Freight, Damages, Etc

Freight and drayage is an item that is added to the cost of the goods, the same as an item of production. If the goods are bought of a home merchant, the price includes the freight, and the goods are placed in the home free of any other charges. If they are purchased from a mail order house the freight is usually not considered and is to be paid by the purchaser on arrival of the goods, besides the extra trouble of unpacking and setting up the furniture. Freight alone sometimes makes a difference in price between mail order and local concerns of from five to twenty Per cent. owing to the distance of shipping points.

In receiving a shipment, one should be sure to see that the goods are not broken before taking them from the freight house, and before signing a clear receipt for them. As soon as the receipt is signed the railroad company is released. If anything is broken, a breakage or damage notation as to what is broken must be made upon the freight bill, by the freight agent. After a satisfactory notation is made, the receipt for the goods may be signed. After broken parts are replaced at your expense, a claim must be filed against the railroad company, with a paid invoice of the repair expense along with the freight bill showing the breakage notation, if remuneration is expected. A settlement for damages will come as soon as the transportation company sees that the claim is just, which takes from thirty to ninety days, sometimes longer. As soon as a shipper places goods in a freight house and obtains a signed receipt for same from the railroad company, he is no longer liable, and in the event of breakage or damage in transit the settlement must be made between the railroad company and the person to whom the goods are sent or consigned.

A Kindly Word Of Warning

A word of warning relative to the buying of goods on "lease," or "contract" or "form" or "agreement," or in whatever term it might be applied; it all has the same meaning. A "lease" is a written contract for the letting of goods on certain terms for a specified time. Failure to meet the required terms gives the owner of the goods rightful possession, and will hold good in almost every state. When a bill on a lease is paid, obtain the original signed lease or contract and have it marked paid in full. Buying more goods and having it added to the former lease makes all the furniture on that lease liable to seizure by default by the firm from which they are purchased, as all the goods will show to be on the same contract over your signature. However, when one needs more goods and hasn't additional money it is a good plan to bind the previous bill of goods with an additional form of contract, thereby gaining credit and securing the merchant. It is the best plan to pay for one bill before entering into another contract. There are many forms of contracts or leases, so be sure to read the agreement before signing, to know exactly what is expected of you.

Many unprincipled business methods will be found. Catchy schemes and bright salesmen are sometimes alert to take advantage of the unwary. Warning should be taken against such schemes as the following: A second-hand sewing machine is advertised for sale. The advertisement is answered and probably a machine is bought, and yet day after day the same advertisement appears in the paper. A second purchaser calls and he will find another machine, hears the same story about the owner having to leave the country on account of poor health, or some equally pathetic tale. A thorough investigation will reveal the fact that this so-called private family is acting as an agent for some second hand or unscrupulous concern, and that the constantly appearing advertisements serve as bait for the unsuspecting public. All kinds of house supplies are disposed of in this manner; the agents will tell almost anything, many times misrepresenting the goods, and only too late it is discovered that the article was not "Solid Mahogany" or "Genuine Quart Oak," but merely a poor imitation. In large cities many schemes are being devised daily to lure the in-experienced into buying a lot of cheap goods that are not tit to go into a home. The smaller cities and towns prove a poorer field for such operations.

Country folk also proveeasy victims for schemers, and it is surprising how often they are duped into entering into contracts without a thorough investigation. Cases have been known where agents selling an article to country people, especially, guarantee to allow from four to five years to pay the hill of $45 or $75. The agent agrees to take a note made out for three months for the amount, and promises at the end of that time to renew the note for another three months. The promise sounds good and the contract is closed. The note is taken to the nearest hank that will discount it, the agent gets the money and when the note falls due in three months the hank expects a settlement from the one who signed it. while the agent by that time is working some other territory and is not to be found.