14 BULLETIN 690, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. ae 
These margins do not always prevail, for a wholesale receiver may 
handle a carload of butter for a quarter of a cent per pound and a 
chain store+ may retail to consumers on a gross margin of 8 cents 
per pound. | 
Butter which has been carried for several months in cold storage 
and has incurred charges such as interest on loans, storage, insurance, 
and drayage and which has risked deterioration, may be sold at a 
net loss or a net profit of several cents, depending upon the quality 

Fig. 5.—Inspecting a shipment of butter by a wholesale receiver. 
of the butter and its market value when taken from storage. The 
margin on butter purchased by a retailer direct from a creamery may 
vary from 2 cents to 10 cents per pound. Some retailers follow closely 
the wholesale market quotations and base both their buying and 
selling prices on it. The margins on butter depend to a considerable 
extent upon market conditions, trade requirements, and the service 
given. 

1 Chain stores consist of a number of retail stores operated under a single manage- 
ment. 
