1898. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



517 



the honey in it cannot be seen, you reply, " This is a better 

 grade of honey than you think. The only possiblti objection 

 to it is that of color. It is just as pure and healthful, is well 

 filled, and Is in every way as good an article as the bees can 

 make frona the flowers it was gathered from. You would be 

 surprised at the ease with which you can sell this grade of 

 honey by mentioning its purity and flavor if any one remarks 

 about its color. I have only three cases of this dark grade 

 left, and I can't see how you would regret it if you would let 

 me bring iu the lot." 



" I could not use three cases of it, but I believe I will try 

 one case and see how it goes."' 



At your next call where you find any prospect of a sale 

 the proprietor says, " Yes, that is fine looking honey ; but I 

 have had it here as nice, or nicer ; and when I took it home to 

 eat I found so much filler iu it that it was tough inside." 



" You mean the comb foundation used in the middle, I 

 suppose. Yes, I know some bee-keepers are very careless 

 about this. They use an inferior grade of homemade foun- 

 dation which cannot be detected until the honey is cut, and it 

 is bound to give anything but satisfaction. We all use some 

 foundation in order to get the combs built straight in the sec- 

 tions ; but I am very careful to use only the best article that 

 can be made. The foundation I use runs 12 square feet to 

 the pound, is the purest and best to be had, and is actually 

 thinner than much naturally-built comb. In all the little 

 points in honey-production I try to keep posted, and put out 

 as fine an article for Its graie as any bee keeper I know. If I 

 sell you the four cases I have left, and you do not find them to 

 be strictly all right I will take them off your hands and re- 

 fund the money the first time I am over ; or if you write me a 

 line I will come promptly and get them. I am not here to- 

 day merely to sell what honey is now needed, but to build up 

 a trade and make an outlet for my large crop this season, and 

 probably for other seasons." 



"We always sell our honey by the frame, and we some- 

 times get it that is every weight and thickness, which results 

 in a lot of culling over, and then having to sell the last few 

 frames at a discount, may be below cost. I see this case is 

 pretty much all one thing, but you have irregular or partly 

 filled frames sometimes, don't you ?" 



" Yes, sir ; but when you buy regular-grade honey of me, 

 that is exactly what you get. I dispose of extra thick and 

 thin combs at some boarding-houses near home. The honey I 

 put on the general market is cased up with the wishes of the 

 grocer in view. Well capt sections that will not weigh 12 

 ounces are cased by themselves and sold together. There are 

 some grocers who prefer these light-weight sections because 

 they cost less, and they prefer to sell something that goes at 

 a small price. By having the honey in a case somewhat uni- 

 form in weight it saves the picking over that is apt to happen 

 when there is a great difference in either color or weight in 

 the sections in a given case." 



"But I wouldn't want to buy four cases. You would sell 

 me one of your best grade, wouldn't you V 



"Yes; but surely one case of honey is a small matter for 

 a man with the trade you appear to have. I should like to 

 sell you enough to last until I come over again. Better take 

 one case of each grade, at least." 



" My trade does not go much on a poor article." 



"But my dark honey is not a poor article; in fact, many 

 bee-keepers who are not so careful with their honey would 

 call this their best. It is a good idea to let a customer have 

 his choice in such matters, and theu you will not have people 

 saying they can buy for a cent or two less elsewhere. It Is 

 easy for them to be deceived in quality while remembering 

 the price'. To illustrate, you probably have a great variety in 

 price in the same kind of canned goods, and your customers 

 make their selection. Why not give them the same chance on 

 honey ?" 



He objects to the price, and wants a liberal discount if 

 he takes two cases ; but you emphasize the rebate on the 

 cases if in good condition ; tell him the last section in a case 

 will sell as readily as the others, and that you warrant satis- 

 faction. 



You get your money, and go back to your wagon with 

 two cases yet to dispose of. You have been to all the grocer- 

 ies, and are not sold out. Now you try the bakeries. 



" I see you do not have any hooey on sale here, yet some 

 of the bakeries over our way sell more than some of the 

 groceries." 



" 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 sieht. Probably half the comb honey that is sold is carried 

 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 here 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 also." 



" 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, because 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 percent 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 filled-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 

 some time." 



" 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 bakeries do not care 

 to take the remaining case, and so you go to the hustling 

 yomg fellow who runs a fruit and confectionery store in a 

 little 7x9 room under a stairway a few feet from the leading 

 business corner of the place." 



" You occasionally have quite a loss by your 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 is 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, unless the market is actually glutted with an 

 enormous crop. In that case my advice would be, that if you 

 cannot make sales after trying various places within your 

 reach, wait a few months and try it over. You would better 

 borrow money and hold your crop than to sacrifice it. I am 

 sure, however, that some earnest work along this line will 

 give you good results under almost 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 nine miles 

 apart where the retail price of honey has been different by 25 

 to 40 percent. You will find a good many things that are 

 new to you if you will do some exploring along 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 pusht 

 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 safety 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 satisfac- 

 tion, and I have made a good profit on it ; and any time you 

 are over come in and see how I am stockt." 



No wonder he was pleased, for he had sold lots of it, and 

 at prices from 20 to 25 percent higher than I supposed he 

 was getting, and higher than the other grocers in town were 

 getting. He had a large and fancy trade, and was actually 

 clearing 40 to 45 percent on my honey. 



Give your customer a square deal on grading, etc., and 

 you will often be pleased to hear such expressions as: "Just 

 set it right on the counter; here is your money. 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 you ? 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 bear any- 

 thing about " trade it out," will not be badgered about cutting 

 prices, and will be treated in a frieudiy and businesslike way 

 on every trip, with numerous invitations to " call again when 

 you are over." 



Once on my first call, as I set a beautiful case of honey 

 with a three-inch glass front on a gentleman's counter, and 



