Oct., 1937] Eggs Under the Hammer 47 



size requirements on individual eggs were dropped in the smaller sizes. 

 Persons buying the smaller sizes are usually more interested in price 

 than in whether all eggs are of one size. A minimum average weight 

 should satisfy the requirements in peewee and pullet sizes. 



Chain Store Purchases 



Chain stores are becoming more important buyers of auction eggs. 

 Their representatives, however, seldom attend sales and bid in person. 

 Usually they "take up the slack". Along with w'holesalers they put a 

 "floor" under the market. If eggs are short, they will of course have 

 to bid up with the rest of the buyers. 



"Off sales" are made to wholesalers and chains. They constitute an 

 important outlet when volume of eggs is too heavy to move on auction 

 sales alone or where physical facilities would be overtaxed if held for 

 the regular sale date. 



Most of the chains buy eggs direct from producers, and some of them 

 want to continue to obtain a Substantial volume in this way as they 

 become less dependent on any one source of supply. 



The auction has a real problem here, and it will never be able to 

 deal most effectively as long as any large number of producers insist 

 on selling direct. 



A producers' organization, whether an auction or another type of agen- 

 cy, could serve its producers better if it had control of those eggs now 

 moving direct to the chains and wholesalers. 



If sale of eggs through the auction to chain stores results in reship- 

 ping and duplication in handling and candling services, the extra 

 expense involved is certain to restrict the sales volume. Either ar- 

 rangements should be made to have eggs suitably candled and packed 

 for the "chains" so that extra handling can be eliminated, or else pro- 

 ducer members should bargain through their organization and arrange 

 to make direct shipments. If shipments are made direct, the eggs must 

 either be graded and packed at the farm (and this is often impractica- 

 ble) or else the grading of the chain store would have to be accepted. 

 While direct shipments might work out satisfactorily for some of the 

 bigger shippers of good quality eggs, it would seem more satisfactoiry to 

 have smaller shippers ship through the auction where they can be grad- 

 ed. It should also be kept in mind that an organization is always at a 

 disadvantage in bargaining Avhen it does not handle and have absolute 

 control of its product. Therefore, bargaining in connection with direct 

 shipments is only good as long as it works. 



Handling of Auction Sales 



Most egg auctions hire an auctioneer to sell their product. It seems 

 to be generally believed that such an auctioneer should not know whose 

 eggs he is selling in order to be unbiased. Viewed from another stand- 

 point, the better an auctioneer knows his product, the more effective 

 his selling. 



The New Hampshire Egg Auction hired an auctioneer at first but 

 the manager has auctioned for some time now. This has apparently 

 met with success and has reduced expense. However, the success in 



