Table 4. Method of Payment to Retailers for Lumber by Type of Consumer, 



Volume In Percent. 



Type of Buyer Method of Payment 



Cosh Credit Advance 



Honieownoi> and industry purchasers buy primarily "for cash" with 

 homeowners purchasing three-quarters of their wood needs without the 

 use of credit. Industry makes 10 percent of its j)urchases by advance pay- 

 ments and is the only significant user of this tyjje of payment. 



Thus, in the region, retail yards sell more lumber on a cash basis 

 (62 percent) than on a credit basis (34 percent). Only four percent of 

 sales are made by advance payments. Maine and Vermont yards sell 

 more on credit than other states studied in the region. 



DELIVERY TO CONSUMERS 



Lumber and Ijuilding material are bulky merchandise which most 

 retail lumber yards deliver to their customers, particularly for volume 

 orders. 



About 80 })ercent of contractor purchases are delivered by the re- 

 tailer at no additional charge (Table 5). Only about 3 percent are de- 

 livered at extra cost to the contractor. Throughout the region about 17 

 percent of all contractor purchases are pr(>sumably transj)orted at their 

 own expense. Only Pennsylvania differed significantly from the regional 

 averages. There, retailers are responsible for delivery of slightly less 

 than two-thirds of contractor purchases. The remaining one-third is 

 transported by the buyer. 



Table 5. Method of Delivery to Consumer by Type of Consumer in Percent of Volumes. 



32 



