Page Four
Eastern Clackamas News
Kntered a t the postoffice in Estacada,
Oregon, as second-class mail.
Published every Thursday at
Estacada, Oregon
U P T O N H. G IB B S
Ed ito r and M an age r
S ubscription K ates
One y e a r
Six months
Thursday, J á i^ r y 23, 1919
EASTERN CLACKAMAS NEWS
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.
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$1.60
.75
Thursday, Jan. 23, 1919
Mail O rd e r H ouses
an d H om e M erchants
T h e g r e a t b u g b e a r of th e h o m e
m e r c h a n t is th e mail o r d e r ho use.
It c o n s t i t u t e s a rival with w h om he
finds it is very difficult to c o m p e te .
Both to wn a n d c o u n t r y a re flo od ed
with c a ta lo g u e s , c i r c u l a r s a n d l et te r s ,
a d v e r t i s i n g a n d so liciting the t r a d e of
t h e h o m e m e r c h a n t s ’ c u s to m e rs . T h e
mail o r d e r h ous es s p a r e no ex p e n se
to ge t a h e a r i n g a n d o rd er s . Th e y
r e p r e s e n t a vast a m o u n t of c a p it a l
a n d ca n easily u n d e rs e l l th e h o m e
m e r c h a n t s in m an y lineB, a n d since
Uncle Sam u n d e r t o o k parcel post d e ­
livery, t h e i r facilities ha v e been i n ­
cr e a s e d to s e rv e the r u r a l public.
A f a r m e r can d r o p a l e t t e r with
his o r d e r a n d t h e ca sh , in t h e mail
box a t ills door, a n d a day o r two
l a t e r hav e it d e liv e re d in by th e mail
c a r r i e r . Besides th e q u e s ti o n of c o n ­
venience, t h e r e is th e o n e of ec onomy,
as a rule he gets his go ods c h e a p e r
o r at least he ‘ h i n k s so, fro m th e
mail o r d e r hou se t h a n at th e s to r e
in town.
T h e h o m e m e r c h a n t a t first s e e m s
hopelessly h a n d ic a p p e d in c o m p e t in g
with s uc h power ful rivals.
But bis
case is not as bad as it looks at first,
l i e sh o u ld s tu d y his r i v a l s ’ m e t h o d s
of o p e ra tio n , a n d in t h e m he will
find the c lue t o w a r d s m ee t in g a n d
offsetting th em .
T h e m e t h o d s which t h e mail o r d e r
h ous es a d o p t, may be classed u n d e r
t h r e e h e a d s : first, by g e t t i n g tlie a t ­
t e n t i o n ; secon d, by p r o m p t a n d a d e ­
q u a t e serv ice; t h ir d by th e ap pe al to
t h e b a rg a in insti nct of t h e i r p r o b ­
ab le c u s to m e r.
T h e first is d o n e t h r o u g h lavish
a d v e rt is i n g .
A full c a t a l o g u e p r o ­
fusely illustruteii is s e n t to him. By
m e a n s of th is he is s h o w n a co m p le te
a n d i m m e n s e s toc k of goods, a lm o s t
as vividly as if lie w e r e In the s t o r e
itself. He t a k e s it up d u r i n g his leis­
ure, a nd c a ref ull y p e r u s e s it. a n d
g e ts u b e t t e r idea of w h a t the stock
c om pr is e s , t h a n b y a pe rsonal visit,
b e c au s e he t a k e s m o re tim e, a n d is
n e i t h e r h u r r i e d n o r be wildered by
t r y i n g to see too m u c h at 0110 , n o r
Jostled by a crow d. He goes t h r o u g h
th e lists, t a k e s no te of th e d e s cr ip ­
tions which set f o r t h th e mer its of
each article, a nd soon his interest is
a ro u s e d . He has unconsciously, p e r ­
haps, been w a n t in g u c e r t a i n tool o r
utensil, am) whe n he co m e s a c ro ss
this, in th e c a ta lo g u e , he becomes
a w a r e of th e fact
T h e consCiiuence
is, he m a k e s a note of it a n d then a n d
t h e r e d e t e r m i n e s to get it. One t h i n g
leads to a n o t h e r a n d b efo re loug he
h a s a list p r e p a r e d .
T h e n secon dly , he need not go to
to w n if he is r u s h e d with wo rk , b ut
simpl y w r i te a l e t t e r a n d p u r c h a s e a
m on ey o r d e r from t h e mallf c a r r i e r or
enclose his check, a n d Upcle Sam
a n d t h e m ail o r d e r firm will do the
rest.
H e receives in du e t i m e th e
goods he has o r d e r e d wi th a s t a t e ­
m e n t a n d a co rd ia l ex p re ss on of
t h a n k s , which is very g r a t i f y i n g to
his p e r s o n a l esteem. .
T h e n t h ir d ly , he believes t h a t he
h as s a v ed c o n s id e r a b l e by t h e deal,
w h e t h e r th is is a c t u a l l y t h e case or
not.
S o m e ti m e s he does a n d s o m e ­
ti m e s he does not , b u t it is s e ld om
t h a t he discov ers th e l a t t e r fact, be­
c a u se he n e v e r t a k e s t h e t r o u b l e to
find o u t, unles s t h e a r t i c l e proves
very i nfe rio r.
Now t h e r e a re no good r e a s o n s
why t h e h o m e m e r c h a n t s c a n n o t to a
great extent adopt much the same
m e t h o d s as th ose of t h e mall o r d e r
houses. W hile t h e y c a n n o t s p e n d so
m u c h in a d v e r t i s i n g n o r afford to
pu b lis h ca ta lo g u e s , they can use
p r i n t e r ’s ink to m u c h
better a d ­
v a n t a g e , t h a n th e o r d i n a r y c o u n t r y
m e r c h a n t doq^. T h e v a lu e of a n a d ­
v e r t i s e m e n t does n o t d e p e n d e n t i r e ­
ly on i t s size, but on its ps ychological
ap peal.
T h e m os t p r ac t ic a l way to
a s c e r t a i n th is fo r t h e a v e r a g e m e r ­
c h a n t , w h o h a s n o t m a d e a s t u d y of
th e a r t of a d v e r t i s i n g , n o r can a f ­
ford th e se rvice of a n a d v e r t i s i n g ex­
pert, iq to s t u d y t h e a d v e r t i s e m e n t s
of th e l a r g e d e p a r t m e n t s t o r e s in the
city. T h e s e a r e a s u r e a n d u n f a i l i n g
index of t h e way to c a tc h t h e a t t e n ­
tion of t h e public.
T h e n he h a s one a d v a n t a g e over
th e mail o r d e r house, In t h a t his c u s ­
t o m e r s c a n see for t h e m s e l v e s w h a t
he h as f o r sale.
H e s h o u l d utilize
th is to t h e full e x te n t , by a j u d ic io u s
a r r a n g e m e n t of hi s stoc k.
If his
store presents a neat and attractive
a p p e a r a n c e , with its goods placed
w h e r e t h e y ca n be seen, he will find
th is a g r e a t d r a w i n g c a rd .
A good
wind ow
d isp la y
with
the
goods
priced, I h also very p r o d u c t i v e in r e ­
su lts , b e cau se it will i n v a r i a b l y halt
th e passe r by. He m ay o r m a y not
e n t e r , but he will r e m e m b e r t h a t
su ch a n d su ch an, a rt i c l e is for s a le at
t h a t s to r e a n d fo r how m uch .
In th e m a t t e r of service, t h e h o m e
m e r c h a n t lias a d i st in ct a d v a n t a g e
ov e r th e mail o r d e r hous e. He has
t h e s a m e fac ilities of t h e parcel post
a n d mail c a r r i e r ^>rvice as t h e la tte r.
In a d d it io n he h a s t h e te le p h o n e ,
which n e a r l y all his r u r a l c u s t o m e r s
h a v e in st a ll e d in t h e i r hous es, so
t h ey can r e a c h him j u s t as easily as
th e mail o r d e r house.
Besides th e
h o m e m e r c h a n t who k n o w s his c u s ­
t o m e r s is willing to give c re di t to all
th o se who a r e reliable. T h e f a r m e r
t h en can t e l e p h o n e his o r d e r and
h a v e it tilled a n d pay for it wh en he
goes to to w n o r on t h e first of th e
m onth
T h u s he sa ve s th e b o t h e r
a n d expense of b u y i n g a mo ne y o r ­
ders. T h e n , w h e n th e c u s t o m e r come s
to town, t h e m e r c h a n t co m e s in
con tac t with him p e rs o na lly a n d
th is is a most effective m e a n s for a c ­
q u i r i n g ills good will, by c o u r t e o u s
a t t e n t i o n , wh ic h pays a h u n d r e d per
cent.
In r e g a r d to t h e m a t t e r of e c o n o ­
my, if the h o m e m e r c h a n t c a n n o t a f ­
ford to sell as c h e a p l y as t h e mail
o r d e r house, he can offset th is i:i
v a ri o u s ways-
If h e ha s won th e
good will of his c u s t o m e r s , they
w o n ’t d e m u r at a few c e n ts a d d i t i o n
al cost, if th ey real ize t h a t t h e m e r ­
c h a n t is not g o u g i n g t h e m ; t h a t he
is selling his goods at a f ai r price to
(Concluded on Pa g e 7)
Personal Attention Given to Each Customer
H on ey Special
This Week Only!
%
H O N E Y FO R H O T C A K E S
Strained— 70c & fjuart jar; $1.25 half gallon jar.
"
Coiiib---35c a pound.
Full Line o f B est Staple Groceries
WE ALSO H AND LE FLOUR A N D FEED
W a r r e n M e W i l l is
Successor to L. A. Chapman
There was
a C ro w d in
the Store
and they were trying to josh the Tobacco Man
“ Have a chew on
m e,’ ’says he.“ Break
off just two or three
squares. That’s a
man’s size chew of
Real G ravely. It
holds its good taste
so long it costs noth­
ing extra to chew
this class of tobac-
ff
CO.
•
It goes further— th a t’s
why you can get the good
taste o f this class o f tobac­
co without extra cost.
PEYTON BRAND
Real Gravely Chewing Plug
each piece packed in pouch
GBAVELY T O B A C C O
0
CO., D A N V IL L E , VA-
Hotel Oregon-
Respectfully solicits the patronage of the People of Es­
tacada and Eastern Clackamas County, when in Port­
land.
The HOTEL OREGON has been for many years one of
Portland’s leading hotels and is located in the heart of
the business and theatre section, at the convenient
corner of Broadway and Stark.
You are assured a cordial welcome and your patronage
will be appreciated.
Stop at the HOTEL OREGON, the next time you are
in Portland.
Rooms $1.25 and up