Sturbridge fair, near Cambridge; and their butter at Ipswich fair, in
Suffolk; and so of many other things; but the answer is plain: those
things which are generally bought thus, are ready money goods, and the
tradesman has a sure rule for buying, namely, his cash. But as I am
speaking of taking credit, so I must be necessarily supposed to speak of
such goods as are bought upon credit, as the linen-draper buys of the
Hamburgh and Dutch merchants, the woollen-draper of the Blackwell-hall
men, the haberdasher of the thread merchants, the mercer of the weavers
and Italian merchants, the silk-man of the Turkey merchants, and the
like; here they are under no necessity of running deep into debt, but
may buy sparingly, and recruit again as they sell off.

I know some tradesmen are very fond of seeing their shops well-stocked,
and their warehouses full of goods, and this is a snare to them, and
brings them to buy in more goods than they want; but this is a great
error, either in their judgment or their vanity; for, except in
retailers' shops, and that in some trades where they must have a great
choice of goods, or else may want a trade, otherwise a well-experienced
tradesman had rather see his warehouse too empty than too full: if it be
too empty, he can fill it when he pleases, if his credit be good, or his
cash strong; but a thronged warehouse is a sign of a want of customers,
and of a bad market; whereas, an empty warehouse is a sign of a nimble
demand.[12]

Let no young tradesman value himself upon having a very great throng of
goods in hand, having just a necessary supply to produce a choice of new
and fashionable goods--nay, though he be a mercer, for they are the most
under the necessity of a large stock of goods; but I say, supposing even
the mercer to have a tolerable show and choice of fashionable goods,
that gives his shop a reputation, he derives no credit at all from a