PARCEL POST MARKETING 



141 



But the marketing difficulties have not been overcome. If there 

 is a saving in price, who shall get it? The farmer has felt that 

 the margin belongs to him and should be added to his price. 

 The city consumer wants the product cheaper when dealing direct 

 with the producer. Only a small portion of farm products are 

 suited to marketing by parcel post. The farmer, to succeed in 

 parcel post marketing, must meet several standard market require- 

 ments: the supply must be fairly constant in both quantity and 

 quality, in order to meet consumer's orders; there must be some 



FIG. 21. Shipping eggs by parcel post. (U. S. D. A.) 



standard grade or brand by which both producer and consumer 

 can designate the article; packing must be good in appearance 

 and correct in preserving the goods properly; the question of price 

 and the question of time and manner of payment must be mutually 

 understood. The two big problems remain How find the con- 

 sumer? and How fix the price? Farmers who have tried parcel 

 post marketing complain that the city consumers "want the stuff 

 for nothing." The city consumer complains that the produce was 

 of an inferior grade. Until standard grades and packs have been 

 established, which will require cooperative associations among 

 farmers, there is little prospects for success in parcel post marketing 

 of farm products. 



