PLAN No. 463. OPENED A “SURPLUS” MARKET
A man and his wife, who lived in a city surrounded by a good fruit and agricultural country, and whose only possession was a horse and light wagon, and less than $100 in cash, concluded to open what they called a “surplus” market, where they disposed of a great deal of farm and orchard products that would otherwise have gone to waste. They rented a small stall in one of the city markets, and the wife took charge of that, while the husband drove several miles into the country each day looking for surplus products that could be had for little or nothing, simply to get them out of the way. He was thus able to pick up in a day a wagon-load of good, sound apples, peaches, pears, vegetables, berries, small fruits, etc., at a total cost of $1 or even less—often for nothing—and these he brought to the market stall and offered for sale at just about one-half the prices asked by other dealers. To be sure, the fruits were not wrapped and labeled, or the berries placed in boxes, but their quality was fully equal to those that were.
Small as was this beginning, it gradually led to something larger and better, and they now own one of the most profitable little fruit stores in their city.