14 BULLETIN 266, TJ. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
The term " country buyers" as used in this bulletin refers to 
buyers who are permanently located and do not move from one 
district to another with buying brokers and traveling buyers. In 
many instances the trade defines this person as a "shipper." Another 
very erroneous designation is '" car-lot assembler." 
These local country buyers, where they are well known in par- 
ticular communities, may prove to be profitable connections for 
shippers, due to the fact that they have reputations to uphold in 
order to obtain business, and consequently can not operate on a 
11 fly-by-night " basis. Furthermore, these buyers usually pay cash 
at time of delivery, and inasmuch as the grower thus has the money 
in possession, the honesty of the buyer is not so important. 
TRAVELING BUYERS AND BROKERS. 
Traveling buyers and brokers operating at shipping points work 
along practically the same lines, moving from one specialized district 
to another with the advance of the season. 
The difference in activities lies in the fact that brokers buy what- 
ever produce is wanted in whatever amounts are desired, and ship 
to wholesale houses which have placed orders with them, charging 
a definite brokerage for each car shipped. They are usually "free 
lances" buying for all who retain them, upon payment of the stipu- 
lated brokerage. In reality so-called brokers at the shipping end in 
addition to buying on orders from wholesale houses also sell for 
growers and shippers, thus finding outlets for carloads of produce. 
Traveling buyers, on the other hand, are employed by single houses 
on a definite salary basis and perform the services of brokers for 
these individual houses alone. 
In order to attract buyers to a certain section, the first require- 
ment is a crop or crops of sufficient tonnage to make the "deal" of 
commercial importance. A second requirement is to bring the facts 
to the attention of the trade before shipments begin. This can be 
accomplished by advertisements in trade journals or by letters to 
the largest distributors of these products in neighboring markets, 
stating the probable number of carloads of each product to be shipped 
from the district, together with the probable opening date of com- 
mercial shipments. Provided a large number of buyers and trade 
representatives can be assembled, the possibility of higher prices is 
greatly increased through competitive bidding. 
Sales should not be made to representatives of unknown firms 
without a careful inquiry into the business responsibility of the firms 
and into the accredited standing of the representatives. 
Traveling buyers and brokers will be found in nearly all of the 
specialized districts as well as in many other sections. 
