THE BEE KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



251 



our way sell more than some of the gro- 

 ceries." 



"We never have any call for it." 



You smile, and say, "Yet that does not 

 prove you could not sell it. You do not 

 have call for strawberries at this time of 

 the year, either; but they would surely 

 sell if you had them in sight. Probably 

 half the comb honey that is sold is car- 

 ried home because the customers are in 

 the store on other business, and, seeing 

 the honey, take a fancy to it and buy it. 

 If you had this case of honey on the 

 shelf back of you, right in plain sight, it 

 would not be long before some customer, 

 taking home some fresh bread or rolls 

 would want to take along a section or two 

 of honey." 



"But we buy some strained honey for 

 use in our baking, and we have some 

 Mason jars of it on the shelf up there you 

 see, and it does not pay for the bother of 

 fussing with it, for we hardly ever sell 

 any." 



"Well, I'm not much surprised, be- 

 cause it is not labeled, and people do not 

 know what it is. When you strain your 

 honey the 'poetry' is all taken out of it, 

 as a lawyer friend of mine says. Comb 

 honey is always attractive, will sell itself, 

 and if other bakers do well with it I don't 

 see how you would miss it. You can 

 make 25 per cent on it, and whatever you 

 make will be just that much extra to help 

 pay rent and keep business on the move. 

 You can rest assured that if you had 

 these two cases here in sight, the people 

 would buy it. Besides it is attractive, 

 and helps give your place a neat and fill- 

 ed up appearance." 



"If you want to leave one case here 

 and let me try it I will pay you for it if 

 it sells, and if not you can get it again 

 Sometime." 



"I thank you for the offer, but I can't 

 accept it. If I should do business that 

 way I should have to raise my prices to 

 cover an occasional loss from failure or 

 fire, or something else. My prices are 

 as low as they can be for a good article, 

 and I have to sell for cash." 



"Another sale made; but the other ba- 

 keries do not care to take the remaining 

 case, and so you go to the hustling young 

 fellow who runs a fruit and confectionery 

 store in a little 7x9 room under a stair- 

 way a few feet from the leading business 

 corner of the place. 



"You occasionally have quite a loss by 

 yovir fruit spoiling on your hands. Here 

 is an article that will make you a good 

 percentage, and will last for years so far 

 as its keeping qualities are concerned. 



The investment is absolutely a safe one 

 because it is sure to sell, even if it does 

 not go off with a rush." 



He likes the idea first rate, and your 

 purse is heavier and your wagon empty. 



Now, do you think I have made 

 this appear too easy ? Not a bit of it, un- 

 less the market is actually glutted with an 

 enormous crop. In that case my advice 

 would be that, if you can not make sales 

 after trying various places within your 

 reach, wait a few months and tr}- it over. 

 You had better borrow money and hold 

 your crop than to sacrifice it. I am sure, 

 however, that some earnest work along 

 this line will give good results under al- 

 most any circumstances that you are apt 

 to find, for conditions vary greatly in 

 towns within a few miles of each other. 

 I know of two cities 9 miles apart where 

 the retail price of honey has been differ- 

 ent by 25 to 40 per cent. You will find a 

 good many things that are new to you if 

 you will do some ex])l()ring in this line. 



If you are fortunate enough to have a 

 crop of honey that averages very high, 

 you will be surprised to see how easy it is 

 to interest people; but your lower grades 

 should be pushed along in proportion to 

 what you have. You do not want a lot 

 of low-grade honey on hand, with the 

 best all gone. The price-mark is the 

 safty-valve. You can sell anything if the 

 price is right; but have your price high 

 enough so you will have to talk it up to 

 sell it. 



One party said to me, "Your honey 

 gives good satisfaction, and I have made 

 a good profit on it; and any time you are 

 over, come in and see how I am stocked." 



No wonder he was pleased, for he had 

 sold lots of it, and at prices from 20 to 25 

 per cent higher than the other grocers in 

 town were getting. He had a large and 

 fancy trade, and v.as actually clearing 40 

 to 45 per cent on my honey. 



Give vour customer a square deal on 

 grading', etc., and you will often be pleas- 

 ed to hear such expressions as: "Just set 

 it right on the counter; here is your mon- 

 ey. I am too busy to open it and look at 

 it. The other was all right, and I will 

 risk this being the same. " "How many 

 have vou ? Two cases of fancy and three 

 of amber?" "All right; carry it to the 

 back of the store; I'll take your word for 

 it." "I don't know but your price is a 

 little high; but I like the "way you put it 

 up, and it sells as well as any honey I ever 

 bought. ' ' 



You will soon get acquainted with your 

 trade, and if you do your part you will 

 get a top-notch price, will not hear any- 

 thing about "trade it out," will not be 



