Dawson Black: Retail Merchant Part 17

Look them over--Buy while you can!

REGULAR PRICE 50 Regular price Thursday, Aug. 26 45 A nickel saved Friday, Aug. 27 40 A dime in your pocket Sat.u.r.day, Aug. 28 35 Saves the price of three sodas Monday, Aug. 30 30 Saves four trolley fares Tuesday, Aug. 31 25 Half price--any left?

Wednesday, Sept. 1 20 Makes your saving look like 30 Thursday, Sept. 2 15 And 35 to the good--IF Friday, Sept. 3 10 Saves 40 Sat.u.r.day, Sept. 4 5 Ten for the price of one--but you missed your chance Tuesday, Sept. 7 FREE Help yourself to what is left

Jock had said: "Mon, they'll all wait till the last day and then come and steal the goods awa' frae ye!"

"No," Betty had replied, "many will buy, before the goods are reduced much, for fear somebody else will buy them first."

La.r.s.en suggested having a big sign in the window headed:

"WATCH THIS LIST. ARTICLES SOLD OUT WILL BE POSTED ON IT."

"You see, Boss," he had said, "the folks'll see a number of things put on the list. They'll figure they'd better not wait else what they want will be sold."

Fellows chimed in with, "Tell you what to do, Black. Put in just two or three of some articles, so that by the end of the first day you'll be able to post up some goods that are sold out."

Jock had a further suggestion, "Ye've got an unusual plan there, laddie; why don't ye tell the newspapers aboot it. Maybe they'll give ye a stor-ry in reference to it."

"That's a good idea," I had replied, "I'll try it."

"Don't ye think," he continued, "that it would pay ye tae put a list in the papers each day o' the goods that are sold, and call it 'Too late to buy the following at Dawson Black's Automatic Sales--Some one else got ahead o' ye',' or-r something like that?"

I decided to adopt that plan and that I would call on the newspaper people to see if I could not get a write-up on the sale from them.

I really was getting anxious for the sale to start so that I could see how it would come off. I felt that I was taking a big risk, since, if it failed, I would lose a few hundred dollars. But, even then, I would turn some dead stock into cash, and I remembered that, at the trade convention, one fellow had said a dollar in the till was worth two dollars of unsalable goods on the shelves, "for," said he, "if you turn that two dollars' worth of goods into a dollar cash and you turn that dollar over three and a half times in a year, you are going to earn a profit on three and a half dollars' worth of live stuff instead of the questionable profit on two dollars' worth of dead stuff!"

I guess we are all gamblers at heart, for every one, even the Mater, had become interested and excited over my first attempt at a big sale.

I hadn't quite decided whether to send the circulars by mail, or to have them delivered to every home in town by messenger; but was inclined to adopt the latter plan.

Fellows suggested, "Why don't you get some pretty girls to go around and deliver them? They would make a hit!"

"Do you think so?" flashed back Betty. "That's just where you're mistaken, Mr. Smarty--if you think a woman is going to be tickled to have a pretty girl come up to the door: send a homely one and it might work!"

Aren't women queer?

CHAPTER XVIII

THE GREAT SALE

I would like to be able to say that there were big sales on the first day of the automatic sale. All the goods on those four sales' counters had been reduced one cent in ten--ten-cent articles to nine cents, and so on--but, on the first day, we took in only $36.00 from those counters!

I found that the invoice cost of all the goods which I had put on in the sale was $1,364.00. If I could only get that amount in cash out of them, I would be more than satisfied, for I would have turned into money a lot of stock which was old, damaged or such slow sellers as not to be worth keeping. With the money I could buy goods that would sell quickly and thus increase my rate of turn-over.

But only $36.00 worth sold the first day! And the sale of other goods had been unusually slow, also. In fact, it was the worst day I had had since I bought the store.

Not very promising for the beginning of a sale, was it? But Betty, bless her heart, said, "Wait until Monday or Tuesday and you'll find things will go along all right. The prices are not yet reduced enough to make people eager to buy."

Although the goods on the bargain counters had been reduced 20 per cent., only $47.00 worth went the next day!

La.r.s.en shook his head and said, "It _may_ come out all right." He was a regular Job's comforter!

That night, I said to Betty, "Perhaps it would be wise to call the sale off, and put some of the goods back into stock again."

She replied: "Whatever you do, don't call the sale off! If there are any lines that are really good, you might quietly put some of them back, but don't call the sale off! It would hurt you too much. By the way," she added, "I wonder what Stigler's window is covered up for to-day?"

I had noticed that as I came home. He had pulled the shades down in his window, and, although it was 8:30 when I pa.s.sed the store, the lights were still burning inside. I had an uncomfortable feeling that he was going to do something to me.

I wondered if he was going after me on prices even worse than before! I did not sleep very well that night. It's easy to say "what's the use of losing sleep over a thing," but, when a man finds the bottom knocked out of his business because of compet.i.tion, plans a big sale and it starts off as a hopeless fizzle, after an outlay of over a hundred dollars for advertising, he can't help but worry! The man isn't born that can find things slipping away as I had and not worry over it!

Betty was a real comfort. She said:--"Don't you see, boy dear, that's just what you need, a lot of trouble?"

"Huh," I replied, "I'm certainly getting what I need, good and plenty!"

She smiled, and replied, "That's right, keep your sense of humor. One of my teachers once said that a sense of humor is a safety valve which prevents us blowing up from the pressure of too much trouble. You're going to pull through this all right, and you'll be a better and a bigger man for the experience!"

What would I have done without her! I wonder, if the big business men of the country were to tell the truth, how much of their success they would owe to some quiet little woman who gave them the right kind of encouragement and admonition? Whatever success I may have had I'll be frank enough to admit that I would not have succeeded if it hadn't been for Betty.

On the third day of the Sale, we kept the store open till 11 o'clock, and it was midnight before I left.

When I had pa.s.sed Stigler's that morning I had found his windows piled high with kitchen goods, on which were labels with the regular retail price. I had stood at the window and looked at the different prices to be sure that they were genuine, and, surely enough, the prices were regular. But then I noticed a big sign, hung from above, which read:

STIGLER'S SAt.u.r.dAY SPECIAL

For one day only, every article in this window will be offered at 25 per cent. off regular price. These goods are offered for sale, and will really be sold. We are not offering to give goods away that won't be there!

I was doing some pretty quick thinking while I was standing there, for, while only about half the goods in my sale were kitchen utensils, I certainly had made a big push on those goods.

At that moment Stigler came along from behind me, walked right up to me, and said:

"Howdy?"

"How are you, Stigler?" I returned.

"Fine!" he said. "Enjoying the weather! How do you like my little window, eh? I'm glad to see yer take an interest in what we are doing!

Of course, if you ain't satisfied with what you see there, come right along inside and I'll show yer me books!"

"I was just pa.s.sing your store, Stigler, and, naturally, I looked in your window."

"Sure--sure," he said, nodding his head sarcastically, "you fellers have a habit of pa.s.sing the store pretty often, don't yer? Quite a clever stunt you are putting up there, with that automatic give-away-nothin'

idea. Kinder thought I'd start in the cutting line myself a bit. How d'ye like it?"

"I don't know what I have ever done to you that you should make such a dead set on me."

"N-no?" he returned with a drawl. "Well, I'll just tell yer, young feller. I've just kinder got a fancy to get some more business, and as some of the trade seems to be floatin' around kind o' easy like, I thought I'd just nail it down. And if by any chance some dear compet.i.tor"--and his lips curled in derision as he said this--"happens to get in the way, well!--I can kinder be sorry for him like, and perhaps give him a job sometime if he wants one."