That undefined line between the large retailer and the small jobber is
a delicate one on which to tread. It is rarely that a retailer will
buy of his home jobbers. Every jobber will sell more or less at
retail; will tread on the toes of his retail neighbor, and the latter
has a special desire to buy as low as the jobber does. Much of his
stock is bought at such prices; on a large part he is assured by the
salesman that he is getting as good prices as the largest jobber in
the land. If one is not direct from headquarters it is doubtful ground
to walk on, but it has to be taken care of.

I handed my card to the man whose face seemed to me to show authority
and ownership, and I was not mistaken.

"Guns!" said he, "we don't handle guns."

"But you do revolvers and cartridges." I had seen them in the
show-case.

"Yes, but we don't sell them. The jobbing houses are retailing at
wholesale prices, and we poor retailers stand no chance."

"You must retail at wholesale prices, too. You can buy about as close
as they do, and you can do retail business as cheaply as they can."

"Yes, but don't you see, no matter what our prices are they are retail
prices, and for the same reason their's are wholesale; the idiotic
public loves to be fooled, and will fool itself if no one else takes
the job. What are cartridges worth?"