,transcriber's ,notes3 ,text enclosed by underscores is in italics 7italics74 ,additional ,transcriber's ,notes are at the end4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,price #e ,,cents4 ,,how ,,to ,,conduct ,a ,,small ,,mail ,,order ,,business4 ,,hints ,,and ,,helps ,,by ,w4 ,e4 ,,skinner4 ,,multum ,,in ,,parvo ,,library4 ,entered at ,boston ,post ,office as second class matter4 ,published by ,a4 ,b4 ,courtney1 ,room #gd1 #de ,milk ,street1 ,boston4 ,vol4 #c4 ,,march1 #ahif4 ,published ,monthly4 ,no4 #bg ,subscription ,price1 #ej ,cents ,per ,year4 ,,hints ,,on ,,conducting --,a ,,small-- ,,mail ,,order ,,business4 ,there are1 in the ,united ,states and ,canada1 hundreds of concerns who obtain their revenue almost exclusively by means of transacting business through the mails4 ,in addition to these1 many regular city retailers have of late opened departments for mail order trade4 ,the habit of purchasing by mail is rapidly assuming enormous proportions in this country1 and the custom has been catered to1 in such a manner1 that the ranchman on the plains may wear a latest style metropolitan custom-made suit1 while his daughters may equip herself a la ,fifth ,avenue--all by inspection of a catalogue1 a postal money order and a letter4 ,good ,postal ,system4 ,these facilities have been brought about by the general march of improvement1 and1 perhaps1 more particularly on account of the greatly improved postal system4 ,almost every intelligent person has had more or less experience in buying through the mails1 but the object of this little book is to show how a small business can be profitably conducted for this purpose4 ,start ,right4 ,one of the most essential things to start with is an attractive article or line of goods4 ,shall it be in the nature of a staple or a novelty8 ,the difficulty in handling staple goods in a small way is the lack of profit4 ,staple ,goods4 ,staple goods are handled by retailers everywhere1 and1 people will not readily send away for that which they can procure at home4 ,of course1 there is always more or less mail trade on specialties in the line of staples1 such as ,plymouth ,rock ,pants1 ,douglas' ,shoes1 etc41 but even then1 manufacturers tell me that there is no profit in the mail orders1 they are handled merely for the sake of augmenting regular trade by making the goods popular4 ,perhaps ,i might make an exception in the staple list of watches1 silverware and jewelry4 ,these are good mail order sellers4 ,numerous ,novelties4 ,in the line of novelties1 there are hundreds of things such as books1 toys1 games1 photographs1 perfumery1 etc4 ,small toys1 not easily broken1 and of light weight when packed1 sell in immense quantities if advertised in ,november and ,december4 ,of course1 the advertisement must be properly arranged1 good journals used1 and the price of the toy should be small4 8,frozen ,perfumery40 ,millions of perfumed cakes of ,plaster-,paris1 put in small ornamented tin boxes1 have been sold during the past ten years4 ,these goods cost about #d cents each1 can be sold at ten cents1 give satisfaction if well made and can be mailed at a cost of a cent each for postage1 which will admit of the 8wonder stone0 being wrapped in a quantity of advertising circulars4 ,one or two ingenious advertisers put up packages of sachet powder and sell them as 8,love ,powders40 ,they are said to enable the recipient to 8gain and maintain the love of another40 ,several ,saleable ,specialties4 ,cheap books usually sell well if they are attractively written up and advertised in the right kind of papers4 ,millions of copies of certain books have been sold at ten cents through the mails4 ,of the ,,multum ,,in ,,parvo ,,library1 of which this little treatise is one1 several millions have been sold at ten cents per set of twelve titles4 ,people readily buy ,japanese napkins1 sometimes advertised as handkerchiefs1 7which they really are71 but the great sale may be due somewhat to the fact that our country cousins do not really know what a ,japanese crepe handkerchief is and fondly imagine that they are to get a fifteen inch pure silk affair4 ,these goods can be procured of ,japanese importers in ,new ,york1 ,chicago1 ,san ,francisco and other cities4 ,cheap jewelry1 such as rings1 chains and the like1 generally sell well4 ,the prices should be low and the description must be strong1 to attract trade1 however4 ,watches by ,mail4 ,the watch mail order business is very large4 ,as a rule1 ,swiss watches are the sort dealt in4 ,the values of ,american watches are quite well known1 and they are on sale everywhere2 but the ,swiss watches can be described in cash attracting adjectives and when sold the margin of profit is fairly good4 ,indecent ,advertising4 ,avoid the temptation to sell obscene goods1 or to sell any sort of stuff by so-called suggestive announcements4 ,this kind of business is profitable while it lasts1 but it usually ends in bringing the advertiser into disrepute and imprisonment4 ,don't ,lie4 ,in writing a description of your goods1 do not misrepresent them4 ,a dash of adjectives now and then is customary and acceptable1 for mild exaggeration is expected4 ,nevertheless you must not say that a ring has a diamond setting if it is only glass4 ,send ,circulars4 ,have a catalogue or set of circulars advertising various specialties1 and send this printed matter out with every package4 ,if your first filling of an order gives satisfaction1 you are quite sure to get a second order1 and possibly several subsequent orders4 ,letters are ,valuable4 ,the letters that you receive from country customers are more or less valuable4 ,other dealers will purchase them of you for purpose of using the addresses in sending out their own catalogues4 ,good ,sellers4 ,cheap books with attractive titles are usually fast selling property1 and if contents are as advertised1 always give satisfaction4 ,the ,keystone ,book and ,news ,co41 #aaaa ,arch ,st41 ,philadelphia1 are among the leading wholesalers4 ,they send trade circulars only to persons who prove themselves to be regularly engaged in the mail order business4 ,medical ,business4 ,it is surprising to note what a vast amount of medicine is sent through the mails4 ,there are remedies for all diseases to which the flesh is heir4 ,if you have a good tonic1 blood purifier1 skin beautifier or other preparation which you wish to push the sale of1 the better way to get 8points0 is to answer the advertisements of other concerns advertising similar specialties and learn their methods4 ,but do not copy other concerns' literature2 simply pick out a few good ideas and combine them with your own originality4 ,advertising ,agencies4 ,a large proportion of advertising is placed through so-called agents4 ,they are a legion4 ,about a dozen make a specialty of mail order advertising4 ,you can get further information by reading a copy of ,our ,silent ,partner1 which you can obtain free by writing to ,fred ,terry1 ,waterville1 ,maine4 ,there are a large number of publications that pay for mail order advertising1 and a much larger number which do not pay the advertiser4 ,not ,tolerated4 ,the ,u4 ,s4 and ,canadian postal officials do not encourage so-called 8work at home0 schemes which usually take money out of poor people's pockets4 ,many alleged offenders have been prosecuted for doing this sort of business4 ,watch ,your ,mailing4 ,if you are doing a large mailing don't neglect to make it a part of your duties to step in and watch the operations of your mailing clerks frequently4 ,an employe sometimes forgets postal rates and wastes a great deal of money4 ,we know an advertiser whose clerk sent out six thousand packages with four cents postage on each when the packages1 consisting of printing matter1 could have traveled at two cents4 ,most of the successful mail order advertisers keep their eyes on such details and they save money thereby4 ,not ,good ,criterion4 ,the so-called 8cost and result0 schedules are usually only valuable to the advertiser who prepares them as a result of his own experience4 ,to all others who consider them1 they are a delusion and a snare4 ,suppose an advertisement of an inch is placed in a list of publications by a watch dealer1 a picture dealer1 a medical advertiser1 a novelty man and an agents' supply house4 ,there will be quite a striking difference in the ratio of results in each instance4 ,a paper that pays one may not pay the other4 ,we have seen this demonstrated so many times that we know whereof we speak4 ,advertising ,axioms4 8,virtue increases under a weight or burden0 and results increase with a comprehensive expenditure of money in good advertising mediums4 8,better late than never40 ,the golden opportunity is still open to him who would enrich himself by judicious advertising4 ,none other way will pay4 8,mind moves matter40 ,therefore exercise your mind to advertise so as to stir the gray matter of the brains of the people and affect their pocket-books4 ,good goods will sell to good people constantly4 ,poor goods only once4 ,don't let people say1 8after having praised their wine they sell us vinegar40 8,there is no lock but a golden key will open it10 except that of the people's pocket-book4 ,first class ads will do this with golden results4 ,when people think they want a thing1 they do want it and they get it4 ,to be prominent anywhere one must have marked characteristics4 ,so it is with an advertisement in the crowded columns of newspapers and magazines2 in order to produce the best results it must be clear1 definite1 conspicuous and fresh4 ,is yours of this character8 ,free4 ,there's the catch word of all humanity4 ,fifty years ago it was the most potent word in the language1 and all the advertising experts who have developed since have not succeeded in devising one to succeed it4 ,look over the papers which are read by the simple country folk1 and note how that word stands out all over them4 ,the article advertised goes in agate type below it4 ,the particulars about what stamps or coins must be sent to secure the 8free0 article1 go in minion4 ,the ad4 may occupy but an inch1 and half of the inch may consist of the one word 8,free10 but the advertising evidently pays if continuance signifies profit4 ,one sometimes wonders where the crop of gold brick victims constantly comes from1 where the green goods men continually find patrons1 and why confidence men grow more numerous as their wiles become better advertised4 ,there is a greater crop of 8,free0 victims growing somewhere4 ,it is hard to believe that anyone answers a 8,free0 ad4 twice1 but this class of advertising grows and prospers4 ,this is a large country1 and the boys who are growing up must all learn by experience what their fathers learned likewise4 ,no youth seems content to be taught in any other way4 ,it looks as if there was no danger of any lack of advertising to teach them4--,exchange4 ,the ,old ,story4 ,a man generally knows his own business well enough to make money out of it4 ,when he attempts another business he finds that some other fellow has learned that business better than he has1 evidently4 ,few men ever learn enough about more than one business to make both or all of them pay4 ,profitable ,catalogues4 ,mr4 ,john ,lynn1 of #dh ,bond ,st41 ,new ,york is a successful dealer in novelties2 his catalogue is very attractive4 ,another successful dealer is ,chas4 ,e4 ,marshall1 ,lockport1 ,n4 ,y4 ,his catalogue is a winner4 ,montgomery ,ward ,co41 ,chicago1 do the largest mail order business in the world4 ,their catalogue is quite a large volume in itself4 ,gets ,one on ,depew4 ,this is one of the stories about ,chauncey ,m4 ,depew and a railroad pass that is being told nowadays in local railroad circles4 ,the president of the ,waupaca and ,nishna ,railroad company went to see the mild-mannered president of the ,vanderbilt system4 8,what can ,i do for you80 ,mr4 ,depew asked1 letting the smile he uses on such occasions have full swing at the visitor4 8,i dropped in to see you1 ,mr4 ,depew1 to ask for an exchange of courtesies4 ,i am the president of the ,waupaca and ,nishna ,railroad company4 ,i would like to have a pass over your road and will extend the same courtesy to yourself over my road40 ,depew looked thoughtful for a minute4 ,then he said3 8,where is your road80 8,why1 it's out in ,wisconsin40 8,is it rated in ,poor's manual80 8,oh1 yes1 indeed2 we paid a nice dividend last year40 8,strange4 ,i never heard of your road4 ,how long is it80 8,we are operating sixty-seven miles this year40 8,what1 sixty-seven miles1 and you call that an exchange of courtesy1 and the ,vanderbilt system has its thousands of miles80 ,depew assumed his most cavalier air as he launched that question at the head of the president of the ,waupaca and ,nishna and then he waited for a reply4 8,well1 ,mr4 ,depew10 said the western railroad president as he arose to go1 8your road may be a little longer than mine1 but it ain't any wider40 ,his ,joke ,worked ,badly4 ,a young man who seemed to be boiling over to do something smart was a passenger on a ,michigan avenue car the other day4 ,after racking his massive brain for a while he took out a silver dollar and laid it on the seat and took a seat opposite4 ,the car soon stopped at a crossing to let on an old woman with a basket4 ,she saw the empty seat and the dollar1 and it didn't take her over thirty seconds to drop herself into the place and the dollar into her pocket4 8,excuse me1 ma'am10 said the joker1 8but ,i've lost a dollar4 ,i think ,i left it on that seat40 8,i don't10 she bluntly replied4 8,but ,i'm sure of it4 ,did you pick up a dollar80 8,none of your business1 sir40 8,but all of us saw you pick it up1 ma'am1 and ,i can prove it was mine40 8,look a' here1 young chap10 she said1 as she put down her basket1 8if it's a row you want you'll find me ready4 ,i allow no one to walk on me40 8,but1 ma'am1 ,i left----0 8,come on1 then10 she said1 as she stood up and doubled up her fists4 8,i am a peaceful woman1 and ,i want to get along the easiest way1 but if ,i must ,i will40 ,everybody began to clap and laugh1 and the smart ,aleck took a drop off the platform without asking what it was all about4 ,mike's ,dilemma4 ,mike is an ,irishman just fresh from the ,emerald isle1 who recently came to ,hackensack1 ,n4 ,j41 and was employed by two gentlemen1 each keeping a horse in the same stable1 to look after their equines4 ,one day ,mr4 ,jones told ,mike to hitch up his horse and bring it around to his residence4 ,mike did as he was bidden1 but when ,mr4 ,jones saw the turnout he said3 8,why1 ,mike1 that is not my horse1 that is ,mr4 ,smith's animal40 8,begorra10 promptly replied ,mike1 8so it is4 ,i knowed that wasn't your horse1 sir1 but ,i couldn't quite make up my mind which horse belonged to the other gintleman40 ,a ,rank ,failure4 8,i don't believe whippings do children any good10 said ,mrs4 ,wiggins4 8,why1 ,i whipped ,johnny at the photographer's three times because he wouldn't look pleasant and he still looked as cross and disagreeable as ever40 ,at ,reduced ,speed4 ,uncle ,hays--',member the ,hawkins boys who ran away to jine a theatre company8 ,aunt ,marthy--,why1 yes6 ,what about 'em8 ,uncle ,hays 7quietly7--,they've walked back4 ,two ,feminine ,views of ,adam4 ,first ,nineteenth ,century ,girl--,i never did have any opinion of ,adam4 ,a man who could excuse himself by saying1 8,the woman tempted me10 had none of the instincts of a gentleman4 ,second ,ditto--,but what could you expect of the first man8 ,you know it takes three generations to make a gentleman4 ,posted on the ,ring4 8,strange10 remarked ,mrs4 ,brown1 8,i have rung at ,mrs4 ,smith's door three times this week1 and ,i didn't succeed in arousing anyone4 ,i suppose the family is out of town60 8,possibly10 replied ,mrs4 ,jones2 8but ,mrs4 ,smith was telling me just now that she could tell your ring among a thousand40 99 99 99 99 99 ,transcriber's ,notes3 ,punctuation has been made consistent4 ,the following changes were made3 p4 #d3 illegible word assumed to be are 7they are attractively7 p4 #h3 illegible word assumed to be on 7eyes on such7