Customer: Can you demonstrate the [television] set?
Clerk: No. It's not connected. Anyway, there are no programs on.
Despite such sale-killing conversations, television sets were selling like white shirts in New York and Chicago department stores last week. RCA-Victor put its first sets on sale (table models selling for $350 plus a $50 maintenance fee), sold over $1 million worth. Allen B. DuMont Laboratories also put its sets, running from $750 to $2,495, on demonstration recently, has already taken orders for $3 million worth.
RCA hoped that last week's public reception of its sets might influence the Federal Communications Commission to decide in favor...
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