300 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



among consumers that it is adulterated. 

 Why shouldn't it? As one consumer 

 stated to me the other day: "You know 

 that we buy nuts with the shells on at 

 so much a pound, but when we buy the 

 meats alone, with the shells removed, 

 they cost us a great deal more. I 

 thought it was the same with honey." 



THE PACKAGE. 



For direct-to-the-consumer selling, the 

 package is of prime importance. It 

 must be neither too large nor too small. 

 Remember it costs just as much to take 

 an order for a small package as a 

 large one. It costs just as much to de- 

 liver it. The package, then, should be 

 just as large as the consumer will buy, 

 which reduces selling and delivering 

 expenses, and enables a sale to be made 

 at a popular price without reducing the 

 profits. In figuring on this package 

 question, remember it is not the num- 

 ber of sales that count _ altogether, but 

 the amount of business done and honey 

 sold. If, of ten people who would buy 

 one pound of honey each, one of them 

 would buy ten pounds, you had better 

 sell the one the ten pounds, thus mak- 

 ing the same profit, giving the consumer 

 a better price, and saving the other nine 

 for future ten-pound prospects. Rest 

 assured they will be when they realize 

 it is to their advantage to be. For the 

 above trade I should advise what I am 

 now using, a ten-pound friction-top tin 

 pail. The size is 6% inches wide, by 

 7 inches tall. Don't let them sell you 

 a full gallon, as it is too big for a ten- 

 pound package. Label your honey "ten 

 pounds net," and then be sure that you 

 have ten pounds. Don't sell the pack- 

 age as a gallon of honey. 



HOW TO GET CUSTOMERS. 



The ways of getting customers are 

 so many and varied that it is impossible 

 to give them all in this article. Two 

 or three will serve to start you thinking 

 along this line, and thinking is one of 

 the best plans out. 



When I first came to Detroit, my time 

 was fully occupied in an office, and I 

 had no time to make a personal can- 

 vass, so I hired a high-school boy to 

 begin a house to house canvass. This 

 canvass was started the last of June, 

 and was for deliveries to be made in 

 August and September. You can see 

 by this that I had the fieTd to myself, 

 for no one was canvassing for honey 

 at that time. I paid this young man 

 $5.00 per week, and he took an average 

 of ten orders a day. At first he carried 

 a sample, but it did not take long to 

 learn that was not the best plan. No 

 matter how nice your sample looked 

 when you started out in the morning, 

 it soon became a mussy looking bottle 

 by the continual opening, and sampling. 

 So the sample was discontinued and 

 orders were taken by verbal explana- 

 tion. It would surprise many to know 

 that when we discarded the sample the 

 orders increased. 



The package we sold was a ten- 

 pound friction-top pail, as before ex- 

 plained. We also took orders for comb 

 honey, but one year was enough for 

 that. The price asked for this honey 

 was $1.50 per pail, and I hesitated be- 

 fore placing the price that high, but now 

 it is a question whether it is high 

 enough. No one objected to the price, 

 and after the first pail was delivered to 

 a customer there was no request for a 

 smaller package. In fact, the complaint 

 was that the honey went so fast. 



TRIAL ORDERS. 



The first year these orders were all 

 taken as trial orders. I mean that the 

 order was taken with the understanding 

 that the honey would be delivered, and 

 not collected for until a few days or a 

 week after delivery. This killed all ar- 

 guments regarding the quality, for of 

 course the honey must be good to leave 

 in this way. Each pail was nicely la- 

 beled with both address and telephone 

 number on the label. As an introduc- 

 tion I feel that this plan is an excep- 



