https://www.3x5life.com/collections/frontpage/products/3x5-life-system-with-mini-course

Cost of items purchased separately on Amazon: - Index cards (total of 6*31+13+12+52=263, so round up to 300 at $0.02 each) = $6.99 - storage box $16.49 - dividers $5.79 - phone sleeve: $2.32 - stainless steel stand: $2.33

Buying these in bulk for additional profit margin/branding could certainly lower the cost.

Their retail is $97.79 versus commercially at $33.92. Their actual cost at bulk is probably significantly less and likely closer to $15 all in for the system, so this is a nice little profit.

Watts, Charles J. The Cost of Production. Muskegon, MI: The Shaw-Walker Company, 1902. http://archive.org/details/costproduction01wattgoog.

Short book on managing manufacturing costs. Not too much of an advertisement for Shaw-Walker manufactured goods (files, file management, filing cabinets, etc.). Only 64 pages are the primary content and the balance (about half) are advertisements.

Given the publication date of 1902, this would have preceded the publication of System Magazine which began in 1903. This may have then been a prototype version of an early business magazine, but with a single author, no real editorial, and only one article.

Presumably it may also have served the marketing interests of Shaw-Walker as a marketing piece as well.

Tangentially, I'm a bit intrigued by the "Mr. Morse" mentioned on page 109 who is being touted as an in-house consultant for Shaw-Walker.... Is this the same Frank Morse who broke off to form the Browne-Morse Co.? (very likely)

see: see also: https://hypothes.is/a/Sp8s4sprEe24jitvkjkxzA for a snippet on Frank Morse.