Short Essay on Revival of Indian Craftsmanship between Buyer and Manufacturer:
Everybody suspects advertisements, and everybody knows that the salesman as such is not a judge of what is good in itself.
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But everybody, just because he is human, prefers good quality to bad. How can we find good things? What guarantee can we obtain that things are well made and at a just price?
The first thing to do is, whenever possible, to buy things from the actual makers or from the shops where they are actually made. That is to say: The first thing is to re-establish the personal relationship between maker and buyer.
The buyer knows the use of things and, therefore, he has the best reasons for knowing his needs. The maker knows how to make things what else is he for? And therefore, he has the best reasons for claiming to be able to satisfy the needs of the buyer.
The shop is the place where the maker displays his goods, and it is the place where the buyer can most conveniently inspect them it is the meeting place of maker and buyer. That is its proper function. The shopkeeper provides this meeting place.
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That is his function he is the servant of both buyer and maker. If we could again establish shops where the goods for sale were made by the same firm and as far as possible on the same premises, and if the manufacturing side of the business were again given its proper primacy and responsibility the selling side being honorably humble and subordinate then we should be well on the way to the revival of that craftsmanship and beauty of design for which Indian manufactures were formerly famous.
Important Points to Remember about this Essay:
1. Everybody suspects advertisements and cannot depend upon salesman
2. But everybody wants a good thing at a just price. How to know it?
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3. One should buy from actual makers.
4. The personal relationship enables the maker to satisfy the need of the buyer.
5. Shop is the proper meeting place for the buyer, and the maker. The shopkeeper serves both.
6. If a shop sells goods of the same firm, the salesman is humble; the manufacturer is given same importance the craftsmanship and beauty of famous Indian manufactures can be revived.