Chapter XXX —
BUYING OUT A LARGE STOCK OF MERCHANDISE—ON THE ROAD AGAIN—SIX WEEKS IN
EACH TOWN—MUDDY ROADS AND POOR TRADE—CLOSING OUT AT AUCTION—SAVED MY
CREDIT BUT COLLAPSED—PEDDLING POLISH AND JEWELRY—WHOLESALING
JEWELRY—FIFTY DOLLARS AND LOTS OF EXPERIENCE MY STOCK IN TRADE—TALL
“HUS’LING” AND GREAT SUCCESS—AN OFFER FROM A WHOLESALE JEWELRY
FIRM—DECLINED WITH THANKS—HUS’LING AGAIN—GREAT SUCCESS.
Now that I had made considerable money and had it in cash I determined
on doing two things.
The first, was to arrange with some wholesale jewelry house to furnish
me with what stock I needed, at a small advance above the manufacturers’
price, to travel on the road and supply the retail trade—as I had never
given up the idea of some day becoming a wholesale jeweler.
The second, was to return immediately to Bronson, Michigan, and Clyde,
Ohio, and pay all of my debts, which had been running a long time.[Pg 539] With
the first object in view I set out to find headquarters for purchasing
my jewelry, and succeeded in finding a dealer who offered me
satisfactory prices. After looking his goods over and coming to an
understanding with him, I informed him that I was going east for a few
days, and on my return would select a stock of goods and start out.
My wife and I then packed our trunks, and had bought our tickets ready
for a start, when I happened to pick up a paper and read an
advertisement offering four thousand dollars’ worth of goods for two
thousand dollars. I thought it a good idea to make a couple of thousand
more before starting east, if I could just as well as not, and called on
the advertiser.
I first demanded to know if the stock was clear of incumbrance; and when
convinced that it was, I looked it over, and although it looked to me
like ten thousand dollars’ worth, I laughed at the fellow for having
cheek enough to ask two thousand dollars for it.
He asked how much I thought it was worth.
I offered five hundred dollars.
He offered to take eighteen hundred.
“Well, sir, we are only thirteen hundred [Pg 540]dollars apart, and I’ll split
the difference with you and pay the cash.”
So saying, I “flashed” my roll of money, when he agreed to my
proposition.
After I had made the purchase I asked the gentleman (who was a German)
why he had sold so cheap. He informed me that his uncle had recently
died in Germany, and left him a large fortune; and he was anxious to go
there and spend the balance of his life.
His explanation satisfied me, and I began packing up the goods ready for
shipment.
We gave up our trip east, and after buying nearly two thousand dollars’
worth of almost all kinds of goods, such as tin-ware, glass-ware,
crockery, woolen goods, etc., to put with the miscellaneous line I had
just bought, we started out for the country towns with a large stock,
and advertised to sell at private sale only, and to remain but six weeks
in each town. My reason for giving up the auction sales was this: I had
begun to have some trouble with my throat, and was advised by the doctor
to do no more auctioneering for at least six months.
We continued on with our large stock of goods and traveled through a
section of country where[Pg 541] the mud was so deep during the fall and winter
that it took four horses to haul an empty lumber wagon.
We tried to get into a country where the farmers could occasionally get
to town, but the farther we traveled the deeper the mud kept getting. It
usually took about all the money I could take in at one town to pay
freights and the expense of moving to the next.
I had established a very good commercial standing with several wholesale
houses in Chicago with whom I had been dealing, and felt anxious to make
a success, if for no other reason than to sustain my credit. This I
realized was an important feature in building up a business of any kind.
After remaining in Illinois and Indiana till spring, I decided to work
my way back into Michigan, where I felt certain of finding good roads,
if nothing else.
The first day of April found us at Plainwell, Michigan, with a very
light stock of goods and a small roll of money. After taking a careful
inventory of my stock, and figuring up my liabilities, I at once saw
that if I could sell out and receive one hundred cents on the dollar at
what I had invoiced, I could just about pay my debts to[Pg 542] the wholesale
houses, and I decided to make an auction sale and close out immediately,
and thus save my credit.
By the first of May I had succeeded in selling out everything I
possessed; and after paying up all of my Chicago debts, had but a few
dollars left.
Of course my first thought was Furniture Polish. But on the very day
when I was about to order some of the preparation put up, I happened
into the express office, and there saw on the shelf a package of jewelry
addressed to my name.
It was an order I had given before deciding to close out, and when it
came I refused to take it, instructing the agent to return to the
shipper. He had neglected to do this, and when I asked him why, he
laughed and said he thought best to hold it awhile and see if I wouldn’t
conclude to take it.
At this simple suggestion it instantly occurred to me that I could make
good use of such goods by selling to the people about the hotels where I
traveled. I therefore accepted the package, and after looking it over,
which in all amounted to less than fifty dollars’ worth, I hired a
carpenter to make me a sample case, for which I paid him five dollars.
After arranging my goods nicely[Pg 543] in the trays, we started on the road. I
had with me also two dozen bottles of the “Incomprehensible” as a sort
of stand-by.
We visited several towns where I “hus’led” out with the polish, meeting
with fair success as usual, and managed to sell a piece of jewelry
occasionally, which netted a fair profit.
At White Cloud, Michigan, I called at the drug store of A. G. Clark &
Co. to make a small purchase. When in conversation with Mr. Clark I
mentioned that I was in the jewelry business and would be pleased to
show him my goods. He said he had never handled jewelry in connection
with his drugs, and had no idea it would pay. I persisted, however, in
showing him my line, till he at last consented, when I hastened to the
hotel for my sample case and returned at once.
When I opened the case, containing about two dozen empty trays and only
three trays of goods, Mr. Clark looked rather disgusted, and asked where
I hailed from. I reported myself on my way in, and was closing out my
samples and delivering on the spot.
“Oh, I see; that accounts for your empty trays.”
“Certainly.”
He began picking out a few pieces, and kept it up till he had selected
what he considered enough for a fair stock, and asked me to make out a
bill.
I did so, and billed it on a piece of brown paper, calling to mind my
jewelry experience of years before. The amount was twenty-nine dollars,
which he paid and I receipted in full.
If Mr. Clark reads this book it will no doubt be the first intimation he
has ever had that he was my first customer; and as he is still in
business there, and has a large show-case full of jewelry, which he
takes pride in keeping replenished often, and always favors me when
placing his orders, I take it for granted that he has never had occasion
to regret his first investment in that line.
I then called on another dealer and sold eight dollars’ worth.
When I returned to the hotel I made known my success to my wife, and
declared my intention of sticking to it. She reminded me that I had
always contended that it required large capital; and wondered how I
could expect to succeed with a fifty-dollar stock then, when I was
unable to get along with several times that amount years before.
I told her I thought she was mistaken about my stock in trade, and
assured her that my present stock was fifty times larger than when I
tried it before. In considerable astonishment she asked me what I meant.
“I mean that experience should be invoiced as stock in trade; and as I
have had lots of it since my first experiment, I am going to fill up two
trays in my sample case with jewelry, and in each one of the empty trays
I’ll put a card with the word ‘experience’ written on it; and if a
merchant laughs at my goods I’ll explain that my stock consists of
jewelry and experience, but that I am only selling the jewelry, and
keeping the experience for my own use.”
This plan was carried out; and in every instance when I called on a
merchant and displayed all of my trays on his counter, he would take the
cards up one after the other, and after reading the word “experience” on
each and every one, would ask its meaning. I always explained that I had
more experience than capital, and as I valued it very highly, I
considered it perfectly legitimate to figure it as stock in trade. This
generally brought a smile from them, and as a rule seemed to work to my
benefit. At any rate, I sold jewelry to almost every dealer I called
upon.
As I was then owing my wholesaler fifty dollars for the first bill, I
at once ordered several small packages sent on ahead of me C.O.D. to
different towns, and as I came to them would take them up.
This gave me a chance for some “tall hus’ling,” and I made the most of
it.
I began by showing up my jewelry early in the morning to clerks or
porters at the hotel, and in the evening before retiring, to the hotel
girls.
As soon as the stores were opened I visited every merchant in town, and
sold to Jewelers, Grocers, dealers in Dry Goods and Hardware, Druggists,
Restaurants, Milliners, in short, to every one who had a show-case.
At noon I would open up in the hotel office, ostensibly to arrange my
jewelry, but for no other purpose than to attract the attention of
boarders or guests to my stock of goods.
Whenever they asked to buy I would assume an air of independence and
indifference, and quote the price of every article by the dozen, and was
sure to mention that it was the wholesale price. Of course almost every
one was anxious to buy at wholesale, and I had no trouble in disposing
of goods.
When at the depots awaiting trains I always got into the good graces of
the Telegraph Operator by convincing him that I could read readily from
his instrument, and usually sold him an article of jewelry, and often
several dollars’ worth. I might add here that in traveling about the
country it was quite entertaining to listen to every telegraph
instrument, while waiting for trains, and consequently I kept in fair
practice. As I still cling to that habit, I find little difficulty, even
now, in reading rapidly.
When going from place to place on the cars, I made it a point to “spot”
my man as soon as I entered the car, and managed to either get into the
same seat with him or one very near; and before I was fairly settled I
would find it necessary to open my sample case, and if possible would
ask my would-be victim to hold some of the trays while I arranged a few
goods in the bottom of my case. It was never necessary for me to offer
to sell to them, as they were usually eager to look through my stock,
and very anxious to buy when informed that I was a wholesaler.
It used to amuse me to come in contact with the high-salaried drummers,
upon whose [Pg 548]personal sales their houses solely depended for success, and
see them spend a large share of their valuable time in “getting
acquainted” with some prominent merchant prior to inviting him to the
hotel to see their samples, which only for the disgrace of carrying
their cases from store to store they would have had with them. It was
always an easy matter for me to frustrate this class of salesmen in
their schemes of getting acquainted, as I always had my sample case
ready to spring open at the very first opportunity; and as I usually
managed to get the floor, and almost invariably did all the talking, the
“box,” as a rule, was opened up to the merchant on short notice; and
although I considered a sale half made when this was accomplished, I
never quit talking or quit pushing sales, and always hurried my customer
through as fast as possible, and as soon as finished bade him good-bye
and left his store.
Many a good sale I made in this way while my modest, sleek,
forty-dollar-a-month friend stood by and wondered how long I had been
acquainted with the proprietor.
We traveled through Michigan, visiting the same towns we had sold
auction goods in the year before; and wherever I traveled, the moment I[Pg 549]
would step off the cars I would hear such remarks as these from men and
boys:
“There’s the auction man. We’ll have a circus to-night; he can talk a
man to death in five minutes. Wonder what he’s got in that box.”
In about thirty days from the day I made my first sale of jewelry I
arrived at Cheboygan, Michigan; and upon taking an inventory of stock
and cash, found I had cleared just six hundred and twenty-five dollars
over and above all our expenses.
On calling for my mail at this place I received a letter from the
proprietor of the wholesale house I had been dealing with, requesting me
to come to Chicago at once, as they had a very important proposition to
make to me. When I returned to the hotel I met my wife in the hall and
said: “Flo., I guess G. & S. want to take me in partnership with them;
at any rate they have written me to come to Chicago, and I think we’d
better start at once.”
We boarded a small steamer for Traverse City, where we took the steamer
“City of Traverse,” and after about forty-eight hours’ ride arrived in
Chicago, and I immediately called on the firm with a feeling of almost
absolute assurance that thirty[Pg 550] minutes later would find me a member of
the concern. After shaking hands and passing the time of day, one of the
firm called me into his private office and informed me that they had
concluded to put me on the road at a stipulated salary.
“But I never work on a salary. It’s against my principles and ideas of
business.”
“Yet you would certainly prefer a sure thing, wouldn’t you, Johnston?”
“No, sir; not a bit of it. I wouldn’t snap my finger for a sure thing.
There is no fun, excitement or satisfaction in a sure thing, and worse
still, no money in it.”
“Well, you wouldn’t refuse an extra good offer, would you?”
“Yes, sir, I think I would.”
“Do you mean to say that money wouldn’t hire you?”
“Oh, no. I don’t say that.”
“Well, now just stop to consider, Johnston, how many years you have been
working for yourself; and how much are you worth?”
“Indeed, Mr. S., I am worth more than you are, to-day.”
“How so?”
“Experience.”
“Experience? Do you claim that as capital?”
“Indeed I do, sir, and worth more than all your store. I have been
several years getting ready to make money, while you have been making it
before you got ready. I have had too many ups and downs in my early life
not to be able to profit by at least some of them sooner or later; and I
can’t afford now to go to work for you on a salary, and give you the
benefit of all these years’ experience. Not much, sir, and I’ll just
keep ‘hus’ling.’ If I can’t win, I can die in the cause.”
“But the probabilities are, you will never get enough ahead to start a
business of your own, and will always keep in the same old rut.”
“But I am not the ‘rutty’ kind, Mr. S. Besides, I dislike to work for
any one but Johnston.”
“Well, let’s see how much it will take to hire you for a year.”
“Very well; you mark on a piece of paper how much you will give, and
I’ll mark how much I’ll take.”
He agreed, and assured me he was going to[Pg 552] make me an extra good offer
for a new-beginner. When we had both put down our figures we threw our
papers on the desk. He had marked six hundred dollars a year and
expenses, and I had put down thousand dollars and expenses.
I asked, with much astonishment, if he didn’t mean thousands, and he,
with equal astonishment, asked if I didn’t mean hundreds.
On my assuring him that I meant just what I had put down, he asked on
what basis I figured. I answered, on the basis of having cleared over
six hundred dollars the first month, on a capital of fifty dollars’
worth of goods and one million dollars’ worth of experience.
“Great Heavens! have you cleared that much since you commenced?”
I convinced him by showing my stock and cash on hand. He said he knew,
of course, that I had been selling a great many goods, but he supposed I
had done so by cutting prices.
I at once made arrangements to start out again.
The firm offered me a limited credit of one hundred dollars, which I
accepted, realizing that some day I would find it convenient to have
some one to refer to in case I should get in shape to begin business for
myself.
My wife again accompanied me, and we returned to Northern Michigan and
began with excellent sales. I delivered all my goods on the spot, and
sold exclusively for cash.
We continued on in this manner till fall, visiting almost every town in
Northern Michigan and Wisconsin, when I had increased my stock to
several hundred dollars, and was making money fast.
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