Jan. 31, 1901. 



AMERICAN BEE JOUBNAL, 



69 



I Contributed Articles- | 



The Bee-Keeper and the Bee-Supply Dealer. 



A Colorado subscriber wrote us as follows Oct. 16, 1900, 

 and we referred his letter to several bee-supply dealers 

 requesting^ their opinion on the subject : 



TO THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL : — 



I want to purchase supplies needed for 250 colonies of 

 bees. I don't know where to buy, for the reason that the 

 business must be transacted by mail, and the purchase 

 made at a factory some hundreds of miles distant. One bee- 

 keeping neig'hbor needs a larger lot than I do, so of course 

 we shall join in getting a car-load direct from the factory. 



We should like to see the goods, check the invoice, and 

 verify the measurements or other qualities, of the different 

 goods, then pay our money on the spot. I object downright 

 to paying for a large bill of goods that I have never seen. 

 But I can't help myself. When the goods are manufactured, 

 then counted and shipt, I am not represented. My money 

 passes beyond my control, and I am helpless. 



I know all the current answers to my objection ; but the 

 answers do not satisfy. The seller is honorable : that does 

 not meet the case. The shipping-clerk is careful ; that does 

 me no good after an error is made. An error in counting 

 can be corrected, and always is, if it amounts to much ; but 

 the error of the man at the saw, if his spoiled goods get 

 shipt, is never corrected. We get softly-worded apologies, 

 but these do not meet the requirement. 



In making a rule of business to protect the seller abso- 

 lutely, we have left the buyer absolutely unprotected. Cash 

 in advance is perfect protection to the seller, but it is rank 

 injustice to the buyer. Cash on delivery of goods, duly ex- 

 amined, checkt out, and verified, is right. 



Now, I submit that the bee-keepers, supply dealers, and 

 editors ought to aggregate brains enough to make a rule of 

 business that will protect both buyer and seller. Let us try 

 the problem, at any rate. Will not the sellers of supplies 

 lead the discussion ? Colorado. 



We have received the following responses to the above, 

 from some of our advertisers: 



DE.'VL WITH RESPONSIBLE FIRMS. 



I do not consider the dilemma of our Colorado friend a 

 serious one. If he wishes to purchase a car-load of supplies 

 the goods will be figured to him at a very low price for the 

 consideration of a quantity order with the cash. This is 

 preatly in the favor of the purchaser. If he places his or- 

 der with a strictly responsible house his goods will be guar- 

 anteed as ordered, and if, by accident, an error should be 

 made it would be corrected without expense to him. As a 

 rule, manufacturers and supply dealers are very honorable 

 in their dealings, and if there are any that are not they 

 must eventually drop out of the business. 



After giving this subject much thought I can see but 

 one explanation, and that is, to be certain to place the order 

 with a responsible firm. Walter S. Pouder. 



" COLORADO " takes A WRONG POSITION. 



We note the copy of letter from your Colorado sub- 

 scriber, which you enclose. We think he takes a wrong po- 

 sition in this matter, for this reason : If he wishes to pur- 

 chase a car-load of goods, and can show as good financial 

 standing in the business world as the manufacturer, then 

 we would have no objection to sending him goods to be 

 paid for when examined ; but inasmuch as he is not in busi- 

 ness, and not quoted in the commercial reference books, he 

 could hardly expect that any one would trust him outright 

 with a car-load of goods unless he could give satisfactory 

 references. 



We have never had any difficulty in satisfj'ing our cus- 

 tomers in the ultimate settlement of any disputed point, 

 unless it may be with some one who has ordered only a few 

 dollars worth of goods and is simply of that make-up that 

 he would not be satisfied even if the whole amount of money 

 he paid for the goods was returned to him. 



Now we would suggest that if this party wishes to pur- 

 chase a car-load of goods, and, as he says, he is willing' to 



pay cash, that he send the manufacturer one-third or one- 

 half the cost of the goods, and deposit the balance in some 

 bank to be paid to the manufacturer when the goods have 

 been received and found satisfactory. 



The W. T. Falconer Mfg. Co. 



NO rule can he LAID DOWN. 



There is no rule that can be laid down in this matter, 

 as the matter of credit to a strange purchaser by a dealer 

 depends altogether upon the information that the dealer 

 may or may not have obtained concerning the purchaser. 

 If dealers were compelled to trust everybody, they would 

 have to ask a much larger price for their goods to make up 

 for dishonest customers, and the honest ones would evi- 

 dently pay for the dishonest ones. Purchasers of large 

 orders who understand the rules of business do not hesitate 

 to furnish good references, and that secures them a credit, 

 so they can see the goods before buying. On a small retail 

 trade, however, it is not advisable to make credit, as it in- 

 volves too large a correspondence and too much book-keep- 

 ing. Between a fair dealer and a fair purchaser, there is 

 NOT trouble once in a thousand purchases, because the dealer 

 is always ready to take back incorrect goods and replace 

 them, paying freight both ways. When there is trouble it 

 is when the dealer is not fair, or the purchaser himself is 

 unjust or gets angry at an error, instead of peaceably rep- 

 resenting the mistake which needs correction. But as I 

 said before, it does not happen once in a thousand deals 

 that both parties get so angry that they can not agree on a 

 satisfactory solution. 



As we cut up very little lumber ourselves, but buy 

 much of our stuff already cut from large mills, we are both 

 a buyer and a seller in the goods furnisht by " the man at 

 the saw, " and we must say that we find very little trouble 

 in getting or giving satisfaction. 



Chas. Dadant & Son. 



TRY TO DO AS YOU WOULD BE DONE BY. 



Your Colorado correspondent is not so badly off as he 

 imagines. In the first place it is not necessary or desirable 

 even, for him to send his order hundreds of miles distant di- 

 rect to the factory. He can place it with a large wholesale 

 dealer in his own State, and receive just as good prices as 

 tho he sent the order direct to the factory. 



Again, if he is a reliable and responsible man, and can 

 satisfy the one with whom he places his order of the fact, 

 it is not necessarv for him to pay for the goods until he 

 sees them and is satisfied they are what he ordered. 

 Neither the manufacturer nor the dealer wants to have any 

 unfair advantage over his customers. The reason why 

 the rule of " cash with order " has been adopted is not to 

 take advantage of the buyer, but it is rather in his interest 

 in preventing bad debts, thereby permitting of closer 

 prices. If the manufacturer or dealer had the means at 

 hand of ascertaining who were responsible and trustworthy 

 and who were not, many people could be accommodated 

 who, under the present conditions, find it less troublesome 

 to send the amount with the order. We have the means at 

 hand for men in the mercantile business : but not for 

 farmers, professional men, etc, who makeup the great 

 majority of customers for bee-supplies. 



Even if cash does accompany the order and it is placed 

 with a responsible manufacturer or dealer, the buyer is not 

 helpless if the order is not properly filled. Your subscriber 

 seems to assume that the manufacturer would be more care- 

 ful to avoid mistakes in filling the order if the payment 

 was not to be made till after delivery and inspection — a 

 proposition which is absurd from our point of view. We 

 would have as much right to assume that the buyer would 

 be more critical in his inspection, seeking for some basis as 

 a claim for rebate, if he were allowed the privilege of in- 

 spection before .settling for the goods. We have more 

 faith in both classes— buyer and seller— than to ascribe to 

 either such low standards. 



Your correspondent says, " Errors of the man at the 

 saw, if his spoilt goods get shipt, are never corrected." 

 That is a pretty sweeping statement which we think he 

 would find it difficult to prove. We can cite him to numer- 

 ous cases in our experience that would induce him to ma- 

 terially modify it. We always try to do as we would be 

 done by, whether goods are paid for or not. Occasionally a 

 man takes so unreasonable a position as to make it impos- 

 sible to satisfy him ; but we usually satisfv our customers. 



The A. I. Root Co. 



