454 MARINE FISHERIES OF NORTH CAROLINA 



out-of-pocket cost is $3.00, and he is able to mark up the box by $5.00, he is 

 left a profit of $2.00 per box. 



There are indications that the distributor-dealers' selling prices are more 

 constant than their buying prices, and dealing as they do in large volumes, 

 their margins of profit are small. Most of the distributor-dealers have one 

 price list for retailers, commercial and institutional buyers without dis- 

 tinction. Transportation is not a separate charge and prices within delivery 

 range are uniform. 



Wholesalers. Wholesalers in general perform the same services as do 

 distributor-dealers, but on a smaller scale and in a more localized area. 

 They patronize fewer and nearer suppliers, generally those in North Car- 

 olina and Virginia, who are likely to be distributors, dealers, truckers, or 

 occasionally producer-dealers. What the wholesaler needs and seeks is a 

 small number of reliable suppliers who can and will assure him of volume 

 and variety at competitive prices. He tends to buy continuously and through- 

 out the year from the same sources, while other larger distributor-dealer 

 competitors may shift from one source to another with changing seasons. 



Like the distributor-dealers, the wholesalers buy their fish in the round, 

 shrimp beheaded and oysters in gallon cans. Purchases of frozen fillets and 

 frozen shellfish are infrequent. These items are stocked only for commercial 

 and institutional buyers who specify them. 



Purchasing by wholesalers is mainly by telephone and by description or 

 grade, except when the supplier is a trucker, in which case their purchases 

 are on inspection. Likewise, their sales are frequently by telephone and 

 both bu5dng and selling prices are largely arrived at by negotiation. 



The customers of wholesalers are about 90 per cent retailers and 10 per 

 cent commercial and institutional buyers within a radius of 50 or 60 miles. 

 Most wholesalers have retail departments or markets which account for 

 from 20 to 50 per cent of sales, sometimes more. 



Wholesalers often operate trucks, or fleets of trucks, with driver-salesmen 

 covering regular fixed routes, a long route once a week, a short route twice 

 a week. The driver-salesman, on each visit, takes orders for delivery on the 

 next visit. One typical wholesaler has four trucks and each of the four 

 makes four trips a week through his territory. Another wholesaler covers 

 various parts of his area from two to six times per week. The mailing of 

 price lists is not practiced by wholesalers; advertisements feature only the 

 retail part of the business. 



Wholesalers do not favor frozen products, nor do they encourage their 

 retail customers to install deep freeze cabinets. 



In pricing their goods, the wholesalers, like the distributor-dealers, think 

 in terms of adding a fixed number of dollars per box of fish, regardless of 

 the cost. Some wholesalers apply the mark-up rigidly to all kinds of fish; 



