16 BULLETIN 267, U. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. 



CAR-LOT WHOLESALERS. 



A very important factor in market distribution is the car-lot whole- 

 saler. These men purchase fruits and vegetables from cooperative 

 associations, country merchants, car-lot assemblers, traveling buyers, 

 buying brokers, individual growers, speculators, and city brokers. 

 They distribute goods to the jobbing and retail trade or to the coun- 

 try trade. Thus it will be seen that their activities cover a wider 

 field than do those of almost any other type of distributor. 



A large part of the business done by the car-lot wholesaler is 

 transacted very early in the day. Most of these early morning side- 

 walk sales are for cash, and in a great many cases the buyer does his 

 own delivering. Later in the day, beginning about 8 or 9 o'clock 

 in the morning, telephone orders come in from grocers all over the 

 city for deliveries to be made later in the day. The greater portion 

 of this business is for credit, but settlement is usually demanded 

 within a period of one or two weeks. Still later in the day shipments 

 are made up for distribution to country customers in neighboring 

 towns. Thirty to sixty days' credit is extended to these customers. 

 The orders from this country trade may be by telegram, by letter, or 

 through private traveling salesmen. As a rule, these sales to the 

 country trade are the most uniformly profitable of any to the car-lot 

 wholesaler. Prices charged are usually slightly higher than can be 

 secured from resident buyers on the market. This, of course, is justi- 

 fied, as extra packing and cartage charges are involved. The country 

 trade, as a rule, makes little attempt to keep in close touch with 

 market prices, but prefers to place orders regularly with selected 

 wholesalers or jobbers and depend upon receiving fair treatment. 



In addition to selling to the retail trade, popularly known as 

 " retailing," car-lot wholesalers distribute considerable quantities of 

 goods to jobbers. The " jobbing price," it should be noted, is usually 

 less than prices charged the retail trade for the same articles. This 

 lower jobbing price is, of course, to protect the jobber and insure 

 him at least a small margin or profit when he, in turn, sells to the 

 retailer. 



SALES OUT OF STORAGE AND CLEAN-TJP SALES. 



Many car-lot wholesalers buy when prices are cheap and put the 

 produce in storage, distributing later when prices admit of a fair 

 profit. This involves a certain element of risk, as a market may not 

 take on a better tone in time for the wholesaler to move his stored 

 goods to advantage. Some of the heaviest losses in the wholesale 

 trade are the direct result of dealing in stored goods. 



After a heavy day's sale there is usually a considerable amount 

 of miscellaneous produce left on hand. At this point hucksters and 

 peddlers purchase the odds and ends that are unsold and clear the 



