828 



HORTICULTURE 



December 11, 1909 



Decorative Dahlia Mme. Vanden Dael 

 I'ure Wlilte. 



Peony Flowered Dahlia Qceen Wilhelmina 



Light rink. 



have led them along from cosmos and 

 dahlias to chrysantheniuras, violets 

 and orchids. You sold these at a 

 profit, and pleased your customer, the 

 wholesaler and yourself. You have 

 spent good money, in advertising to 

 bring the buyers to your store, but now 

 with our 300 per cent, advance we un- 

 dermine the good we have done all tail. 



All your advertising, all your ca- 

 tering, all your good ideas are wasted 

 energy. Instead of leading up to 

 Christmas, and seizing the psycholog- 

 ical monieut to persuade your cus- 

 tom.er to buy flowers for Christmas 

 gifts, und use flowcis in connetii'in 

 with all otlior gifts, you turn on the 

 cold water L^pigot, and give them a 

 chill that they do not get -jver lor 

 three or four weeks, with your extor- 

 tionate prices. 



And for what, gentlemen? One <3ay. 

 This one day ruins a whole month's 

 business. You can't wipe it out of 

 neo|)!e's miiiub. They will not go 

 near a flower shop imless they are 

 absolutely compelled to. When you 

 turn on this cold water spigot, they 

 Uu net get over it in thice or fi>;r 

 wcelis or a year. Tiny may get over 

 tlie .:hill. but thv? elTect of the ins;h 

 prices at Christmas shows itself 

 throughout the year; and you lower 

 their vitality as buyers of flowe'rs, and 

 when you turn it on again at the next 

 flower season, be it Christmas, Easter, 

 or Thanksgiving, you gradually give 

 the;'n consumption, ;ind they leav.? us 

 altogether. 



"\\"hy it is a yearly occurrence that 

 for a week before, and three or four 

 weekii after Christmas, the first re- 

 mai-k a customer will make will be, 

 "Flowers are awfully high now, aren't 

 they?" Before you have had a chance 

 to !;ay anything, showing what is up- 

 permost in their thoughts. 



Now if those who tome into your 

 store think that way, what nmst the 



thousand.-^ that pass by think? You 

 know it is the thiiikery that does the 

 work, and on thi.-! i.ccount they re- 

 solve to buy gloves, confectionery, 

 jewelry, etc.. and so florists lose thou- 

 sands of dollars' worth of sales. 



Do these merchants advance theii 

 prices because their cistomers want 

 their goods? Not on your life; they 

 are too clever. They have spent good 

 money all season advertising and 

 building up trade, and they are not 

 y.ing to detract f:-(mi thai valuable 

 at-.set, the customer, that they have 

 pi-jcl.ologized into buying their wares 

 just because tht^ic is nn increased de- 

 mand foi them. 



1 have actually heaid Horists say, 

 direct, to tiie customer, who is com- 

 plaining of the awful advance of 300 

 per cent., "'Well, flowers are very ex- 

 pensive at Christmas, and we have a 

 great demand for them and they are 

 very scarce." And then your cus- 

 tomer immediately thinks, "Well, it 

 does not ha^e to be flowers; I am not 

 going to be Buffaloed that way. 

 Why not send candy at 80 cents per 

 pound for the best, or why not jew- 

 elry same price as at any other time 

 of the year? — and it will keep, too, 

 while flowers would be gone in a few 

 days, anyway." So they go and spend 

 their money elsewhere. Aside from 

 this, we not only lose the sale but 

 the confidence and respect of the cus- 

 tomer as well. 



You will see flowers for sale the 

 next day on the street at every corner 

 at one-third less than you ask. Vio- 

 lets for which you yesterday asked 

 $].!S0 or .$2.00 per bunch— and^ by the 

 way, violets are never worth $1.50 or 

 $2.00; I mean a bunch of 50 — the next 

 day after Christmas they will be 

 poked under your nose for 50 cents 

 per bunch If they were so scarce as 

 you told your customer, how is it 

 that there are so many on the street 



the next day? 



Gentlemen, put yourself in the po- 

 sition of the retail customer and note 

 the impression you get. Could you 

 have confidence and respect for a 

 business man who tried to charge you 

 three times the fair price just because 

 he thinks you must have the goods? 

 Nov, though the retailer has much 

 expense at this rush season, although 

 he must employ extra help at high 

 prices and he has extra delivery ex- 

 pense, and he has extra wrapping ex- 

 pense to protect from frost, and he 

 must make good anything that is 

 frozen, yet all this does not account 

 for the exceedingly high prices asked 

 by him. What is the reason? It Is 

 the wornout system of irying to crowd 

 out of one day's business the profit 

 which should be spread over a month. 

 We would make this profit, and more 

 too, if prices were at a slight advance 

 — say, 50 per cent. There would not 

 be any to sell to the street man the 

 next day. 



The commission man would be hap- 

 pier, for if anyone has his troubles it 

 is he. He is between the devil and 

 deep sea, trying to please his store 

 man and his grower. Yoti can go to 

 any commission man a week before 

 Christmas and he is afraid to tell you 

 the price for fear his grower will de- 

 c'are he is too low. How are we go- 

 ing to sell under these conditions? 

 Drop the follies of 1908. Let us be 

 sane, and make a play for the biggest 

 end of this Christmas shopping. Turn 

 the tide our way, and explode this 

 idea that the public has, that flowers 

 are awfully extravagant at Christmas. 



Now, after all is said and done 

 about follies of 190S, and extortionate 

 high prices at Christmas, I must not 

 be construed as an advocate of cheap 

 prices or cheap work, but there is a 

 vast difference between a square deal 

 and "get what you. can" plan. 



