Price

August 31

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , , , ,

What was advertised in a colonial American newspaper 250 years ago today?

South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal (August 31, 1773).

“The most minute and trifling article, INDISPUTABLY CHEAPER than they could possibly do in London.”

Working on behalf of the beneficiary of George Thomson’s estate at the end of August 1773, Benjamin Villepontoux attempted to liquidate the remaining inventory in the store “lately occupied” by Thomson on Tradd Street in Charleston.  The merchandise included a “Large and valuable assortment of DRY GOODS,” most of them imported by Thomson “in the month of October last.”  Although nearly a year had passed, Villepontoux insisted that the goods were still in style, reiterating the word “fashionable” in the list of goods in the advertisement: “SUPERFINE fashionable broad cloths, with trimming,” Fashionable beaver hats, with gold and silver bands,” “fashionable cloaks,” and “the most fashionable ribbons.”  Similarly, he promoted a “variety of genteel articles in the millinary branch” and “very elegant embroidered brocade for waistcoats.”

Villepontoux hoped that such descriptions would attract both consumers and, especially, retailers.  To encourage prospective buyers to take a significant portion of the inventory, he allowed credit until January 1774 to anyone who made a purchase “of 50l. sterling, at one time.”  Otherwise, “immediate payment will be expected” for smaller sales.  This was an opportunity for “planters, shopkeepers, and others” to acquire even “the most minute and trifling article, INDISPUTABLY CHEAPER than they could possibly do in London.”  How could Villepontoux make such a promise about these fashionable wares?  How could the prices in Charleston beat the prices in London?  He asserted that the goods “were purchased, in large parcels, of the original manufacturers, with the utmost care and pains.”  He rehearsed a narrative often delivered by merchants who sought to convince shopkeepers and consumers that they offered the best deals.  Rather than dealing with English merchants, middlemen responsible for inflating prices, Thomson contracted with the producers directly.  That lowered his costs, as did purchasing in volume.  That meant that Thomson (and now Villepontoux) could give bargains to colonizers in South Carolina by passing along the discounts.

In his effort to clear out the merchandise at Thomson’s store, Villepontoux combined a variety of popular marketing appeals.  He invoked choice, fashion, price, and connections to the most cosmopolitan city in the empire.  To persuade prospective buyers that they did not want to pass on the deals now available, he presented an explanation about how he managed to set low prices.  Those circumstances suggested the possibility of negotiating favorable transactions with an already motivated seller.

August 2

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , , , , ,

What was advertised in a colonial American newspaper 250 years ago today?

New-York Gazette and Weekly Mercury (August 2, 1773).

“He makes all sorts of coaches … equal to any imported from England.”

William Deane made appeals to price and quality in an advertisement for the coaches he constructed at his shop “in Broad-street” in the August 2, 1773, edition of the New-York Gazette and Weekly Mercury.  Compared to most other advertisers, however, he devised much more elaborate marketing strategies to convince prospective customers of the price and quality he offered.

Deane started by describing the various services in his shop.  He made several different kinds of carriages as well as “all sorts of harness and saddlers work.”  In addition, he also did “painting, gilding and Japanning, in the neatest and most elegant manner.”  Deane emphasized that he achieved a high level of quality while offering the lowest possible prices because he did not outsource any of those jobs to artisans.  Instead, he “finishes all carriages whatever in his own shop, without applying to any other.”  Accordingly, he was “determined to make them as good, sell them as cheap, and be as expeditious as there is a possibility.”

The carriagemaker realized that he needed “to convince the public of the truth of what he asserts.”  To that end, he vowed that he “will make any piece of work that is required, equal to any imported from England, and will sell it at the prime cost of that imported.”  His customers did not have to sacrifice either price or quality, one for the other, when they supported domestic manufacture by purchasing carriages made in his shop in New York.  Furthermore, they benefitted from additional bargains since they “will save the freight, insurance, and the expences naturally attending to putting the carriages to rights after they arrive.”  In so many ways, purchasing a carriage from Deane was so much easier than importing one made in England.  In addition, he “has now a considerable stock of the best of all materials fit for making carriages,” so he was ready to serve customers who placed orders.

Deane offered a “further inducement,” a one-year guarantee on the carriages made in his shop.  He had been providing guarantees in newspaper advertisements for at least six years (including in an advertisement with nearly identical copy in the New-York Journal more than a year earlier).  The carriagemaker declared that he “will engage his work for a year after it is delivered, that is, if any part gives way, or fails by fair usage, he will make it good at his own expence.”   To make the choice even more clear, he underscored that prospective customers would not have access to that kind of customer service in maintaining their carriages if they opted for ones made in England.  “Those advantages,” Deane intoned, “cannot be obtained on carriages imported.”

The carriagemaker’s advertisement revolved around price and quality.  He did more than make casual reference to them, developing a sophisticated marketing strategy that touted the advantages of purchasing carriages made in his shop.  He used only the best materials and oversaw every aspect of the construction to produce carriages that rivaled in craftsmanship those imported from England.  He also offered competitive prices, especially since his customers saved on shipping and insurance, and a one-year guarantee on any parts that might require repairs.  Deane sought to convince prospective customers that all of this made his carriages the best choice.

May 31

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , , , , ,

What was advertised in a colonial American newspaper 250 years ago today?

New-York Gazette and Weekly Mercury (May 31, 1773).

“The above will be sold very low, as the subscriber has a great deal on hand.”

Appropriately enough, Jacob Wilkins advertised “ONE hundred and thirty pair of brass and iron and-irons” at the “Sign of the Gold And-iron and Candlestick” in the May 31, 1773, edition of the New-York Gazette and Weekly Mercury.  Prospective customers could choose from among the “newest patterns and … different sorts and sizes” to outfit their places.  Wilkins also carried several accessories, including “tongs and shovels and fenders to suit the and-irons.”  In addition, he made “sundry sorts of brass-work” and stocked “a quantity of earthen ware … and all sorts of coarse ware.”

Wilkins concluded his advertisement with a note that “[t]he above will be sold very low, as the subscriber has a great deal on hand.”  It was not clear if he meant the andirons and accessories or all of the merchandise listed in his advertisement, but he may have been willing to dicker with customers over the price of any item.  Unlike other advertisers who merely promoted “very reasonable prices” (as George Ball did in a notice on the same page), Wilkins gave consumers a reason to believe that they would indeed acquire his wares at bargain prices.  He had so much inventory that he was determined to offer good deals just to reduce how much he had on hand.  Whatever determinations he already made about the lowest prices he could offer, Wilkins allowed prospective customers to feel as though they had the upper hand.  They may have been more enthusiastic about visiting his shop with the confidence that the seller had confessed in the public prints that he needed to reduce his inventory.

Wilkins enhanced his appeal to price with additional commentary intended to demonstrate the veracity of his pledge to sell andirons and other housewares “very low.”  Other advertisers sometimes did so as well, though their strategies often involved stories about how they acquired goods directly from producers in England rather than going through middlemen.  Wilkins took a rather novel approach, one that gave consumers the impression that they had the stronger position when it came time to discuss prices.

May 27

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , ,

What was advertised in a colonial American newspaper 250 years ago today?

Supplement to the Massachusetts Gazette and Boston Weekly News-Letter (May 27, 1773).

“Goods very Cheap.”

As May 1773 came to an end, Samuel Eliot and Thomas Walley continued publishing advertisements that included colorful commentary about their low prices.  In the supplement that accompanied the May 27 edition of the Massachusetts Gazette and Boston Weekly News-Letter, Eliot once again asserted that “Those who are acquainted with his Prices, will not need to be told that he sells at low Rates; those who are not, who will please to call on him, shall be satisfied he makes no idle Profession, when he engages to sell his Goods on the most similar terms.”  Elsewhere in the supplement, Walley expressed his exasperation with the elaborate stories that some of his competitors printed about how they “sell cheaper than cheap and lower than anybody else.”  Rather than publish tales with “little meaning,” he “rather chuses to inform his good Customers and others that he will sell at such Prices, as that both the Seller and Buyer may make a Profit.”

In contrast, Gilbert Deblois took a streamlined approach to promote the low prices he charged for a “large and beautiful Assortment” of textiles, accessories, housewares, tea, and a “great Variety of other Articles, too tedious to mention in an Advertisement.”  He deployed a headline that summarized his prices: “Good very cheap.”  He also inserted a nota bene to advise that “Country Traders may be supplied at as low Advance as can be bought at any Store in Town,” reinforcing the message in the headline.  In the standard issue, Herman Brimmer and Andrew Brimmer published an advertisement with a primary headline, “Variety of GOODS,” and a secondary headline, “Exceeding Cheap.”  The Brimmers listed dozens of items from among the “Assortment of English, India and Scotch GOODS” they recently imported, but they did not make additional remarks about the low prices of those items.  They relied on the secondary headline to market their prices.

Deblois and the Brimmers adopted a different approach than Eliot and Walley in their efforts to alert prospective customers to their low prices.  The former chose brevity, allowing short headlines to frame the remainder of their advertisements, while the latter offered narratives intended to engage and perhaps even entertain readers.  In both instances, the advertisers made price a defining factor in their newspaper notices.  They did not merely announce that they had goods for sale.  They presented a reason for consumers to select their shops over others.

May 14

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , ,

What was advertised in a colonial American newspaper 250 years ago today?

New-Hampshire Gazette (May 14, 1773).

“Will be sold … as low as at any Store or Shop in America.”

Among the advertisements and notices in the May 14, 1773, edition of the New-Hampshire Gazette, John McMaster and Company promoted a “large Assortment of English, India, and Scotch GOODS” recently received via “the last Ships from London.”  They invited prospective customers to visit their store in Portsmouth to examine their “Large Assortment of flower’d Lawns, Cambricks and Muslins,” “striped and plain Lutestrings,” and “Tabby Brocades.”  In addition to textiles, McMaster and Company stocked “Large and Fashionable Ribbons,” “coarse and fine Guns,” and “may other Articles, too tedious to mention.”  Advertisers often used that phrase to entice curious readers to browse their merchandise.

Beyond providing an array of choices to consumers, McMaster and Company called attention to their prices, proclaiming that their customers could acquire these goods “as low as at any Store or Shop in America.”  They did not merely compare their prices to those set by local competitors in and near Portsmouth.  Instead, they boldly declared that neither consumers who purchased on their own behalf nor retailers who bought to sell again would not find better deals anywhere else, not even in the much larger ports of Boston, Charleston, New York, and Philadelphia.  McMaster and Company were not alone in making that claim.  In another advertisement, an entrepreneur who identified himself as McIntyre but did not give a first name hawked “CHINA and EARTHEN WARE” available at “his Store near the Market.”  He asserted that he charged prices “as cheap as sold in America.”

Both McMaster and Company and McIntyre attempted to leverage promises of good deals, indeed the best deals possible, to induce prospective customers to imagine themselves purchasing their wares.  They whet readers’ appetites with allusions to a “large Assortment” or “Good Assortment” of merchandise and then presented their low prices, the lowest anywhere, as the means of satisfying those appetites.

January 1

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , ,

What was advertised in a colonial American newspaper 250 years ago today?

New-Hampshire Gazette (January 1, 1773).

“GOODS … as cheap for Cash as at any Shop in Boston.”

Samuel Flagg, a shopkeeper in Salem, complained about “so many flashy Advertisements” that ran in the Essex Gazette in his own notice in that newspaper and others published in New England as 1772 came to an end.  In contrast, the advertisement that Caruth and Nash, who kept shop “at Mr. Abbot’s Tavern, on Kingston Plains,” was not flashy at all.  In the first issue of the New-Hampshire Gazette for 1773, the partners published an advertisement to inform prospective customers that the “JUST IMPORTED, AND … SOLD … A Large and general Assortment of Scotch and English GOODS.”  The way that their name appeared as a headline in all capital letters was the most flashy aspect of Caruth and Nash’s notice.

Yet Flagg had not commented on typography and graphic design alone.  He was even more dismissive of the “Story” that merchants and shopkeepers told consumers in their attempts to incite demand and generate revenue.  Caruth and Nash did not tell a story anywhere near as elaborate as those that Flagg found so absurd and cloying, but that did not mean that their notice lacked any of the marketing strategies in use at the time.  The partners were more reserved in how they presented those appeals to the public.

For instance, they did not go into great detail about their low prices or, especially, what kinds of relationships they cultivated with manufacturers and merchants in England that allowed them to offer great bargains to their customers.  They did, however, pledge that they sold their wares “Wholesale and Retail, as cheap for Cash as at any Shop in Boston.”  Their prices, they assured prospective customers in rural New Hampshire, were competitive with those in the largest urban center in New England.  Caruth and Nash also adopted another strategy that annoyed Flaff, commenting on their customer service.  “Those who are pleased to favour them with their Custom,” the partners advised, “may depend on the best Usage, and the smallest Favour gratefully acknowledged.”  Flagg was not impressed with merchants and shopkeepers who insincerely professed that they “held [themselves] obliged to the good People” for merely looking at their merchandise “without buying.”  Caruth and Nash, on the other hand, incorporated a brief version of that appeal into their newspaper advertisement.

Caruth and Nash’s advertisement was not flashy by the standards of the period, but that did not mean that it lacked marketing appeals intended to sway prospective customers.  They hardly published a mere announcement in the New-Hampshire Gazette.  Instead, their notice included appeals to price and customer service that they believed would help convince readers to purchase from them rather than their competitors.

October 27

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , ,

What was advertised in a colonial American newspaper 250 years ago today?

Essex Gazette (October 27, 1772).

“A fine Assortment of ENGLISH & INDIA GOODS and HARD-WARE.”

When John Appleton advertised the merchandise available at his shop in Salem in the fall of 1772, he resorted to two of the most common appeals deployed by merchants and shopkeepers.  He emphasized price and selection.  In his advertisement in the October 27 edition of the Essex Gazette, he asserted that he was “determined to sell” his wares “at such very low Rates … as cannot fail to give full Satisfaction to every reasonable Purchaser.”  He offered those low prices “by WHOLESALE or RETAIL,” extending the benefit to both consumers and retailers looking to expand their own inventory.  Low wholesale prices meant that shopkeepers who acquired goods from Appleton could pass along the bargains to their own customers.

Appleton devoted significantly more space to developing his appeal about selection.  He announced that he carried a “fine Assortment of ENGLISH & INDIA GOODS and HARD-WARE” and then provided a lengthy list of goods to demonstrate the range of choices his customers enjoyed.  Although he enumerated scores of items, everything from “black & white, plain and flower’d Sattins” to “children’s red Morocco Shoes,” he did not have space in a newspaper advertisement to include everything.  The clarification “Some of which are as follows” preceded Appleton’s list of goods.  In addition, Appleton mentioned categories of goods, such as “linen, silk and cotton Handkerchiefs of all sorts” and “Door Locks, Hinges and Latches of all sorts,” to further suggest ample choices.  He also inserted “&c.” (an abbreviation for et cetera) several times to indicate that he sold even more of certain types of items.  The length of the dense advertisement, the longest notice in that issue of the Essex Gazette, also testified to the selection at Appleton’s shop.

Appleton was not alone in making an appeal about consumer.  In the same issue, Samuel Flagg promoted a “General Assortment of English and India GOODS,” Stephen Higginson hawked a “Large and general Assortment of English and India GOODS,” and Campbell and Duncan marketed a “compleat Assortment of GOODS.”  Five other merchants and shopkeepers used similar phrases to describe their inventory, some of them also mentioning low prices.  Appleton distinguished his advertisement from others with a brief elaboration on his low prices and a lengthy catalog of his merchandise.

October 22

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , , , ,

What was advertised in a colonial American newspaper 250 years ago today?

Massachusetts Gazette and Boston Weekly News-Letter (October 22, 1772).

“CHEAP GOODS.”

In the fall of 1772, David Sears joined other advertisers in Boston who used borders composed of decorative type to enclose either the headline or their entire newspaper notice.  Sears proclaimed that he sold “CHEAP GOODS,” that headline surrounded by printing ornaments that called attention to his advertisement and prompted subscribers of the Massachusetts Gazette and Boston Weekly News-Letter to read more about the “fresh Assortment of Gall and Winter Goods” he recently imported from London.  His advertisement in the October 26 edition of the Boston-Gazette included the same headline within a decorative border.  In with instances, the headline and its border directed prospective customers to his bold claim that he set “such Prices that is not possible to be conceived of without Trial.”  In other words, it would take some effort to even imagine such low prices.

Sears certainly was not the first advertiser in Boston to incorporate a border into a newspaper advertisement.  As early as 1766, Jolley Allen made borders around his entire notices a signature element of his marketing.  Occasionally other advertisers deployed borders as well, but greater numbers did so simultaneously in the summer and fall of 1772.  Jolley Allen and Andrew Dexter both published advertisements with borders in May, though the Massachusetts Spy seemingly rejected any requests or instructions to include a border around Allen’s advertisement.  Martin Bicker ran an advertisement surrounded by a border in August.  Jonathan Williams, Jr., also did so in September.  Other merchants and shopkeepers opted for borders around just the headlines.  The week before Sears ran his advertisement on October 22, William Jackson introduced his notice with a border around the headline, “Variety Store.”  A few days later, Herman Brimmer and Andrew Brimmer had a border enclosing “Variety of Goods” at the top of their advertisement in Supplement to the Boston-Gazette.  The printers of that newspaper had recently used a decorative border for their own notice calling on subscribers with overdue accounts “to make immediate Payment.”

These examples may seem scattered, but considering how infrequently borders adorned advertisements in Boston’s newspapers (or newspapers printed elsewhere in the colonies) they suggest a trend among advertisers in 1772.  Sears may have observed that others included borders in their notices and determined that he desired the same for his advertisement, combining a pithy headline and graphic design to demand the attention of readers.

October 18

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , , , , ,

What was advertised in a colonial American newspaper 250 years ago this week?

Massachusetts Spy (October 15, 1772).

“The least favours gratefully acknowledged.”

John Langdon deployed a variety of strategies for marketing his inventory at the “New Book-Store” in Boston in the fall of 1772.  Like many other retailers, he emphasized the choices that he provided for consumers.  In an advertisement in the October 15 edition of the Massachusetts Spy, the bookseller informed prospective customers that he recently imported a “LARGE and Grand Assortment of BOOKS in all Arts and Sciences.”  Those new titles supplemented those he already had in stock.  He confidently proclaimed that he now offered “as large a collection as is to be found at any Store in America.”  His selection supposedly rivaled what consumers would encounter in shops in urban ports like Charleston, New York, and Philadelphia as well as in the shops operated by local competitors.  Langdon intended for that bold claim to double as an invitation for prospective customers to browse in his shop and discover titles of interest among his extensive inventory for themselves.

In addition, thew bookseller made appeals to price and customer service.  He explained that he planned to depart for England in the spring.  As a result, he wished to sell his inventory over the course of the next several months.  To do so, he set low prices.  Langdon pledged that “every Gentleman who may please to favour him with their custom may depend on purchasing at a little more than the sterling cost and charges.”  In other words, he did not mark up the prices exorbitantly but instead sought to make only a small profit on each book he sold.  Langdon concluded his advertisement with a note that the “least favours [are] gratefully acknowledged.”  He appreciated any business, no matter how large or small the transaction.  Even though he had such a large inventory, no purchase … and no customer … was insignificant. Langdon intended to cultivate relationships with everyone who entered his shop.

Langdon’s advertisement for the New Book-Store was no mere announcement that he sold books.  Instead, he crafted a notice that incorporated multiple marketing strategies.  He emphasized the size of his inventory, his motivation for setting low prices, and the importance of every customer in his effort to encourage consumers to acquire books from him.

October 11

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , , ,

What was advertised in a colonial American newspaper 250 years ago this week?

Massachusetts Spy (October 8, 1772).

“He has almost every Article usually enquired for in that way.”

In the fall of 1772, Duncan Ingraham, Jr., took to the pages of the Massachusetts Spy to promote “a very Large and Elegant Assortment of ENGLISH, India and Scotch GOODS, which are now ready for Sale, at his Shop” on Union Street in Boston.  In an advertisement that ran in the October 8 edition, he made appeals to both price and choice in his efforts to entice consumers to shop at his establishment.  Ingraham made bold claims in both regards.  He trumpeted that he would “sell Wholesale and Retail as cheap for Cash [as] at any Store in America,” comparing his prices to those in other shops in Boston as well as Charleston, New York, Philadelphia, and other ports throughout the colonies.  Ingraham confidently stated that “His Prices will show the Goods well charged.”  In turn, he “doubts not of giving satisfaction to all who please to favour him with their custom.”

He had many competitors in Boston, including several who advertised in the Massachusetts Gazette and Boston Weekly News-Letter on the same day.  Herman Brimmer and Andrew Brimmer, Caleb Blanchard, Joshua Gardner, and William Jackson all placed advertisements that listed dozens of imported items available at their shops, demonstrating an array of choices for prospective customers.  The partnership of Amorys, Taylor, and Rogers also published what amounted to a catalog of their merchandise under a headline that promised “GOODS EXTREMELY CHEAP.”  Ingraham adopted a different strategy, choosing instead to market his “very Large and Elegant Assortment” of goods with a nota bene in which he declared that he “has almost every Article usually enquired for in that way.”  He left it to readers to imagine his merchandise on their own.  Even if he did not happen to carry an item a shopper desired, if such a bold claim managed to get them into his store, then he still had an opportunity to make a sale by recommending alternatives.

Ingraham may not have wished to pay to insert a lengthy list of his inventory in the public prints, but that did not mean that he did not attend to consumer choice in an effort to make himself competitive with other merchants and shopkeepers.  In some ways, he invocation of “almost every Article usually enquired for” made even bigger claims than the extensive lists in other advertisements.