SELLINGLUMBER 207 



other lengths, or that sells such a large quantity of one length that 

 it and a repetition of it would have a serious effect sooner or later 

 on proportions, is an order which should be graded down theoretic- 

 ally lower than orders more closely adhering to stocks. 1x12 16' 

 No. 2 is taken as the illustration above merely for convenience, not 

 because that is at all likely to have been a troublesome item, but all 

 of you appreciate the fact that there are certain lengths or sizes 

 which seem difficult and slow of accumulation for your mills; and 

 salesmanship that fails to take these things into consideration falls 

 just that much short of the highest abilitv. I am using one order 

 and one salesman and one car because the figures are easy to handle. 

 Tf cases of this kind happened infrequently, it is true that little 

 harm would be done, as the total volume of all items at most mills 

 is beyond being affected seriously, by one lone car. Neither do I 

 intend to say that such an order as described, under such conditions 

 as described, should be flatly refused in every case. I only main- 

 tain that there is a difference of value to the mills between all 

 orders. Other circumstances which I have not mentioned are often 

 injected into a sale, by which the salesman must be influenced in 

 deciding what to do. 



I know that in the automobile business where a manufacturer 

 is building a small and a large model a cheap and a higher priced 

 grade his contracts to his dealers read in such a manner that 

 they are compelled to take and sell a certain quantity of the higher 

 priced car, to secure the sales of a certain number of the low 

 priced cars ; and this trading is practiced to a greater or less extent 

 by many salesmen in our business. You will recall some years ago 

 an extra heavy demand in the West for 2x4 8's. They had a new 

 silo they called the "Common Sense" silo they are building, and Dealing 



every dealer wanted to buy some 2x4 8's from every salesman who YJ* 1 an 



called. The proper handling of the salesman's stock of the 2x4 8's Demand for 



might net him four or five mixed cars out of a possible stock of ^ ne Item 



three or four thousand pieces instead of letting one man have it 



in a straight car ; and every salesman should be familiar enough 



with his territory to soon catch the trend of the demand, and appor- 



tion out his stocks where they do the most good. It is difficult to 



induce regular yard dealers to take a quantity of flooring, for in- 



stance, or ceiling, without any 16' included in it ; where he might 



be talked into accepting a car with even a limited amount of the 



sixteen foot, if he could have some of it. If your mill didn't hap- 



pen to have any sixteen foot at all and were forced to prohibit its 



