Show who profits from trading stamps tho aradi trading ng stamp erazi obviously confined to utah though what has happened here recently re presents about thorough saturation exists us as ii as any i whore where the department of agriculture estimates ila half N of f all US famil families efi save stamps sales covered by stamps i i un to about 11 billion a year t the rhe typical system works like this A store paya pays from ta 10 to 15 for a packet of stamps which it distributes to its customers with their purchases A customers customer 1 4 book of 1200 stamps representing purchases of costs the merchant from to 75 thus the cost of the stamps to the merchant is 2 or 3 per cent of hia his gross sales this is a big cost item in business such as grocery stores estores service stations where competition keeps markups markuis af a a bare minimum the stamp company then redeems th tha 1200 coupon booklet for which it has received to for tin ful item retailing for 2 to 3 but which costs th the ca company i less at wholesale the markup from ables wholesale I 1 e to retail represents the stair p companas comp anys profits in addition it lias has a per arpra the that are ard never ro redeemed and estimator est imato of stamps redeemed verv widely from less per cent to 97 per coat cent what is with all this I 1 asking that question is a buro sure way to start ft a heated in almost any group for ono one thing stamps increase the cost of the things cipu buy ajr it i strange that people who complain about tho the midd lemans s profit crofit seem to give no mo thought to th fact that nh an p at re I 1 y 11 new aw profit making bat but non pridu i ceiva operation on has been introduced into the market system the customer of course pays for profit the trading stamp company makes it 4 argued by tho the stamp promoters thit a company pany offering trading stamps increases Us its volume of business and thus is able to alice steep its price at campeti die levels ath th some reservations thia this is true but what of an area like most of atah utah in which virtually all food stores and service stations offer stamps T there is gg nio overall in volume but there is an overall increase in tho cost of doing business busine so there thero are of course other objections there are persons who prefer not to lick stamps and who would rather trade in tho the coin of the realm at established stores rather than nt at premium centers for those people a choice between savings stamps or paying the higher prices without even a partial compe compensation f asfor the stores the nuisance and increase costs of has set many retailers against them what the future holds holdo for this peculiar kind of merchandising chan dising we dont pretend to enoi thorp WOE wv 9 no stamp curbing legislation in utah this year moreover 44 a long as there is private in america there will be premiums of free balloons for the children or other ways of bringing the customers in but the tite situation of trading stamps in this area along with the price increases that have accompanied it have brought tho the public to the point of recognizing the futility of paying to keep an extra unneeded operation in business public reaction is now in the position af accomplishing what legislation will not in other ether words some smart businessman is going to make a killing ono of these days hy by advertising that ho he does not give stamps and by spraying splaying laying sp ill ng lower tower prices to prove it 4 reprinted from desaree news |