the contest is not to secure a bride for a fabled prince, but is for the purpose of exhibiting the skill and handiwork of the makers of our Ladies' Slippers; neither are the slippers made of glass, but as becomes this more practical age, are useful as well as orna- mental, and the lady who is fortunate enough to win them will wear the finest pair of slippers in the city. The slippers which we will give away at this contest were made for us expressly for this purpose by the N. D. Dodge & Bliss Co., of New- buryport, Mass., the leading slipper manufacturers of this country, and are as fine as it is possible to make them. All that is required of the contestants is to try on the slippers and they will be awarded to the lady that they exactly fit. Mr Harry W. Gilbert of this city, a thoroughly competent judge, will have charge of the contest, and will decide upon the winner and make the award. Mr. Curme gives the details of the plan as follows: *'We held our Cinderella slipper contest on Saturday evening, April 22, and it was successful far in excess of our anticipations. We conceived the idea that this might be a good scheme to en- liven the Easter trade, for while it was rather a bold stroke, bemg along an entirely different line of advertising to us, still we thought we would risk it. We had some doubts in our mind as to whether the better class of ladies would publicly try on a slipper in a contest of this kind and reahzed that a failure of the affair would be a bad thing for us, but we thought its possible success warranted the chance and our belief in this regard was fully sustained by the result. We do not know whether a Cin- derella slipper contest is an entirely original scheme, but it cer- tainly is as far as we are concerned, as we never heard of any- thing of the kind before and this fact naturally made us uneasy as to the outcome. "We had a very fine pair of patent colt slippers elegently beaded with cut steel beads, size i B, made for us by the N. D. Dodge & Bliss Co., Newburyport, Mass. We fixed up our win- dow on Wednesday preceding the contest, to represent as nearlv as possible a scene from the Cinderella fairy tale. The base of *> i:f 26G SALES PLANS the window was covered with genuine growing grass, through which was cut a winding graveled driveway which led up to two wide steps, above which was the gilded entrance of the ball room. This was constructed diagonally across a rear corner of the window. The staircase was constructed of boards gilded with bronze, in the center of which was rich velvet carpet. There was a large gilded arched entrance to the ball room, which was fitted with heavy portieres hanging from the arch, at each side of the arch were supporting columns capped with electric lights upon each column, the electric lights being in the elongated bulbs tapering to a sharp point. At the foot of the staircase upon either side were large growing Easter lilies in full bloom, on one of the steps was the Cinderella slipper which was sup- posed to have been dropped by Cinderella after her flight from the ball room a minute after twelve o'clock, the hour being in- dicated by a clock in the tower above the entrance. In the gravel driveway in front of the place was a pumpkin drawn by six mice, the driver seated on top of the pumpkin being also a mouse. "All of this was to portray the scene in the Cinderella fable that Cinderella's coach, driver and six black horses, which had been transformed by the fairy Godmother from a pumpkin and mice, had been changed back into their original condition after the hour of twelve. Simultaneously with our window display we published large advertisements in the newspapers, describing the contest. All of these ads were after the order of the one shown above, all being in display type, of course. We supple- mented this with numerous locals concerning the affair, and con- tinuously, up to the time of the contest, our window was be- sieged with a large crowd of people. The contest was in charge of Mr. Harry Gilbert, who was formerly in the shoe business in this city. At 7 o'clock Saturday evening, when Mr. Gilbert commenced to try on the slipper, and for nearly three hours we had the biggest crowd ever seen in a shoe store in Richmond, newspaper reporters in their write-ups of the affair estimated the number at two thousand. The biggest surprise of the whole affair was the class of people who attended, as the contestants and spectators consisted of the best people in the city and the slippers were finally awarded to a prominent young society lady SENSATIONAL ADVERTISING 267 but recently married. The slipper fitted seven or eight of the contestants very nicely, and it would have been difficult to have decided between some of them, but they fitted the wmner per- fectly The judge stated that he had never seen such a pertect fit ; they appeared to have been molded on the foot, being abso- lutely perfect in every way. „ , , j -i "The contest attracted such attention that all of the daily papers wrote up lengthy articles about it, as news items, without cost to us and all of them after the contest wrote similar articles describing the contest and giving us very flattering mention con- cerning the affair. As an advertising scheme we think it su- perior to anything we ever heard of, the contest was the talk of the town 'for a week, and we believe has done us more good than years of advertising in the ordinary way could do. the whole scheme was conceived and worked out by Mr. Percy A. Gray of this firm. 331 A Sensational Scheme-The Davis & Waters Com- panv, of Waterloo, la., believe that "a little dash of the sensa- tional" is a very good thing occasionally to wake the people up. This novel scheme to advertise the beginning of a Mill Kem- nant Sale" was recently conducted by them with great success. The plan is explained in the following clipping from an article which appeared in two of the Waterloo papers : This progressive firm is not content to do as others do. but con- tinually "do things different." In talking to a representative »« «he K^- r<:l!'this morning, they gave it out that at 4:00 o^'^f^J^^^^yJ^^^;^ ruary i8th. they will let go from the second story of their big store on Commercial street 1. live pigeons. Each bird will carry a card sectn-e ly tied to it, on which will be written the name of some article of mer '"'"The cards will be large enough to impede the speed of the bird and it will come to the street below, and the person securing the bird and card will be given absolutely free the article marked thereon^ There s no other condftion, so we take it for granted that all are -vted to be on Commercial street Thursday afternoon at 4-.oo o'clock to see and partic- ipate in catching these live pigeons. Following the above notice was a list of good prizes and an advertisement explaining the plan appeared in both newspa- pers The town and surrounding country were flooded with a BiBKiiiliiilliltUHi *n - 268 SALES PLANS good circular advertising the Mill Remnant Sale. Long before the hour appointed for liberating the pigeons, there were fully 3,000 people waiting in the vicinity of Davis & Water's store to see the fun. It was like a crowd waiting for a circus parade and the people were in such numbers that traffic was blocked and the firm was compelled to give the birds their liberty before the advertised time arrived. When the first pigeon was liberated the crowd cheered loudly and each succeeding bird that was tm-ned loose called forth great applause and a wild scramble when it fluttered to the street below. Both newspapers contained lengthy *'free write U])s" of the afifair. This is what Mr. Waters says about the scheme and its results: The idea of liberating prize bearing pigeons came to me and I used it as an inlroduction to a "Mill Remnant Sale." It was the best of all the "sensational" advertising I have ever attempted. We gave out twelve prizes as advertised. Eight were claimed on the day the birds were liberated and on the following day the other four were called for. \\c "played fair" with every one from beginning to end, and allowed the captors of the birds to select their own goods from the best we had in stock. True, the whole thing was most sensational, but it drew and has proved a lasting benefit to us. In the "mill remnant sale" which followed continuously for eight days, we had the utmost difficulty in handling the crowd which thronged the store. We opened for business in Water- loo on June 30, 1903, and our success during one year proved to us that a little of the sensational — say once every six months — pays. We do not depend upon this kind of advertising altogether, however, and keep after the trade between times as well. 332. Poultry Show — A poultry show in a drug store may seem somewhat of an anomaly yet that is what may be seen every year in a New York town. The druggist who conducts it has evidently found it a good advertising venture too, for he has made this exhibition of fowls a regular feature for four or five years. The show was at first held in the drug store proper, but it has now outgrown such limited quarters and is held in some rooms above the store, although the druggist still acts as manager. It is held for the ostensible purpose of advertising a poultry food that the druggist manufactures and sells, but it also serves to advertise the other branches of the drug store. SENSATIONAL ADVERTISING 269 A number of vcars ago the druggi.t began selling pouUry food To intro.lucc the food he offered prizes to loca elncko. f^: ers nil fanners for the heaviest and best fowls of var.ous breeds that had been fed npon food bought fron, hnn. Ih nr Le' Ire not espeeiallv valuable, but the drugg.st js .,une a Saland managed to stir up a good deal of fn-db^nva 1. between the Tw rcand a silver cup as a sweepstake for the best a^Womul Wl The whole lot of premiums did not cost more than h > or sixty dolTars. The booklet bad something to say about the poultr^fo^ and about the druggisfs prescription department rwell as the other branches of his business. It was thorougbK circulated throughout the town and surroundmg <^«"""^> " This show was a great success and so have been those that bave flowed. They fast three days and are well at.endec^no only by the farmers but by the townspeople as well. \\ .th fl mers however, thev are especially popular. These shov . iavTg ven the drtiggist a footing with the country people thai he couUnllve got in no other way and have been d.rectly respons.ble for a large and profitable country trade. 333. Wanted-1,000 Cats-A great many odd ^ ^^^ wavs have been adopted by merchants to gam pubhc>t> for the r lo es blft most advertisers have overlooks the possd,.l.t,es of ro^dinar house cat as a medium of publicity. Frazer Uroth- er of Topeka, Kansas, evidently do not believ. m st.kmg ^. the beaten path in advertising their grocery store. Thc> ad vtrtised ?n the Sundav papers that they wanted one thousand cS and would pay a' liberal price for every full f^rown fehn . ate and in gooVhealth, delivered to their store on Monda>. ilt* ] li h i 270 SALES PLANS This advertisement naturally occasioned a good deal of com- ment, for the people of Topeka could not understand what need a grocery had of a thousand cats. Some people who professed to have mside information intimated that the cats were to be shipped to an eastern fiddle factory ; others hinted that the tabbies were to be pulverized and mixed with sawdust to make a new breakfast food, and various other theories of equal plausibilitv were advanced. Most people, however, looked upon the ad as a good joke and nothing more. In the meantime, a lot of men and boys with a spirit of commercial enterprise, saw in the ad a business opportunity, and proceeded to get busy with the vis- ible supply of cats. Monday morning saucers of milk remained untasted on many back porches in Topeka— from back doors Tabby was called m vain. When Frazer Brothers opened their store there was a crowd of men and boys waiting around the door with stran-e looking bundles that contained not a thousand cats, perhaps but a very fair representation of the feline population of Topeka There were cats of all kinds-large cats and small ones-society cats with ribbons around their necks, and alley cats with their ears chewed oflF. One man had brought down the familv cat in a bird cage : another had two large-sized ones in a dress suit case • others brought them in baskets, bags and boxes. All of them were paid for and deposited in the rear of the store. Then the object of Frazer Brothers' corner in cats developed. A large advertisement was securely attached to the tail of each, and thus decorated they were "scatted" out of the store. Cats were seen going in all directions, and the advertisements were carried to all parts of the city. Afterward a guessing contest was conducted and a sack of flour was given to persons guessing the exact number of Maltese cats in the lot. One guess was allowed with each ten cent purchase. 334. Throwing Goods Away— For several years Reid & Con- ger have been using what they call a "Throw Away" scheme. The plan is simply to throw a lot of merchandise from the top of their building to be scrambled for by a crowd in the street below. The SENSATIONAL ADVERTISING 271 goods thrown away is old stock that would be difficult to sell, so the cost is inconsiderable, and they say that the advertis- ing they get from the plan is all out of proportion to its cost. The scramble is adver- tised for about a week before it occurs, and on the day that the goods are to be thrown away a great crowd of spec- tators is lined up along the street to see the fun. City policemen are detailed to keep order, and reporters from all the papers are on hand to write up the lively scene to follow. In fact, the people of Clinton make quite an event of the scramble and the store gets a great deal of publicity from it. The accompanying repro)uld bt accepted— bnt it is not in sight and we pro- pose to ose them as a big drawi«f, card to attract the people to oar store at the hour mentioned. BE ON HflND PROMPTLY ^t 4^.clock - Saturday when we will throw i^ from the roof of tbc HOW E S ^ BLOCK Twenty Boxes of Cloak* -,, and Jackets and they beloo|: tar •* whoever secures them. LflST YEflR WE THREW AWAY 5^753 worth xndiht crowd it attracted blocked the entire streets aroood our «tdre. it took half a do«n poUce to «=;>'^ * ^"X for vehicles -and the street car line-with p«p^i "V. , publicity we expect to double the crowd and have notur will give an idea of the way «^'Kl" win£%'"iS,''o'f:«.e^'-ib u» 1 ^' J itMaks oresent to take snap .hols »t the »»l>eiice-- the scheme was advertised. 5f^'„'.?the people to kefpperiectirq^ttiutjjj . • i1 „,, kive » BOOd picture of Ihemselvcs-t! « tlirtw Raid & Conner explain the Si»Je.tfoprel,™.rder--= «m p.rehj«»4 l\cm vx. -, 1 present one of these photograph! 10 ttaperK«tt»M» details of thoir plan as toi- the te st pkwe. lows : , We have used these '"Throw Away" schemes for several vears. Considering the cost, we believe it to he one of the hest advertising schemes we have ever tried. The last -scramble was for ladies' jackets, and while the original price was $167.25. as advertised, they were coats and jackets that had been earned over from previous seasons and had no real value. They were much better out of our stock than in it. even if they had to be ..iven awav. We showed one fairly good garment on a form .n The window, and the rest, some twenty or more, were put up m 272 SALES PLANS SENSATIONAL ADVERTISING 273 1 I I lar^e cloak boxes. The boxes were corded, and the size of the enclosed garment marked on them in large figures. These were stacked np conspicuously in the window for a week or more be- fore the day of the scramble. A large show card in the window explained what was to be done with the jackets. We made the hour for throwing the things away, four o'clock, to give the peo- ple plenty of time to do their shopping and to hold those who would otherwise have gone home earlier. The affair lasted forty-five minutes and was a great success. Every time a bundle was thrown down there was wild applause in the street and the good natured struggle that followed until some one got final possession of the box, was a source of great amusement to the hundreds of spectators. A similar scheme was employed by a large clothing house in Tandergrift, Pa. They advertised that between six and seven o'clock in the evening of a certain day, they would throw from the top of their building, bundles containing full suits of men's and boys' clothes. Thirty packages were to be thrown away, and each one was guaranteed to contain a full suit of clothes. The advertisement further stated that if the suits were not sat- isfactory they could be exchanged the next week. They give the following account of the scramble : "At the hour set there was a crowd of at least 8oo people in front of the store, and to make things more interesting we had the Vandegrift Band out, which played while the suits were being s'^rown away. It was the greatest excitement ever created in this city, and the best efforts of the police were required to keep the crowd away from the windows. It was the talk of the town for weeks. *Tf any other merchant were to try the same scheme, how- ever, we would advise them to advertise that no children would be allowed in the scramble, as there were two small boys injured in ours. In our scheme there was also a slight misunderstand- ing. The suits we threw away were mainly for boys and children, and some of the men who got child's suits had the idea that they could exchange them for men's suits without paying any dif- ference. All said, however, it was a grand success." 335. Money at Reduced Prices — Some time ago a merchant in Washington, D. C, advertised that he would sell new one dollar bills for 90 cents each for two hours on a certain date. He kept his word and during the sale a string of people more than a block long was standing waiting for their turn to get into the store. One thousand new treasury notes were wrapped up and delivered to customers while the sale lasted. Whatever ad- vertising the merchant got out of the scheme cost him $100. A St. Louis merchant used a similar scheme but a less ex- pensive one. He advertised five-dollar gold pieces at the bargain price of $4.98 and his sale, too, was limited to two hours. This sale also was a great success in the sense that it drew an enor- mous crowd. People fairly fought their way to the counter where the gold pieces were being sold. The cost of this sale was not more than $20. There is no doubt that advertising of this sort brings pub- licity. It certainly creates talk and gets the name of the store be- fore the public. Whether or not it pays is a question that would be hard to answer, but we are inclined to doubt it. E. C. Quinby, who conducts a clothing store in Carthage, III., succeeded in getting his store talked about a great deal by an outlay of $30. A merchant in the same line of business, across the street from. Mr. Quinby, was conducting a sale that had been well advertised and was doing lots of business. Mr. Quinby decided that it was up to him to do something. He went to a bank and procured 600 new silver dollars. These he placed in a show window with a card that read as follows: "A real bargain — Silver Dollars at 95 Cents. Customers must make their own change. One sold at a time." In a very short time the window was besieged by people stopping to get a glimpse and it was only a little time before the news had spread all over the city. In the rush that followed the 6cx) dollars did not last long. Quite a little extra business was done and Mr. Quinby expresses himself as perfectly satisfied with the results. 336. An Original Street Car Ad — A small boy on a trolley tar between Yonkers and Mount Vernon, N. Y., recently attracted a good deal of attention. Small boys on trolley cars are common t V, 274 SALES PLANS SENSATIONAL ADVERTISING 275 I t» r^m enough but this youngster was an unusually small specimen to be riding about by himself. The thing that attracted attention, how- ever, was a large tag tied around the little fellow's neck. That card was the center of attraction for everyone in the car. "It's a shame,'* said a stout old gentleman, *The idea of shipping babies about town as though they were express packages. I suppose that card tells the name of the street where he is to be put off— I'll look and see." He moved up to the youngster and turned the tag over. What he read on it caused him to resume his se^t somewhat hur- riedly. • Several other passengers took the trouble of examining the inscription on the card and all of them returned to their seats with a smile. Then they leaned back and waited for others to examine the tag. All new comers in the car were watched closely. Each one would glance at the little fellow, then notice the tag and, his curiosity being aroused, would crane his neck and twist himself into all sorts of uncomfortable positions to read the inscription. The expression on his face after he had read it was the cause of more laughter than an ordinary one ring circus. The inscription on the card was as follows: ''Don't worry about me. I'm going to Blank's Shoe Store — They sell the best shoes in town for the money" 337. Gave Away Shirts — Krause Bros., haberdashers in Indianapolis, found themselves with a large lot of boys' stiff- bosomed shirts on hand. Now, boys generally are strongly op- posed to shirts with stiff bosoms, so as they would not sell, Krause Bros, determined to give them away. They advertised that at 7 130 on a specified morning a good shirt would be given to each of fifty deserving boys. That ad certainly brought results, for by 7 o'clock in the morning a great crowd of boys besieged the haberdasher's door. The distribution began at 7 130, and at 7 :35 the supply of fifty shirts was exhausted, while only a small proportion of the boys had been supplied. A general howl went up from the youngsters who had failed to get a shirt. A careful search, however, brought to light fifty more shirts, and these, too, were passed out to the urchins. The whole transaction lasted no longer than fifteen minutes, but throughout the day, small, tattered boys appeared at the store in quest of free shirts. 338. Threw Money Away-A clothier in Youngstown, Ohio, attracted a good deal of attention to his store a few weeks ago by throwing away $100 in pennies to be scrambled for by a crowd of boys. The affair was widely advertised and the 10,000 bright new coppers were exhibited in a great pile in one of the clothier's show windows. Long before the appointed hour, the .treet was filled with boys of all sizes waiting for the shower of pennies When the scramble commenced, it was a truly remark- able sight and afforded amusement for a large crowd of spec- tators who had gathered to see the fun. Max Kleeman & Son, proprietors of a dry goods store at Shelbyville, III, recently adopted a similar plan to get people interested in a special sale. It was advertised that on the morning of the opening day a pint of new pennies would be thrown from the top of the building into the street below. 339. A Photographic Scheme— H. A. Meldrum Co., Buffalo, N Y during a fall sale, had a photographer to take snap shots of the crowds in their store. One picture was taken each day and was published in the newspapers on the following day. Ev- crv one whose face appeared in the photograph was given $2.50 in^ merchandise upon identification within ten days. Nobody knew at what time or in which part of the store the picture would be taken. Each photograph took in about a dozen people. This idea was originated by the Hearst newspapers as an advertismg scheme. Thev sent a photographer through the streets taking pictures of crowds, and anyone whose face appeared was given $5, providing he or she held a copy of the last edition of the Hearst paper. 340 A Freak Scheme-Harry Alschuler, a merchant of Sterling, 111., pasted a $5 bill to the glass on the inside of one o his show windows. Below it a typewritten sheet explained that the bill would be given away on a certain Saturday evening. . « 276 SALES PLANS I '■ I 4 The notice stated that the bill would be given to a man who would be walking on Third street between Avenue A and Second Avenue between the hours of 8 and g o'clock that evening. The first man, woman or child who said to this man (whose identity was unknown to the public, ''Are you the man with Harry Al- schuler's $5 bill?" was to get the money free. It is unnecessary to state that a crowd was drawn to that section of the street where Mr. Alschuler's store is located. 341. The Mysteridus Mr. Bangs— F. A. Corbishley, a clothier in Sandusky, Mich., attracted a good deal of attention to his store by an unusual advertising scheme. In a newspaper ad he published four photographs of a man, but in each picture the face was carefully concealed. The man was dubbed "The Mysterious Mr. Bangs," and a $25 suit or overcoat was offered to the first person to discover his real identity. It was stated that Mr. Bangs was a well known resident of the town and the people were accustomed to meeting him many times each week. For each $1 cash purchase, the customer was given one guess. Dif- ferent poses of Mr. Bangs were published every day. Variations of this plan have been used by a number of stores. 342. An Old Scheme Revived — Redlick's store in Fresno, Cal., recently published the following advertisement in local morning papers. This scheme in a different form was used suc- cessfully several years ago to advertise a popular book : "This afternoon between 2 and 4 o'clock, a man will walk from the postoffice north on J street to Fresno, west on Fresno to I, south on I to Tulare and east on- Tulare to the postoffice. He will be smooth shaven, light complexioned, wearing a light colored suit of clothes. He is about 5 feet 7 inches tall ; he will have a package containing a pair of Walk Over shoes. The first man who approaches him, shows him this advertisement, cut from this paper, and at the same time says : 'Do you wear Walk Over shoes ?' and to whom he will answer : 'Yes, you bet I do,* will be given an order on this store for a pair of the finest Walk Over shoes made, free of charge. INDEX. K- o Jo thu index refer to sections, not pages. Thus, A Japanese Sale ,';„«:nra*d.«Hpt';ororrjapan.« Sal. w„. b. found under .ecUon ,. A Benefit Sale, Employes* ....... ; IJ Big Store's Christmas Advertising.. 55 Black Tag Sale ^J Booklet, A Shoe • 21« of Christmas Suggestions o* Boys, Contest for School 13» Free Rifles for 1*7 Accident Insurance Free 98 Ad Clipping Contest ^J; Ads, Bulletin • •• JJJ Getting People to Read. 309 Training People to Read....... la^ Advertisements, Getting People In- terested in ~"^ Ls-sting ;^^ Advertise a Sale, Contest to ^&^ Advertising, A Clothiers i^^ j^ City "^ A Fancy Work Department.... 293 An optical Department ^^^ A Rebate System JJ^ A Red Tag Sale 225 A Refrigerator ^*; A Shoe Sale ]*l A Special Sale JJ2 Balloons 238 Diamonds • **° For a Hardware Store 213 Inexpensive '^^ Scheme, a Newspaper ^^^ Shoe Store ]lt Testing Newspaper iOjf The Big Store's Christmas 56 Ad Writing Contest.... ^^» Agents, Selling Through ^j» Aluminum Dollars »» Trading Checks i^» Anniversary Contest -*-'» Sales Attraction, A Window.. 192 For Children, Interior 1^» Auction, A Dutch ^*" Auto-Car Contest f^J Automobile, Gave Away an i'>i Santa Claus in an »* Babies, Rings Free to . . . . .,; 139 "Baby Advisory Department J^» Shoes Free 1*1 Balloons, Advertising ^^^^ Balloon Sale „zi Baking Contest • • • W ' u «« Bank Accounts with .$5 Purchases.. 86 Bargain Days, Special «' Days, Monthly '* Lists^ Special ^%^ Man -it Window • l^% Bargains, Unpublished **^ In Livery 25.S Prize Contest for 13J Suits, School Books with 11| Broad Guarantee **^ Bulletin Ads. ••• •• 11% Board. A Traveling..... 2-7 Business Scholarship as Prizes 301 Buttons for School Child/en i-* 103 Candy, Premiums in Carnival Sale ° Carpet Free ■■ ^ii Carriages Sent for Customers 250 Cash Register Contest »-» Souvenirs ^' Catalogue, A Christmas « Selling Shoes by ** That Paid ** Catch Phrase, Prize For 1J6 Celebration, A Jubilee ^^* Certificates, Merchandise 1»» Cinderella Slipper Contest 33U Charity Sale, A Guaranteed ii Sale • -oi Voting Contest for.. 297 Checks, Aluminium Trading 193 Christmas Gift ••:••, ,^f Children, A Contest for School.... 126 A Grab Bag for 134 An Exposition for • *» An Interior Attraction for i^» A Playground for 132 Christmas Contests for 59 Contest for 12* Interesting School l*» Prizes for Pretty 285 Sales Made Through 124 School Buttons for 123 Writing Contest for 130 Christmas Advertising, The Big Store's 55 Catalogue ** Contest for Children »» Gift Checks • ®* Suggestions, A Booklet of 63 Window Show »» *t INDEX 279 I ' b 278 INDEX Circular, A Good 13 Circularizing an Office Building 162 Circus Day Plan 329 City, Advertising a 65 Clean Sweep Sale, Premiums for a.. 121 Clearing Out Dress Goods 21 Out Old Stock 10 Clerk's Sale 32 Clock, Guessing Contest 310 Closing Out Corsets 210 Straw Hats 207 Clothier's Advertising 131 Sale 24 Scheme 1^6 Store Paper 76 Clothing Circular, Distributing A.. 315 Given Away 1^5 Contest 320 Coal as a Premium 93 Coffee and Tea Trade, Pushing 151 Collars Given to Purchasers of Shoes 120 Combination Sale 23 Comparative Prices 45 Comparison Sale ^^ Competition, Fancy Work 294 Meeting Department Store 216 Competitive Sale 29 Contest, A Baking 269 A Cooking Recipe 261 A Ccnundrum 264 A Co-operative Voting 66 A Domino 256 A Hidden Word 262 A Jontly Conducted Piano 70 A Missirtg Word 259 A Picture Puzzle 260 Puzzle 60 A Remodeling Sale 270 A Riddle 267 A Show Window 265 A Unique Voting 127 Ad Clipping 282 An Ad Writing -— — An Auto-Car 266 Anniversary 299 An Original 271 Doll Naming *'** Druggists 286 EsS3V ••.•• ,,.••••• * f*^ for Boys, Prize 136 for Children 129 for Children, A Writing 130 for Children, Christmas 59 for School Boys 138 for School Children 126 Jingle 287 Junior Salesman 122 Photographic 275 Pie Baking . .,. ^»* Proof-Reading *»* Quotation ^zl Store Arrangement fl* Suggestion ...••• ^J; to Advertise a Sale ; • v i" ' oVi to Advertise Workingmen s Sales 311 Word Building 280 Writing 277 Conundrum Contest .....•..-. ^o* Cook- Book. A Loose Leaf 157 Cooking Recipe Contest........... 2hl Co-operative Plan to Draw Trade.. 75 Pumpkin Contest 28» Store Paper »'' Voting Contest 66 Voting Scheme 805 Corn Contests 292 Cure Publicity 234 Corner Drvig Store 149 Corsets, Closing Out 210 Promoting Sale of 219 Sold by the Inch 37 Coupon Premium Plan 89 Cow-Bclls as Souvenirs 244 Crayon Portraits as Premiums 92 Crowd, Drawing an Early 188 Getting a ._ 176 Curios, Exposition of 53 Customers, Getting New 144 D Daily Flyer 189 Leader 180 Special Sale 38 Decorating a Store Without Cost.. 152 Delivciy Service, Rural 150 Department, A Mail Order 40 Baby Advisory 1^5 Managers' Sale 15 Store Competition, Meeting.... 216 Diamonds, Advertising 228 Dinner, A Free 241 Dinners Free With Purchases 117 Dirty Money 160 Display, Hosiery 200 Displays for Women, Hardware.... 163 Ten Cent Hardware 181 Distributing a Clothing Circular 315 Dollar Day 68 Dollars, Aluminum 88 Doll Naming Contest 281 Dolls. Free 60 Show 13| Domestic Help Department 24^ Domino Contest 256 Drawing an P2arly Crowd 188 Attention to Ads 273 Dress Goods, Clearing Out 21 Trimmings, Free 196 Druggist's Contest 286 Special Sales for 18 Receipt Book 194 Corn Cure Publicity 234 Side Line for 203 Store Paper »1 The Corner 149 Drug Store. Opening a New 217 Dull Season. Getting Business at a.. 186 Duplicates of Purchases Given Away 116 Dutch Auction 240 B Easter Attraction 215 Employes' Benefit Sale 16 Encouraging Early Shopping ... 254 Embroidery and Lace Work, Prizes for 295 Essay Contest 279 Evening Sale, Saturday 35 Every Twentieth Purchase Free.... 313 Exchanging Window Space 182 Excursions, Free 95 River 143 Excursion Trips as Prizes 298 Exposition. .Xn Indoor 50 for Children 49 for Men 47 Neckwear ^^ of Curios °3 of Manufactures *^ 48 Exhibit, A Hardwa-c A Pure Food 52 Fair, A Housekeepers Fancy Work Competition ^ J Department, Advertising a 2J3 Patterns, Prizes for 29*» 296 222 48 Hardware Exhibit 036 Skate Advertising .• • '"^^ Opening • •. ," "^ 213 Store, Advertising for a 2J| Store's Original Plan... -=*» Store Paper, An Engh^,h . - .^. • '» Hardwareman, An Accommodating.. 24a Hatchet Sale . . • 907 Hats, aosing_Out Straw .■•■• ^ First Customer, Premium to ^ Help Department Domesttc ■••••;;: ^J^ Fi^rrSanL" Irerwith Purchase. UO Help.n. a Sa.e^of ^ S.ates. „ Five Minute Sale. .^^g Flowers as Premiums ^g^ Flyer, A Daily. gg Free Accident Insurance ••• ^^^ Dinner ••••;•••••";•'■■ 117 Dinners With Purchases • iJJ Dolls ••.•••.• 'I 196 Dress Trimmings ^^ Excursions •••.•••• 109 Ice With Refrigerators i'^» Matinee Tickets . , g Pipes for Workingmen J^^ RiHes for Boys ^3^ Rings to Babies • • gg Savings Bank Account «| Shooting Gallery ^^ Street Car Tickets i«| Telephones to Customers 218 Toys G General Store Paper .^^g Getting a Crowd 272 a List of Names. .,g a List of Piano Buyers !»» Business at a D"" Seaso"- . • • 186 Information as to Customers.... i»» New Customers.... „f.. Out of Town Trade....... •:•• 201 People Interested in Advertise- ^^^ ments ••••••; j 309 Peoole to Read Ads _„ People to Visit, the Store 172 Telephone Business .g Trade Through Schools 208 Workingman's Business *'« Gift Checks, Christmas Scheme . . • • ^54 Scheme, Odd t,^ Gold Rings as Premiums ^^^ Good Circular '202 Goods Not Advertised^ ; 3^ Grab Bag for Children • ^^ Grab Sale • • • • *. 115 Groceries for Premiums JJJ Given Away ••••••• 310 Grocer's Guessing Contest ^J° Paper ••••;• ;;', 104 Premium Flan •-•••• 247 Grocery Department, tor a ^^^ Guarantee, A Broad ^g^ A Modern •:•••••,• 31 Guaranteed Charity Sale .. .••••. • Guessing Contest An Unusual.. ^ Contest, Legitimate g^g Sf 'size ofrColla;: '. '. ! '. '. ' *• *• *• *• 319 When a Clock Will Stop 310 Monday's Business the Sales on Underwear ^'^ Hidden Word Contest ^ Home, Keeping Trade at ^^^ Hosiery Display ^^^ Free With Shoes J»* Used to Draw Customers •• ^^^ House Furnishings, Inducements to ^^^ Buy 01 1 Housefurnisher's Plan ^.^ Housekeepers' Fair „«. How Many Collars? • I Idea for a Shoe Sale. 324 190 50 l"„r/e4-rB"u, •House Furnish- ^^ K^mS i'r&Vs. Gettini 1S| insurance ^^-.fTT^s^.::: ??j Free Accident ,0 = Interesting School Children -..- • 13o Interior Attraction for Children.... izo J 54 Jahr Markt • * 7 Japanese Sale 287 & oTn ducted Piani • Con«s. : l i i 70 jubilee Celebration .. ga Junior Salesman Contest a« K Keeping Trade at Home 17* Hammering Down S^J^Wr* •':;•.. 163 Make Hay.. Sale Hardware Displays for Women. . . Displays, T«n Cent *"* Ladies* Reception in a C^o^h'"^ j^g Largest Sad%f P^eople'. PriVes for.. 184 Large vs. Small Premiums !«!; Lasting Advertisements L-ader, A Daily ,/vo L^lSate Guessing Contest 308 Tptters Using Personal •• *"^ Ubrary to hIip the Sale of Shoes. . 242 List of Piano Buyers, Getting a.... 1|8 Lists, Special Bargain ^as Little Accommodation 255 Livery, Boys in ; 204 Local Mail Orders..,. „ Loose-Leaf Cook Book....... JJJ Lost Keys, Insurance Against...... wa M Mail Order Pepartment «« Mail Orders in a Small Town...... ^JJ Local ......••. Q» Magazines as Premiums.... J* ^»lician in a Show Window 249 27 Magician in 36 Make-up . Selling Theatrical 203 280 INDEX INDEX 281 I U k II Manager's Sale, Department 15 Manufactures, An Exposition of.... 46 Marbles to Boy Customers 113 Matinee Tickets, Free 107 Meeting Department Store Competi- tion 216 Merchandise Certificates 185 Merchants Unite to Hold Spring Openings 72 Men, Exposition for 47 Missing VVord Contest 259 Minister, Voting for the Most Popu- lar 306 Modern Guarantee 164 Monday's Business, Helping 73 Money at Reduced Prices 335 Dirty 160 Premiums in 102 Monthly Bargain Days 74 Morning Shoppers, To Encourage. . . 179 N Names, Cetting a List of 272 of Piano Buyers, Premiums for. 235 Neckwear Expositions 55 New Jersey Idea 90 Kind of Refunding Sale 11 Name for a Sale 39 Newspaper Advertising Scheme 263 Advertising, Testing 167 Nine-Cent Sale 34 Novel Reduction Sale 197 O Odd Gift Scheme 154 Hosiery Display 200 Office Building, Circularizing an 162 Oil Paintings as Premiums 96 Old Shoe Sale 19 Old Stock, Clearing Out 10 One Price Sale 3 Opening. A Yellow 217 Hardware ^ Merchants Unite to Hold Spring 72 Optical Department, Advertising An. 223 Orders by Telephone 1^8 Original Contest 271 Out of Town Trade, Getting 201 P Package Sale 396 Slips 145 Paintings as Premiums, Oil 96 Patterns. Prizes for Fancy Work... 296 Penny Guessing Contest 312 Performance, A Window 199 Personal Letters, Using 206 Solicitation 232 Piano Buyers, Premiums for Names of 235 Buyers, Getting a List of 158 Contest Conducted Jointly 70 Dealer's Scheme '59 Picture Puzzle Contest 260 Pic Baking Contest 283 Pipes. Free to Workingmen 119 I'hotographic Contest 275 Photographs as Premiums 94 Playground for Children in a Big Store 132 Plan to Draw Trade. A Co-operative. 75 Popularity Voting Contest 307 Popular School, For the Most 304 Young Lady, For the Most 303 Portraits as Premiums 98 Poultry Show 888 Premium, Coal as a 93 Premiums, Crayon Portraits as 92 Flowers as 118 for a Clean Sweep Sale 121 for the Names of Piano Buyers. 235 Gold Rings as Ill Groceries as a 101 in Candy 103 in Money 102 Large vs. Small 100 Magazines as 87 Oil Paintings as 96 Photographs as 94 Plan, Coupon 89 Plan, Grocer's 104 Tea Kettles as 99 Theater Tickets as 108 Unusual Souvenirs and 84 to the First Customer 222 Prices, Comparative 45 Prize Contest for Boys 136 for a Catch Phrase 146 for a Heading 230 for Fishermen 276 for the Largest Load of People. 184 Prizes for Fancy Work Patterns.... 296 for Embroidery and Lace Work. 295 for Pretty Children 285 "Problem" Ad 170 Promoting the Sale of Corsets 219 Proofreading Contest 284 Pumpkin Contest, A Co-operative... 289 Plan 291 Pure Food Exhibit 51 Pushing Tea and Coffee Trade 151 Puzzle Contest 69 Picture 268 Queer Contest 288 Quotation Contest 191 R Railroad Fares Paid 183 Rebate System, Advertising a 175 to Help a Library Fund 221 J?eceipt Book, A Druggist's 194 Reception in a Clothing Store, A La- dies' 198 Red Tag Sale, Advertising a 225 Reduction Sale, A Novel 197 Refrigerator, Advertising a 321 Refrigerators, Ice Free With 109 Refunding Sale, New Kind of 11 Remodeling Sale Contest 270 Returns, To Test 229 Riddle Contest 267 Rifles for Boys, Free 137 Rings, Free to Babies 139 River Excursions 143 Rummage Window 193 Rural Delivery Service 150 8 Sale, Advertising a Red Tag 225 Advertising a Shoe 147 A Guaranteed Charity 31 A Hammering Down 27 A New Name for 39 A Novel Reduction 197 Balloon 28 Black Tag 80 Sale, Carnival J Charity J Clerks' 32 Clothier's 24 Combination 23 Comparison •• ^^i Competitive ..^... 29 Daily Special 38 Department Manager s 15 Employes' Benefit 16 Five Minute 25 Grab I* Hatchet ^° Japanese I Make Hay .• 36 New Kind of Refunding 11 Nine Cent 34 Old Shoe 1? One Price ^ Saturday Evening ^^ See-Saw .• ,* Special for Druggists l» Summer Shoe 3^ Tag ^ Thirteen Cent 12 Underwear *" Week of Nations -^o Wanamaker's Special » Sales, Anniversary J Made Through Children 124 Slips, Save Your •• ^»^ Salesman Contest, Junior.... i^^ Santa Claus in an Automobile oi in a Store o^ Saturday Evening Sale. ^^ Savings Bank Account, Free »^ School Books With Boys' Suits 112 Buttons for Children i^^ Children, A Contest for 126 For the Most Popular 304 Schools, Getting Trade Through... 208 Scissors Given Away -^^w ggg.ggw Sale Selling Sht)es by Catalogue J2 Theatrical "Make-up'^ 203 Through Agents f£" "Sets of Shoes" \'^ Sensational Scheme ^.Ji Shoes, Collars Given to Purchasers of 1~" For Babies, Free 1^0 Hosiery Free With.... 11^ Library to Help Sale of 24i Selling by Catalogue 42 Sets of 1 ' ^ To Help the Sale of. 2J2 Shoe Sale, Old .- 1» Sale, Summer -ff Booklet 214 Dealer's Unique Contest 330 Sale, Advertising a ]*l Sale, Idea for a 19? Store Advertising j^t. Shooting Gallery, A Free.......... 248 Shoppers, To Encourage Morning.. !'« Show, A Doll... 133 Show Window Contest 265 Window, Magician in a ^4» Christmas Window »8 Simple Voting Contest.. 300 Skates, Helping Sale of 236 Slips, Package • }*» Small Premiums vs. Large lOO Town, Mail Orders in a 41 Soda Water Fountain, For a 251 Solicitation, Personal V «* Souvenirs and Premiums, Unusual.. «4 Cash -JJ Cow Bells as 244 for Everybody 91 Special Advertising for Hardware Store 213 Bargain Days 6^ Bargain Lists ^«' Sale, Advertising a I" Sales for Druggists 1» Spring Openings, Merchants Unite to Hold 72 Stock, Clearing Out Old 10 Store, Arrangement Contest 2t^* Paper, A Clothier's '« A Co-operative 80 A Druggist's 81 A General '{ A Grocer's 82 An Hlnglish Hardware '9 Straw Hats, Closing Out 207 Street Car Tickets. Free 165 Successful Drawing Contest .*-» Gift Scheme IJJ Suggestion Contest 278 Suggestions, A Booklet of Christmas 63 Suits. School Books With Boys ... 112 Summer Shoe Sale 33 Surprise Package Sale 32o T Tag Sale , « Tailor. Plan Used by a 187 Tea and Coffee Trade. Pushing lol Kettles as Premiums 99 Telephone Business, Getting 174 Orders by 1** Free to Customers '-!» Ten Cent Hardware Displays 181 Testimonials from Customers 224 Testing Newspaper Advertising 167 Theater Tickets as Premiums 108 Tickets, Free Street Car 165 as Premiums, Theater 1*^8 Free Matinee 1^^ Thirteen Cent Sale 12 Throwing Goods Away 334 To Encourage Morning Shoppers... 179 Toys, Free ^4 Trade, Getting Out of Town ?01 Trading Checks, Aluminum l^s Training People to Read Ads 1»3 Traveling Bulletin Board 227 V Underwear, Helping Sales On 316 Sale 20 Unite to Hold Spring Openings 78 Unpublished Bargains 226 Unusual Guessing Contest 314 Souvenirs and Premiums 84 Using Personal Letters 206 V Voting Contest, A Co-operative W A Unique 127 for Charity 897 Popularity • • • . 897 Voting for the Most Popular Min- ister 80* 1 Itii « t- ; 1 W I 282 w Wanamaker Idea . . . • • • • • Wanamaker's Special bales Wanted. 1,000 Cats ..... . "Week of Nations'" Sale. Window, A Bargain Attraction Performance A Rummage INDEX Window Show and Guessing Contest 323 169 Show. A Christmas oo 9 Space, Exchanging i»* 333 Word Building Contest ^»" 26 vVorkingmen. Pipes Free to.. 119 Vqo Sales. Contest to Advertise.... 311 {99 Writing Contest ^^ 193 for Children "Q t HOW TO GET TRADE? I This IS the question that constantly confronts I progressive Retail Merchants in all lines They are on the alert for ideas that will divert the attention of the buying public from their competitors, and secure customers for their own goods. Merchants Record and Show Window is a monthly publication conducted by practical busi- ness men who know from experience and study what problems the retail merchant of today has to face. We are in touch with successful Retail Mer- chants located in all parts of this and other countries, who supply us with all the details of sales they have inaugurated and carried out. These Sales Plans cover every line of retail business, are from stores of all sizes, and cover every kind of trade condition existing in cities large and small. Many business-bringing Sales Plans and Prac- tical Advertising Suggestions, helps for the modem equipment and arrangement of stores, how to dress show windows, and dozens of valuable ideas are to be found in every issue of Merchants Record and Show Window 1020 Manhattan Building Chicago Subscription price ?2.oo a year. Single copies 25 cents. ft! 11' i I 'h-' I I li^ ART OF DECORATING To make a display of goods in the store window or interior that is attractive, that will sell readily the articles exhibited, is '"""^^^ AN ACKNOWLEDGED ART To be successful in this work, many things are to be con- sidered. There are technicalities to be learned, judgment and eood taste to be exercised, color harmony to be secured and above all, there must be positive knowledge as to what constitutes an attractive exhibit, and what will arouse in the observer a desire to possess the goods offered for sale. The object of The Art of Decorating Show Windows and Interiors is to place before the merchant and Deco- rator the instruction necessary to fit him for successful work. The field of merchandising is very broad, still the contents of this valuable work covers every line of business in a thorough and practical manner. With very few exceptions the ideas of display arrangement and the background plans may be applied to one class of goods as well as another. The Art of Decorating Show Windows and Interiors is a volume of over 400 pages, and covers to the smallest details, the following sub- jects: Window Dressing, Interior Decorating Window Adver- tising, Mechanical and Lighting Effects-in fact, everything of. interest to the up-to-date merchant or decorator. Size of book, 9x1a inches; bound in cloth and handsomely lettered in gold leaf. Sent prepaid to any address upon receipt of $3-50. The Merchants Record Company Publishers 1020 Manhattan Building, Chicago, 111. HARDWARE WINDOW DRESSING A practical and comprehensive treatise on the display ot all lines car- ried by the hardware dealer, with detailed instruction for installing money making window displays. 300 ILLUSTRATIONS AND DIAGRAMS This is the only book ever published on Win- dow Dressing for the Hardware Store. Window advertising is the best and most direct form of pub- licity. This volume will help any hardwareman to make his windows pay big dividends. It tells how to display everything carried by a hardware store from stoves and ranges to safety razors. This is not a theoretical work— it is a collec- tion of the best ideas of the most expert window- dressers in the hardware trade with specimens of their best work. Every step is explained in detaU. from the making of fixtures to the mo^t elaborate special display. There are complete descriptions with diagrams showing every phase of the work. The dUplays illustrated are adapted to all kinds of stores and all kinds of windows from the largest to the smallest. Anyone who will follow the directions can put in money making window displays. Experience is unnecessary as the descriptions and pictures are so clear that anyone can follow them. Size of book, 9x,z inches, 256 pages, bound in cloth and handsomely embossed in white leaf. Sent prepaid to any address upon receipt ot $2.50. The Merchants Record Company, Publishers, 1020 Manhattan Bldjr., Chicago. 111. Ill Wlf ] I I I 1 'i *'.| m WINDOW-CARD WRITERS' CHARTS A Complete Course in the Art of Making Display and ) For the > Show Price Cards ) window and Signs for the interior Price, Complete, $1.50 Sent postpaid to any address on receipt of price. TOPICS TREATED Variations, Condensing and Expanding, for the use of Pictures, and Engravings, Materials needed, First Practice, Care and Handling of Materials, Directory Cards, Metallics and Bronzes, Composition, Price Cards, Card Combinations, Mixing Colors, Ornamentation, Rimming and Shading, Italicizing, Proper Spacing, Curves and Scrolls, What to Say, Punctuation. The Best Self Instructor in the Art. BECOME A CARD WRITER The Window Card Writers' Charts consist of sixteen heavy Cards, 8>^xii inches in size, beautifully printed in six colors and inclosed with sixteen sheets of ruled practice paper in a strong covered box. Published by The Merchants Record Company 1020 Manhattan Building, Chicago, 111. Merchants Record and Show Window Acknowledged the World over as the leading authority on Show Window and latenor Decora- tion. Exclusive and original half-tone displays, designs and drawings, with complete working descriptions (to the number of fifty or more), appear in every number. Contains expert instruction on construction of backgrounds for all occasions and events. How to make and use fixtures of all kinds. How to install Mechanical Displays. How to compete for Valuable Prizes. How to make Show Cards and Price Tickets, etc., etc. Business-bringing Sales Plans and Practical Advertising Suggestions that have been worked successfully by well known stores. The Adver- tising pages contain many helpful hmts for up-to-date store management and equipment. This publication occupies an exclusive and unique field; there is no other journal like it. it is considered indispensable by thousands, and will unquestionably assist any live merchant, and increase the usefulness of employees. Every issue contains eighty pages and covers printed on high grade paper expressly made for this publication, pages 9x12 inches in size. A WORK OF ART throughout. Subscription Price is only ?2.oo a year. Single Copies 25 Cents. Published monthly by The Merchants Record Company 1020 Manhattan Building, Chicago, 111. h IH t |-,if PUBLICATIONS OF The Merchants Record Company 1020 Manhattan Building, Chicago, 111. "The Merchants Record and Show Window" (ILLUSTRATED) Published monthly. Subscription $2.00 a year for the United States and pos- fessions also Canada and Mexico. To other countries. $3.00 a year. Only Tubl ^calion of the kinS in all the world. Ninth year, over 15,000 readers monthly. ^ . __. „ "Sales Plans" A collection of three hundred and thirty-three successful ways of geU^ hiiQiness including a great variety of practical plans that nave oeen usea oy ^Ta.l merchanTs ?o a^dvertise an5 self goods Sent prepaid to any address upon receipt of $2.50 for cloth binding; $3.00 for lu'.l Morocco binding. " The Art of Decorating Show Windows and Interiors " (REVISED EDITION) The most complete work of the kind ever published, over 400 paf.e*; ^**i".'"' Uatio^stcoJrrrtothe" smallest detail the fo"9-'i"i,«"5i«»«:, ^^S^recTrVc^i ming, Interior Decorating, Window Advertising, Mechanicarand Electrical Effelts. in fact everything of interest to the modern up-to-date merchant and decorator. Sent prepaid to any. address upon receipt ol «3-50- "The Card Writers Charts" The best complete self-instructor in the art of making display and price cards. Sent prepaid to any address upon receipt of $1.50. All above publications are more fully described in special announcements on preceding pages in this book. "Street Fair Manual" A oractical book profusely illustrated; Street Fairs, Carnivals, Floats, Booths, Jll'^sSSut them Expert, p'^actical information.. Only book of the kind pub- lished. Sent prepaid to any address upon receipt ot $1.25. " Successful Advertising, How to Accomplish It " Valuable in any line Sent prepaid to A 400 page cloth bound book, advertise ' ' "" any address upon receipt of $2.00. By J. Angus McDonald. -. -,— ^-o- . ^ ^. . ..^^ of business, both to the advertiser and advertising writer Special Combination Offers M. R. and S. W. one year and copy of Sales Plans Book (cloth), prepaid, $4.00 M R and S. W. one year and the Art of Decorating, prepaid, - - 5«> M R and S.W. one year and one copy of "Successful Advertising," prepaid, 3-5o m' R and S. W. one year and one set of "The Card Writers Charts," prepaid. 3.00 M. R. and S. W. one year and one copy of "Street Fair Manual," P"";^?"*^, ?^ Above offers apply to renewals to^MERCHANTS RECORD AND SHOW WINDOW as well as new subscription^. Only one Book at r«ouco» price with one subscription- . ^ . j^., aaa N B -Always send draft or money order (not check) when ordering. Add $i.o^'to"Sp^?Ul Combination" prices where $3.00 subscription rate to M. R. and S. W. applies. 'Imim -^... .•»«..*. 1 "I i Mii mm hrM iM' f It i i^ t0/imm} COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES ym U}:^»ilf This book is due on the date indicated below, or at the ^j(^L^^^ expiraUon of a definite period after the date of borrowing, as ^J^§J^J provided by the Ubrary rules or by special arrangement with &jK^|^ t!^^V!i^^tri,:i^.^: COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY J^C: t.^.^*^' ^♦T? I ^ : Saj 0026260425 M D252 t? B532 ])^S'^ O i' vJ ^a Irs pk 4H& To Bindery '^530^ JUN 2 5 1959 ^1 ^1f^- i^-I^K^ KC4 ; ^ '• f m 1 1 '*:^^. ti"5-<( *• !« - i f'« ^•t>t »^* . "k-* !*<»-? . t «■, f>^ I ^ »■ J- -■ ^ V ;■ 4? *."*.■ .'^i- •*«.. *;?1-i ■■?*»*,Ei»'t>' 3H\ ^Uiiliii W?A END OF TITLE