To each of these he sent twenty packages of the silver polish with instructions to sell them at 10 cents each and remit the money to him, when he would send each boy or girl an order on the theatre manager for twelve tickets to a 5 cent house or six to a 10 cent house. He had previously sent the manager a draft sufficient to cover the cost of all the tickets, and in most cases it made it easy for him thereafter to secure tickets in quantities at great reductions, thus adding considerably to his net profits.
His sales under this plan netted him over $5,000 the first year.
PLAN No. 112. LIVE ALLIGATORS FOR BOY AGENTS
A young man in Salt Lake City made money by giving away live alligators.
A certain man in Florida where alligators of a hardy and harmless kind are numerous captures these young alligators by the hundreds and sells them at 40 cents each, in lots of a dozen or more.
This young fellow was making and selling—or trying to sell—a number of small articles, such as sheet bluing, silver polish, and some other things, but his sales were slow, and he realized that he must do something to boost his business.
He sent for twenty-five of these little alligators, and advertised in a number of country weeklies that any boy who would sell a certain number of his specialties, at 10 cents each, and remit the entire receipts to him, would receive free a real live alligator as a premium for his work. In a week he received many inquires, and as fast as the names of boys came in he sent packages of his goods to them to be sold. The boys must have been good salesmen or unusually enthusiastic, for inside of two weeks more the remittances began to arrive and to each boy so remitting a live young alligator was sent by express, charges collect; and, as they made very interesting little pets, absolutely safe to play with, every boy who received one became the envy of the neighborhood, so that every other boy wanted one too, and a little effort soon brought him one of his own.
PLAN No. 113. DESK ROOM IN A CITY OFFICE
A New York man who had a nicely equipped office was asked one day by a western customer how much he would charge for the privilege of having some of his mail come to his address, as he wished to place on his stationery the words, “New York office, No . . . . Building.” He thought it would add prestige to his business standing.
The New York man named a small amount, and then this idea came to him: Why not make the same arrangement with a lot of other out-of-town people, none of whom would be in the office more than once or twice a year, and all he would have to do would be to forward any mail that came for any of these various parties?