The Brokerage That Couldn't Show Its $5,000
A farm journal's editor made two visits to a First Avenue produce broker and came away telling farmers to demand cash before they shipped a single crate.
A correspondent asks the standing of the Seattle Brokerage company, 2013 First Avenue. We made a statement of the standing of this firm in our issue of January 8th in response to the inquiry of one of our subscribers, who stated that he had received a circular letter soliciting consignments of produce from them. At that time we called upon them, but the replies given by the man in charge were not satisfactory, and although he claimed that there was $5,000 capital in the business, the evidence of it was not produced. Friday last a representative visited them again. The same member of the firm as before made claims of good standing and financial backing, but they offered no credentials nor bank references. Under the circumstances we must report to inquirers that no consignments should be sent to the Seattle Brokerage company without the cash or a good guarantee that it will be forthcoming upon delivery of goods. Such a precaution will prevent any possibility of loss.
“No consignments should be sent to the Seattle Brokerage company without the cash or a good guarantee that it will be forthcoming upon delivery of goods.”
Then as now, farmers and small shippers were prime targets for smooth-talking middlemen who promised a market for their goods and asked them to send produce on trust. This editor did the unglamorous work of a consumer-protection desk: showing up in person, asking for references, and printing a warning when the answers didn't hold. Substitute 'advance-fee scam' or 'ghost warehouse' for 'consignment broker' and the advice to demand cash or a guarantee still reads like a modern fraud alert.
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