HARDWOOD RECORD 



23 



Selling Lumber 'Bt; Mail. 



In an editorial in this issue of the 

 Eecord the logic of selling lumber by mail 

 is briefly discussed. The average men en- 

 gaged in the hardwood lumber business has 

 never entered very thoroughly into a sales 

 system by mail. That such a method is a 

 perfectly logical one is demonstrated be- 

 yond question by the success of the great 

 mail-order houses of the country, which sell 

 everv conceivable piece of merchandise 



trade for distribution of his product, must 

 also be analyzed. 



For the past three years the Hardwood 

 Eecord has been engaged collecting and 

 collating information covering aL Ihese 

 particulars, and has published up to this 

 date thirty bulletins, giving the names of 

 wholesale consumers of hardwoods, names 

 of their buyers, their line of manufacture, 

 together with the annual quantity of the 



/TVTV. 



NEW JEnSKY, CAMDEN : New York Shipbuilding Company ; address purchas- 

 ing agent: ISO.OOO feet, all thicknesses, principally Hrsts and seconds white 

 HHh ; imi.noo feet principally 1", 1'4", 1 Mj" Hi-sis and seconds basswood : 

 fiO.liOO f(et all thUknesscs firsts and second^ cherry: l.l.OIIO feet 1" and 

 HA" firsts and seconds cbustnul ; :.'."..000 feet Hrsts and seconds elm; 150.000' 

 feet nil thicknesses Hrsts and seconds and some fine common mahogany: 

 150.000 feet all thicknesses firsts and seconds plain white oak; 200.000 

 feet iill thicknesses prlnrlpally firsts and seconds quartered while oak: 

 fili.OOO feel all thlckni'sses principally firsts and seconds sycamore; 50,000 

 feet 1" and 1 Vi" firsts and seconds poplar: some hickory and locust. Di- 

 mension stock : Teakwood. SOO.iiOO feet all sizes, In logs and flitches.. 



SPECIMEN INDEX CAED. 

 (Showing clipping from bulletin pasted thereon and useless numbers removed.) 



manufactured exclusively by this system. 

 There is no line of trade in the country 

 which has developed as has this business; 

 but it will be noted that the success of 

 these enterprises has been based entirely 

 upon a liberal use of the United States 

 mails. 



During the last few years quite a number 

 of important hardwood manufacturers and 

 jobbers have ^engaged extensively in ex- 

 ploiting their lumber and effecting sales 

 through the medium of the mails. The 

 larger number of them, however, have taken 

 up this method of sales in a very illogical 

 and haphazard way, and hence have not 

 achieved the results that they would had 

 they first analyzed the proposition with 

 care aud then executed it with discretion 

 and thoroughness. 



There are certain "tools" necessary to 

 proper and profitable exploitation. Prima- 

 rily it must needs be ascertained "who is 

 who" among lumber buyers. With that 

 information must also be obtained show- 

 ing approximately the quantity of lumber 

 of every kind, grade and thickness pur- 

 chased by all lines of trade. What con- 

 stitutes legitimate trade for manufacturer 

 and jobber in hardwood lines, i. e. how far 

 a man is justified in going in the consuming 



various kinds of lumber, dimension stock, 

 veneers and panels used by them. Up to 

 date the Record has expended approximate- 

 ly $30,000 in securing this information, and 

 is continuing it to the end that when this 



service is finally complete it will show the 

 name and address of practically every hard- 

 wood buyer in the United States. This list 

 of names is also selected with due refer- 

 ence to credit rating, and while the respon- 

 sibility of every concern is not guaranteed 

 it is not the inter '-it, to list any house 

 that has not a fair capital and is not in 

 good commercial repute. 



The several paragraphs of each bulletin 

 are cut out and pasted on a patent tabbed 

 index card, which, when complete and filed 

 in alphabetical order by towns, between 

 state guide cards, shows at a glance the 

 buyers of every kind of hardwood manu- 

 factured in this country. Thus far about 

 600 buyers of ash are listed, 575 buyers of 

 basswood, 200 buyers of beach, 550 buyers 

 of birch, 60 buyers of butternut, 175 buyers 

 of cherry, 445 buyers of chestnut, 225 

 buyers of Cottonwood, 400 buyers of 

 cypress, 325 buyers of elm, 350 buyers of 

 gum, 275 buyers of hickory, 325 buyers of 

 mahogany, 650 buyers of maple, 1,200 buy- 

 ers of oak, 150 buyers of walnut, 650 buy- 

 ers of poplar, 100 buyers of sycamore, 10 

 buyers each of persimmon, dogwood, locust 

 and holly; 600 buyers of dimension stock, 

 500 buyers of veneers and panels. 



With this information at hand a manu- 

 facturer or dealer in hardwoods is able to 

 address an intelligent letter to buyers on 

 the subject of selling them any variety of 

 lumber. He knows approximately what 

 the buyer requires, and this enables him to 

 gauge his offerings in accordance with the 

 requirements of the prospective customer. 



It is not an economical proposition to 

 write these vast numbers of buyers indi- 

 vidual typewritten letters, but it is logical 

 for the man having in charge the lumber 



y 



SOUTH DAKOTA 



\ 



Key 



12 

 13 

 14 

 16 

 16 

 17 

 18 



19 

 20 



Hickory 



Mahogany 



Maple 



Oak 



Walnut 



Poplar 



Mfscellaneous including 



Dogwootd, Holly, Locust, 



Persimmon, Sycamore. 



Dimension stock 



Veneers and panel stock 



SPECIMEN STATE GUIDE CARD. 



