MARKETING EASTERN GRAPES. 15 



of this method is hindered by the difficulty of getting in touch 

 with consumers and of making collections, and by the fact that most 

 city consumers desire grapes in lots of one or two baskets on short 

 notice. The aggregate quantity thus sold is small, but the method 

 has a wide application. 



The recent great interest on the part of urban dwellers in the 

 subject of marketing has led to the formation of many consumers' 

 cooperative associations or buying clubs, which should present a 

 profitable field for development to growers with small acreage. 



It should be borne in mind in all of the sales direct to the con- 

 sumer that the prices generally should not be so high as the retail 

 price, for the consumers' ability to purchase stock in just the quanti- 

 ties he desires and just when he desires them, is one of the services 

 figured into the retail price. A fair price for the farmer to charge 

 the consumer for such sales would be the price at which the same 

 stock sold to retailers in large near-by markets. Thus the producer 

 receives payment which represents not only the cost of his product 

 but the costs and profits of the buyer, carlot distributor, and jobber, 

 and the consumer saves what would represent the cost and profit of 

 the retailer on similar transactions. If a farmer ships in this manner 

 direct to consumers, basing his charge on f . o. b. prices, he has a right 

 to ask more than the regular current price to reimburse him for his 

 extra trouble and knowledge of marketing conditions. When he 

 peddles his products he has a right to charge the full retail price, 

 but as he usually wishes to make quick sales, he may find it expedient 

 to ask a slightly lower price. 



SALES BY GROWERS IN PUBLIC MARKETS. 



Grape growers near the larger cities sometimes find it to their 

 advantage to haul their stock to the public markets, where they 

 may sell direct to tlie consumer or to retailers at current market 

 prices. 



SALES BY GROWERS IN SMALL LOTS DIRECT TO RETAILERS. 



Growers sometimes find it to their advantage to sell direct to 

 retailers located in neighboring towns and villages. Such a trade 

 can be made profitable by an energetic producer, who, in years of 

 crop shortage, can generally obtain stock from his neighbors and in 

 years of heavy production can dispose of his surplus through other 

 channels. The disadvantages of this method of sale are numerous, 

 the field of distribution is reduced by the necessity of less than 

 carlot shipments, the freedom of the retailer in buying only for his 

 requirements is reduced, and the uncertainty of less than carload 



