Score Board, Golf
Score Books
Score Tablets, Base Ball
Shirts—
Athletic
Base Ball
Shoes—
Base Ball
Basket Ball
Bowling
Clog
Cross Country
Cricket
Fencing
Foot Ball, Association
Foot Ball, College
Foot Ball, Rugby
Foot Ball, Soccer
Golf
Gymnasium
Jumping
Running
Skating
Squash
Tennis
Shot—
Athletic
Indoor
Massage
Skates—
Ice
Roller
Skis
Sleeve, Pitchers
Snow Shoes
Squash Goods
Straps—
Base Ball
For Three-Legged
Race
Skate
Stockings
Striking Bags
Suits—
Basket Ball
Gymnasium
Gymnasium,
Ladies’
Running
Soccer
Swimming
Union Foot Ball
Supporters
Ankle
Wrist
Suspensories
Sweaters
Tether Tennis
Tights—
Full
Wrestling
Knee
Toboggans
Trapeze
Trunks—
Bathing
Velvet
Worsted
Umpire Indicator
Uniforms
Wands, Calisthenic
Watches, Stop
Water Wings
Weights, 56–lb.
Whitely Exercisers
Wrestling Equipment
Standard Policy
A Standard Quality must be inseparably linked to a Standard Policy.
Without a definite and Standard Mercantile Policy, it is impossible for
a manufacturer to long maintain a Standard Quality.
To market his goods through the jobber, a manufacturer must provide a
profit for the jobber as well as the retail dealer. To meet these
conditions of Dual Profits, the manufacturer is obliged to set a
proportionately high list price on his goods to the consumer.
To enable the glib salesman, when booking his orders, to figure out
attractive profits to both the jobber and retailer, these high list
prices are absolutely essential; but their real purpose will have been
served when the manufacturer has secured his order from the jobber, and
the jobber has secured his order from the retailer.
However, these deceptive high list prices are not fair to the consumer,
who does not, and, in reality, is not ever expected to pay these fancy
list prices.
When the season opens for the sale of such goods, with their misleading
but alluring high list prices, the retailer begins to realize his
responsibilities, and grapples with the situation as best he can, by
offering “special discounts,” which vary with local trade conditions.
Under this system of merchandising, the profits to both the manufacturer
and the jobber are assured; but as there is no stability maintained in
the prices to the consumer, the keen competition amongst the local
dealers invariably leads to a demoralized cutting of prices by which the
profits of the retailer are practically eliminated.
This demoralization always reacts on the manufacturer. The jobber
insists on lower, and still lower, prices. The manufacturer, in his
turn, meets this demand for the lowering of prices by the only way open
to him, viz.: the cheapening and degrading of the quality of his
product.
The foregoing conditions became so intolerable that, ten years ago, in
1899, A. G. Spalding & Bros. determined to rectify this demoralization
in the Athletic Goods Trade, and inaugurated what has since become known
as “The Spalding Policy.”
The “Spalding Policy” eliminates the jobber entirely, so far as Spalding
Goods are concerned, and the retail dealer secures his supply of
Spalding Athletic Goods direct from the manufacturer under a restricted
retail price arrangement by which the retail dealer is assured a fair,
legitimate and certain profit on all Spalding Athletic Goods, and the
consumer is assured a Standard Quality and is protected from imposition.
The “Spalding Policy” is decidedly for the interest and protection of
the users of Athletic Goods, and acts in two ways:
FIRST—The user is assured of genuine Official Standard Athletic Goods,
and the same fixed prices to everybody.
SECOND—As manufacturers, we can proceed with confidence in purchasing
at the proper time, the very best raw materials required in the
manufacture of our various goods, well ahead of their respective
seasons, and this enables us to provide the necessary quantity and
absolutely maintain the Spalding Standard of Quality.
All retail dealers handling Spalding Athletic Goods are required to
supply consumers at our regular printed catalogue prices—neither more
nor less—the same prices that similar goods are sold for in our New
York, Chicago and other stores.
All Spalding dealers, as well as users of Spalding Athletic Goods, are
treated exactly alike, and no special rebates or discriminations are
allowed to anyone.
Positively, nobody, not even officers, managers, salesmen or other
employes of A. G. Spalding & Bros., or any of their relatives or
personal friends, can buy Spalding Athletic Goods at a discount from the
regular catalogue prices.
This, briefly, is the “Spalding Policy,” which has already been in
successful operation for the past ten years, and will be indefinitely
continued.
In other words, “The Spalding Policy” is a “square deal” for everybody.
A. G. SPALDING & BROS.
[Illustration: By A. G. Spalding. PRESIDENT.]
Standard Quality
An article that is universally given the appellation “=Standard=” is
thereby conceded to be the Criterion, to which are compared all other
things of a similar nature. For instance, the Gold Dollar of the United
States is the Standard unit of currency, because it must legally contain
a specific proportion of pure gold, and the fact of its being Genuine is
=guaranteed= by the Government Stamp thereon. As a protection to the
users of this currency against counterfeiting and other tricks,
considerable money is expended in maintaining a Secret Service Bureau of
Experts. Under the law, citizen manufacturers must depend to a great
extent upon Trade-Marks and similar devices to protect themselves
against counterfeit products—without the aid of “Government Detectives”
or “Public Opinion” to assist them.
Consequently the “Consumer’s Protection” against misrepresentation and
“inferior quality” rests entirely upon the integrity and responsibility
of the “Manufacturer.”
A. G. Spalding & Bros. have, by their rigorous attention to “Quality,”
for thirty-three years, caused their Trade-Mark to become known
throughout the world as a Guarantee of Quality as dependable in their
field as the U. S. Currency is in its field.
The necessity of upholding the guarantee of the Spalding Trade-Mark and
maintaining the Standard Quality of their Athletic Goods, is, therefore,
as obvious as is the necessity of the Government in maintaining a
Standard Currency.
Thus each consumer is not only insuring himself but also protecting
other consumers when he assists a Reliable Manufacturer in upholding his
Trade-Mark and all that it stands for. Therefore, we urge all users of
our Athletic Goods to assist us in maintaining the Spalding Standard of
Excellence, by insisting that our Trade-Mark be plainly stamped on all
athletic goods which they buy, because without this precaution our best
efforts towards maintaining Standard Quality and preventing fraudulent
substitution will be ineffectual.
Manufacturers of Standard Articles invariably suffer the reputation of
being high-priced, and this sentiment is fostered and emphasized by
makers of “inferior goods,” with whom low prices are the main
consideration.
A manufacturer of recognized Standard Goods, with a reputation to uphold
and a guarantee to protect, must necessarily have higher prices than a
manufacturer of cheap goods, whose idea of and basis for a claim for
Standard Quality depends principally upon the eloquence of the salesman.
We know from experience that there is no quicksand more unstable than
poverty in quality—and we avoid this quicksand by Standard Quality.
[Illustration: A. G. Spalding & Bros.]
[Illustration: back cover]
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TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES
1. Silently corrected typographical errors and variations in spelling.
2. Archaic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings retained as printed.
3. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_.
4. Enclosed bold font in =equals=.
End of Project Gutenberg's Tumbling for Amateurs, by James T. Gwathmey