540 AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS 



covering and re-covering of the same ground by a hundred different 

 firms. There appears to be no reason why this specialization argu- 

 ment should not apply to the creation of time, place, and possession 

 utilities in the marketing process, as well as to the creation of form 

 utilities. 



D. Methods of Direct Selling 



171. PARCEL POST MARKETING 1 

 BY LEWIS B. FLOHR AND C. T. MORE 



Parcel post as a means of transportation has been found by com- 

 mercial houses to be useful and efficient. There is no reason why 

 farmers cannot make extensive use of it under certain conditions if 

 they will. It has been found that one of the chief factors in pre- 

 venting the satisfactory development of parcel post marketing has 

 been the price asked by some farmers for produce. To illustrate: 

 One farmer's wife was receiving 20 cents a pound for butter in her 

 local market, a country store. When asked if she would be willing 

 to ship it to a city by parcel post, and at what price, she replied that 

 she would do so at 50 cents a pound. Would-be purchasers fre- 

 quently have been known to offer producers a lower price than they 

 can obtain in their local markets. It is needless to say that such 

 imperfect and erroneous ideas as to proper and equitable price 

 altogether defeat the possibility of marketing produce by parcel post. 

 Business in marketing by parcel post can be secured and held only 

 by shipping produce of high quality and by charging reasonable 

 prices. 



The larger the quantity, within the postal limits, that is shipped 

 at any one time the more economical is the factor of postage and 

 therefore the more attractive from the viewpoint of cost both to the 

 producer and to the consumer. This applies both to shipments and 

 to the return of empty containers. It would not be economical to 

 secure half a dozen different kinds of vegetables from as many 

 different producers, but if a supply of half a dozen kinds of vegetables, 

 or vegetables and fruits, could be obtained in one parcel from one 

 producer it would be both advantageous and attractive. 



Another advantage to the producer in parcel post marketing is 

 that his mail box or local post-office becomes his shipping station. 

 This relieves him from any extra trip in order to make shipment, as 



1 Adapted from Farmers' Bulletin 703, pp. 9-11, 2. 



