Horse Trading in the Age of Cars

Men in the Marketplace

Steven M. Gelber (Autor)

Buch | Hardcover

248 Seiten

2008
Johns Hopkins University Press (Verlag)
978-0-8018-8997-4 (ISBN)

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The trading, selling, and buying of personal transport has changed little over the past one hundred years. Whether horse trading in the early twentieth century or car buying today, haggling over prices has been the common practice of buyers and sellers alike. Horse Trading in the Age of Cars offers a fascinating study of the process of buying an automobile in a historical and gendered context. Steven M. Gelber convincingly demonstrates that the combative and frequently dishonest culture of the showroom floor is a historical artifact whose origins lie in the history of horse trading. Bartering and bargaining were the norm in this predominantly male transaction, with both buyers and sellers staking their reputations and pride on their ability to negotiate the better deal. Gelber comments on this point-of-sale behavior and what it reveals about American men. Gelber's highly readable and lively prose makes clear how this unique economic ritual survived into the industrial twentieth century, in the process adding a colorful and interesting chapter to the history of the automobile.

Steven M. Gelber is a professor of history at Santa Clara University and author of Hobbies: Productive Leisure and the Culture of Work in America.

Preface
Introduction: The Cowboy and the Flapper
1. Horse Trading: During the Buyer
Horses as Masculine Symbols
The Manly Art of Horse Trading
The Reputation of Horse Traders
The Horse Trading Business
Horse Trading as a Game
The Rules of the Game
Hiding Faults
Warranties
2. Retailing: Satisfying the Buyer
Manufactured Transportation: Carriages and Bicycles
Negotiated (Discriminatory) Prices
Single (Democratic) Prices
Satisfaction Guaranteed or Your Money Cheerfully Refunded
3. Cars: Joining the New Marketplace
Coachmen to Chauffeurs: The Male Lineage
Cars in Stores
One Posted Price to All
One-Price by Law
Advertising List Prices
4. Used Cars: Undermining the New Marketplace
Origins
Trade-In Allowances and Over-Allowances
Controlling Over-Allowances
Cheating: "Buyers Are Liars"—And So Are Sellers
5. The Triumph of the Price Pack: Selling the Deal
Price Padding with the Pack
After-Sales Packing
The 1950s: ". . . for Thieves to Sell to Mental Defectives"
Advertising and Blitz Marketing
Posting a Price
The Great Warranty War
6. Bad Guys
The Car Seller's Career: Nasty, Brutish, and Short
The Sales Game: Tactics
The Sales Game: Strategy
Car Dealers' Reputation and Character
7. Bargaining and Gender
"The Great American Sport of Bargaining"
Brokers
Cars and Masculinity
Women as Buyers and Sellers
Epilogue: Still Horse Trading in the Internet Age
The Dealer's Cost
Make Me an Offer!
Notes
Index

Erscheint lt. Verlag	26.11.2008
Reihe/Serie	Gender Relations in the American Experience
Zusatzinfo	7 Halftones, black and white
Verlagsort	Baltimore, MD
Sprache	englisch
Maße	152 x 229 mm
Gewicht	499 g
Themenwelt	Natur / Technik ► Fahrzeuge / Flugzeuge / Schiffe ► Auto / Motorrad
	Sozialwissenschaften ► Soziologie
	Wirtschaft ► Betriebswirtschaft / Management ► Marketing / Vertrieb
ISBN-10	0-8018-8997-9 / 0801889979
ISBN-13	978-0-8018-8997-4 / 9780801889974
Zustand	Neuware