hrewdness by carefully
watching the seller's methods.

Some buyers seem to think that bull-dozing tactics, cute lies and
irritable manners make the seller humble, weak-kneed and non-combative.
This is a great mistake.

The best buyer is first a gentleman. He keeps his word, he is patient
and he knows his business thoroughly.

The buyer gains much by being open and above board with the seller. Let
the seller know that your success consists in getting as much value as
you can for the money, and that your continuous trade will result only
through fair treatment.

Let the seller understand that the better he treats you in the matter
of price and quality the better you will be able to treat your
customers, and the longer you will be able to deal with the seller.

The moment a buyer shows bull-dozing methods, the seller is
antagonized, and his object then is to soak the buyer.

The buyer who keeps his temper and goes at the matter philosophically
is the one who wins out.

The buyer should explain to the seller that the seller can get the best
of him once and may be twice, but not more than that.

The main thing for the buyer to possess is a most thorough knowledge of
the goods he buys. Learn who makes the goods and where they are made,
and get at the factory cost.

Then learn whose factories have the best reputation, and whose are the
best fitted and established to make the goods you buy.

Remember you can afford to investigate. When you find a factory
over-sold you will find that factory more independent. When you find a
factory short of orders you will find them eager for your trade, and
the chances are you can do much better with this factory than with the
one that is behind on its orders.

Don't get excited, don't hurry. Speak gently. Know your ground.
Cultivate a reputation for fairness rather than smoothness. Laxity and
indifference in buying means that you are allowing wastes and leaks to
creep in your business, and that you are placing a handicap on your
traveling salesman, for goods well bought are half sold.

Expenses

If you get confidential with Mr. Bradstreet or Mr. Dun so that they
will give you access to the inside history of the commercial concerns
which have failed in business, you will quickly discover that in the
majority of cases the cause of the failure was "too much expense."

It has become quite a common saying in speaking of failures that "the
expenses ate up the profits."