20 



Station Bulletin 362 



a ton and cash was paid within 10 days, a gross saving of from $1.59 to 

 $3.97 would be made as against taking various amounts of credit up to 

 October 1. Money could be borrowed from the bank at 6 per cent and 

 a net saving of from $1.41 to $2.72 could still be made after covering in- 

 terest. This would not actually apply in practice where small amounts 

 of money are obtained since many banks have a minimum charge of 

 $1.00 for interest. If such minimum exists, the amount of money bor- 

 rowed and the time it is used should be given consideration to avoid ex- 

 cessive minimum charge. Credit from the Production Credit Banks 

 should also be given consideration as such loans are particularly suited 

 to farmer's needs. 



See Table 12 for possible savings through avoidance of fertilizer pur- 

 chases under the usual time schedules. Some fertilizer dealers do give 

 some short-time credit on fertilizers without any apparent credit charge, 

 particularly to good feed customers. However, the farmer cannot ex- 

 pect something for nothing and he should not necessarily conclude that 

 the credit charge has not been added into the prices he pays for goods. 



Volume Discounts 



The ton price on fertilizers is usually lower than the one-bag price. 

 One company customarily gives the ton price on four bags or more, al- 

 though, in 1943 and 1944, a full-ton purchase was required to obtain the 

 ton price. In 1942, this discount amounted to an average of $1.50 a ton 

 on seven mixed fertilizers and $2.05 a ton on two chemicals, or a saving 

 of 3.3 per cent and 5.8 per cent respectively. Discounts on ton lots 

 were smaller in 1943 and eliminated in most cases in 1944. (See Tab^c 

 IS.) 



Table 13. — Volume Discounts on Fertilizers 



(One bag vs. ton lots — as given by one company) 



Kind No. brands Average price per bag Discount for ton lots 



averaged bag rate ton rate dollars per bag per cent 



Vear 



fertilizers 



Discounts on lots of 10 tons amounted to 5 per cent from the one- 

 ton price. In 1944, this would have amounted to an average of $2.09 a 

 ton on five mixed fertilizers and an average of $1.69 per ton on two 

 chemicals as quoted by one company. A larger discount was offered on 

 straight cars of chemicals. (See Table M.) 



Four large fertilizer companies offered consumer discounts ranging 

 from 5 to 10 per cent on lots of 10 tons up, depending on the volume. 

 This represented a maximum of from $2.25 to $4.50 per ton. (See Table 

 IS.) 



