posted 01-24-2010 11:40 PM            

I've got a 1954 Becken catalog, and some of the flatware ads state that the retail prices listed include the Federal Tax or Federal Excise Tax, so I'd assume that was standard procedure.

I always thought that Manchester was mainly sold in jewelry stores, but I can't prove it. I do know that it was used by the National Rifle Association for prizes in competitions, and I'd assume they got it wholesale. I've only seen the Pilgrim pattern with the NRA monogram, but their publication concerning it implies that other patterns could be used as well.

posted 01-25-2010 03:24 AM            

Then there were the ways of selling outside the jewelry trade. The most common one was the local representative. She would come to bridal showers etc and offer lines of flatware, dishes, crystal and linens to the bride to be and her friends. This way of selling was very common in rural areas, frequently the home ec teacher was the seller. This system persisted at least into the early 1980's if not longer. Selling thru fraternal organizations is another way of doing business. I also have encountered indications that some silver firms sold flatware thru furniture stores. I also know that some silver was sold by drugstores and beauty parlors.

posted 01-25-2010 08:19 PM            

Don't think I have ever heard of selling silver through a party plan (like tupperware?).

posted 01-25-2010 11:18 PM            

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Originally posted by chase33:
Don't think I have ever heard of selling silver through a party plan (like tupperware?).

BTW, what does MF mean in the description of some of the knives?

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I've got some of the paperwork for The Royal Crest Society, which is probably one of these party plans. You "joined" the society when you ordered silver and made a down payment. You would pay for your silver in installments directly to the Empire Crafts Corporation. If you got others to enroll and purchase silver, you would get one "Bonus Sterling Certificate" for each person who did so. For every two certificates, you would get a place setting to match your set.

Could MF stand for mirror finish?

posted 01-26-2010 01:17 PM            

Can't see that there would be any real problem with advertising the total including tax, just another marketing technique. When I tended bar, all the taxes were included in the price (most drinkers dislike having to deal with anything smaller than a quarter).

~Cheryl

posted 01-26-2010 07:11 PM            

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Well I was able to confirm with my great-aunt that this set came from a "traditional" jewlery store (in fact it was the only one in the town where my grandparents lived).

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The only jewelry store in town is where we enter into the many mysteries of the silver trade. This store had to have a way of financing its inventory. With the major makers (IS, Gorham, Reed & Barton etc) the method was fairly simple. The jeweler bought from the jobber who had right of distribution within a given region. He paid either from funds on hand or got commercial loans to finance the inventory. Which was subject to manufacturers' price control into the mid 60's.

The only jeweler in town was in a different situation. He was the sole opening to the local market for the maker. Which meant advantage had shifted from the maker to the local jeweler. This is where the whole system gets creative.

One very common selling method for jewelers was to rent inventory. This is how little hole in the wall jewelry stores have trays of very nice rings on display. They pay a flat fee per tray plus a percentage of each sale. Usually the sale is denominated by a penny in the ring slot. The jeweler does not have a high profit margin on sales but has zero investment in actual inventory, so the return on investment looks very tempting. I am sure that jewelers were able to rent silver from smaller, less prestigious makers. This way they had silver on hand for their customers without having to invest.

The other way was straight consignment. The jeweler made very little on the sale but again had no investment.

posted 01-26-2010 07:23 PM            

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There was quite a bit of door-to-door or home/club plan silver sales, especially in the 1940s-50s. Westmorland, Royal Crest, Fine Arts and Easterling are the companies that immediately pop into my head...

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I would add the silverplate companies Prestige and Nobility. They were in business from the 1930's into the 1960's. And these patterns were sold well into the 1980's. The local representatives were a remakably long lived selling venture.

It is easy to forget how rural and small town the US was only 50 or 60 years ago. For major shopping in the areas west of Chicago, women would once a year take the train and spend 3 or 4 days at Marshall Fields, which had special arrangements for the out of town shopper. I have encountered people whose mothers made this journey from eastern Montana and western Nebraska every year for decades.