DOORSTEP BUYING

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 454, 8 September 1928, Page 15

DOORSTEP BUYING

HAWKERS AND DRAPERY PRICES AMAZING COMPARISON Because a man is a hawker it does not always follow that he is a vendor of goods at bargain prices. With certain hawkers of drapery who are operating in the suburbs of . Auckland at the present time, the opposite appears to be the case. Take the experience of one Auckland housewife who imagined that “the man at the door*’ was offering some really wonderful snips. It goes to show, first, that feminine judgment is apt to become upset when unaccompanied by the correct shopping atmosphere* of drapery emporiums and. secondly, that the lure of doorstep buying on the instalment system is a dangerous one. SUBURBAN PURCHASER The woman in question received a call from a hawker of drapery. She was in need of household linen, and made purchases of table-covers, towels, pillow-slips, curtains, and other articles. “It comes to £ll 15s/’ said the hawker, handing her a most impressive little document that included a receipt form and a docket for instalment payments. When it was signed to the hawker’s satisfaction, he dc* parted. But a more careful examination of the goods revealed the fact that they were not as cheap as they appeared at first sight. Accordingly, they were repacked and conveyed to the city, where they were displayed before a meeting of the Auckland Drapers’ Association, held yesterday. COMPARATIVE QUOTATION Investigations were made and estimates for similar goods were obtained from various city drapery establishments. The highest quote was £5 15s sd, or about half the hawker’s charge. It is said that the purchaser had undertaken to pay £ll 15s by monthly instalments of £l, and the first instalment was taken on delivery. She was given the option of completing the transaction in a month by paying £ 10 in a lump sum. The association has been informed that this drapery-hawking business is being carried out on extensive lines in Auckland, and it has been decided to issue a warning to the public to scrutinise more carefully the prices asked.