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Managing Door-to-Door Sales of Vacuum Cleaners in Interwar Britain

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  • Scott, Peter

Abstract

Door-to-door selling was a key factor behind the particularly rapid interwar diffusion of vacuum cleaners among British households, relative to other “high-ticket” labor-saving appliances. Yet the door-to-door system incurred both high distribution costs and considerable controversy—owing to widespread sharp practice. Employers enticed salesmen through grossly inflated claims regarding earnings, which were in fact insufficient for most salesmen to make an acceptable living. This led many salesmen to engage in their own sharp practices—which eventually brought this form of marketing into disrepute.

Suggested Citation

  • Scott, Peter, 2008. "Managing Door-to-Door Sales of Vacuum Cleaners in Interwar Britain," Business History Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 82(4), pages 761-788, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:cup:buhirw:v:82:y:2008:i:04:p:761-788_06
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    Cited by:

    1. Paul Harrison & Marta Massi & Kathryn Chalmers, 2014. "Beyond Door-to-Door: The Implications of Invited In-Home Selling," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(1), pages 195-221, March.
    2. Maxime Thomas & Pascal Le Masson & Benoit Weil, 2019. "Modeling market to commercialize innovation: how the forgotten historical figure of salesman helps us learn on how firms design market models," Post-Print hal-02321457, HAL.

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