One Thousand Ways to Make a Living; or, An Encyclopædia of Plans to Make Money

by Harold Morse Dunphy

PLAN No. 308. ICE WOOL SHAWLS BY PARCEL POST

Another good parcel-post idea was worked out with success by a mail-order man, as follows:

He bought a quantity of ice wool shawls from a Chicago supply house, at a price which allowed him to retail them at 98 cents each, and still make a good profit. He secured the names of all the farmers’ wives within 150 miles, wrote a neat circular describing the beauty and stylishness of ice-wool shawls, and, wrapping one of these around each shawl, he sent them by parcel post, stating that if they wanted it for 98 cents, to remit him that amount, if not, to notify him on a postal card enclosed for that purpose.

But a very few of the shawls came back. Hundreds of money orders for 98 cents each did come, and he sold thousands of them in that way, realizing a good profit on each sale.