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About La Grande evening observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1904-1959 | View Entire Issue (March 19, 1931)
Announcing the Winners in Prize Contest 66 Believe It or Mot m s we r lis ' (With Apologies to Ripley) the A The Problem: A mail order house advertises to sell you' $20.00 worth of merchandise on their easy payment plan as Xollows $4.00 cash and ?4.0P per month for four months. They add What they term "A Small Carrying Charge" of 2.50 for this privilege.' What rate of interest do you pay? ' The interest shown by the buying public in this con test has been highly gratifying to us. Hundreds 6T answers have been received together with letters -of such a high degree of merit that the judges in this contest found it difficult to select the winners from a 'host of answers of almost equal merit. In many cases the corect rate of interest was given, .this together with the best letter of criticism of high rate charged formed the basis upon which the awards were made. We are pleased to congratulate winners in this contest whose names appear below, together with a copy of the letters drawing 1st & 2nd prizes mtm First Prize $25.00 March 12th 1931. Carr 'Furniture Company, Inc. La Grande, Oregon. " , Gentlemen: Suppose someone offered to loan you some money and said they would charge you only 75 interest per year. I do not believe you would con sider it a very great privilege to use the money and pay for it at this rate, nor would you call this a; "small charge." . Likewise, if a mail-order house advertises to sell you $20.00 worth of merchandise at 4.00 down and $4.00 per month until paid for and say they will (lo 'this for a "small carrying charge" of $2.50, only the un thinking :pers6n would consider it an economy to buy in this way, for 75 per year or 614 per month is exactly the amount of interest you would be paying for this "privilege." Why pay 6(4 interest per month or $2.50 and send your money out of town to the mail-order house, when at Carr's you can buy the same amount of merchandise (not to mention any difference we might think (here was in the real value of the merchandise received for the $20.00 spent and the fact that we are patronijng a store owned and operated by La Grande people) with the same privilege of paying only $4.00 clown and $4.00 per month with" carrying charge here of 1 per month on the unpaid balance, or only 40c in all ... a saving of $2.10. Figure it out for yourself: 1st month $16.00 bal. at 75 int. $1.00 2nd month' 12.00 bal. at 75 int. .75 3rd month 8.00 bal. at 75 int. .50 4th month 4.00 bal. at 75 int. .25 Second Prize $10.00 March 14th, 1931 Total at Mailorder house . . 1st month $16.00 bid. at 1 int. 2nd month 12.00 bal. at 1 int. 3rd month 8.00 bal. at 1 int. 4th month 4.00 bal. at 1 int. Total at Can's Saving $2.50 $ .16 .12 .08 .04 .40 $2.10 Yours very truly. Signed, L. L. Shepherd Buying Public, La Grande, Ore. Carr's Furniture 'Company will sell you $20.00 worth of merchandise at $4.00 down and $4.00 per month charging 1 a month on the unpaid bal ance as ioiiuws: . On a $20.00 purchase you pay $4.00 down. 16.00 balance at 1 per month ymi pay 16c . 12.00 balance at 1 per month you pay 12c 8.00 balance at 1 per month' you pay 8c 4.00 balance at 1 per month you pay 4c This extension of credty has cost you exactly 40c Be sure to figrure out that "Small Additional Charge" that mail-order houses add for this privilege. Their ?SmaIl Additional Charge" on a sale of $20.00 with $4.00 down and $4.00 per month is $2.50, or 6 A a month pr six and one quarter times what Can's charges you on the unpaid bal ance or as your banker figures his interest per annum, it is exactly 75. On a $20.00 purchase you pay $4.00 4 ' 0 On the $16.00 balance for 1 month at 75 per annum you pay $1.00 On the 12.00 balance for 1 month at 75 per. annum you pay .75 .Qn ,th,e. .00 balance for i month '75' eranhum you pay " .50 On the j 4.00 balance for 1 month at 75 per annum you pay .25 ' ' ' ' ' $2.50 You may be the judge but I am sure you will agree that this "Small Addi tional Charge is excessive and far out of proportion to any convenience extended for time payment when you can have this same privilege at Carr's at a saving of $2.10. The "Small Additional Charge" plan is one that has fooled many people for a long time. It is an excessive charge that people would not pay if they realizod it was equal to 75 on the unpaid balance. But it would pay. all i of the people to figure out and analyze just what they are payinir when they agree to pay that "Small Additional Charge." The plan is a vicious one, it charges its good customers an excessive in terest charge of 75 under a disguise of soft words.. It would be better business, effecting1 great economy, to do your buying with a Home Mer chant who figures his 1 as 1 and charges it on the unpaid balance only. Yours Truly, Signed, C. Wells. a Mrs. L. II. Larson Says: The Next Three Prize Winners $5.00 Each Mrs. L. H. Larson, La Grande, Ore. Mrs. H. II. Cleaver, La Grande, Ore. , Don A. Smith, La Grande, Ore. Paragraphs Selected From Hundreds of Interesting Letters We Have Received in Answer to This Problem "In this case the rate of interest charged is 75 than six times the customary carrying charge, plan a fanner who wished to borrow $2000.00 in crop, would in August have to pay out $2500.00 of his 'harvest . . . $500.00 for the use of this monc Can you do that at the present price of wheat? in town and wish to place a $2000.00 mortgage five years, not compounding the interest, could U five year period buy your paper back for onlv S9 "Easy Payments." s per annum; more Under the above April to put in his from the proceeds y for four months. Or you who live on your home for at the end of the 500.00. Homes on Mrs. H. H. Cleaver Says: , "It is three times as high as the interest rate on delinquent taxes about which the tax-payers of Union County just complained." Don A. Smith Says: "Seventy-five per cent for the use of a commodity whether it bo money or merchandise is seven and one-half times greater than most states allow as a legal rate of interest." Mrs. 0. G.Rollins Says: "Trade with your Independent Home Firm, save money and better ,'VUl VMIltlllVllllt . L. J. Gates Says: "Anhthni- fhiniv. ..,:1 ..J.. i .. . w v....,s, UIUCi u.rnis ale generally strict: if vou run. rtu lh ?'"?",ptlj'-takc back the mereMie? Now Can s an human ana if you can't meet the payment Md show' you are doing the best you can. they do not tak? yom- merXXe away from you, but give you all the chance one could ask Ihe writer knows this from many years kphSmISS'-i m. opportunity to express appreciation. expenence and " is Mrs. R. A. Fowler Says: "The privilege of buvino- nn n Ant. a , proposition leases to be a convenience wh7n if ?USineSS charged becomes exorbitant." ' 1he te of ,nterest We gratefully acknowledge the many excellent letters we have received and regret that limited space does not permit us to publish them. Carr Fereitpre C09 Iiic Eastern Oregon's Largest Home Furnishers
