

SELLING METHODS 205 



where shipments are made otherwise, especially are they 

 better than the average consignment. The exchange 

 management or salesmen can contract directly with the 

 buyer, agreeing upon a price, and then there is no after 

 difficulty from having the fruit rejected. Also the ex- 

 change does not have to stand the expense of shipping 

 the fruit or wait for the money after the fruit leaves 

 the track. One large exchange, handling small fruit in 

 Missouri, reported a general advance of strawberries of 

 60 to 80 cents a crate, where they were sold on track, 

 over that received when consigned. 



In the consignment of fruit the method is similar to 

 that practiced by the old commission houses. In fact, 

 many commission men make a practice of handling only 

 carload consignments from exchanges. These consign- 

 ments may also go through other routes like the auction 

 companies or through a special selling agent allowing 

 them to dispose of the fruit for what they can get. 

 Consignments necessarily follow where the salesmen are 

 not able to handle all the fruit and get orders for 

 it before it reaches the consuming centers. "Where cars 

 are shipped long distances they are often handled as 

 "tramp cars"; that is, they are consigned to their agent 

 in some of the Eastern cities. 



Points on the Pacific Coast enjoy, for the most part, 

 a flat rate on freight tariffs to any point east of the 

 Mississippi river. These cars are started off as tramps, 

 and upon reaching St. Louis or other points where they 

 cross to Eastern territories they are diverted according 

 to the requirements or conditions of the market. For 

 instance, a recent manager of an exchange reported the 

 following : A carload of pears was consigned to Chicago 



