PLAN No. 307. TRUST PLAN WORKED LOCALLY
A mail-order man back east decided to work trust plan by which he could keep in close touch with those selling the goods, and have settlements where necessary.
From a catalog issued by a reliable house carrying a line of novelties adapted to the trust plan, he selected a few attractive ones which any child could sell at 10 cents each, and which cost him about $1.50 per gross, and these he advertised in the local papers, offering a premium to anyone selling a certain number of them.
He was thus enabled to place a large quantity of these novelties in the hands of children and others, who sold them and promptly remitted or called personally to make settlements and receive their premiums.
This system reduced his losses to a minimum and greatly increased his profits, so that he sent no more goods on the trust plan to outside towns, but confined his operations to his home city.
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.