Marketing 199 



on the day his berries arrive, whether prices are high or 

 low. The commission man reHeves the grower of all re- 

 sponsibility and anxiety about the sale of the berries, 

 except the anxiety as to net returns. The grower as- 

 sumes all the risk, the commission man none. The 

 grower takes the chance of loss or damage in transit, the 

 chance of glutted markets, the chance of dishonest com- 

 mission men. He has no check on the middleman what- 

 ever ; if dishonest, it is easy for him to pocket part of the 

 proceeds, and telegraph "Berries arrived in bad condi- 

 tion." On the other hand, shippers sometimes fail to 

 realize that berries which left them in good condition may 

 be in bad condition when they reach the market, because 

 they were not packed or handled properly. There are 

 honest and dishonest commission men about in the pro- 

 portion that there are honest and dishonest growers ; the 

 inexperienced grower should not consign berries to a 

 middleman in a distant city without jBrst looking up his 

 business standing and bank references. Ship to one 

 firm in a market, year after year. It takes time to work 

 up a trade for a special brand of berries and a reputation 

 for an honest pack. The shipper loses the benefit of it 

 if he changes his selling agent frequently. It is a mis- 

 take to divide shipments among several commission 

 men in the same market in order to see which firm will 

 make the highest returns. This gives no information 

 that is reliable and destroys the confidence that should 

 exist between the shipper and his selling agent. Insist 

 that the commission man shall make an itemized state- 

 ment of sales by varieties. The usual commission on 

 small lots is ten per cent; on large lots six to eight 

 per cent. This is a reasonable charge for the service 

 rendered. 



