AMERICAN FRUIT AND PRODUCE AUCTIONS 
21 
UNITS OF SALE 
To expedite the business, as well as to make it an object to buy 
in quantities, all auction companies require purchasers to take a 
certain minimum number of packages, the number varying in the 
different cities. In Boston, for example, by agreement with the 
trade one auction company has fixed the unit of sale for citrus fruits 
at 40 packages. For boxed apples the amount is 40 boxes, but if 
the line is less than 100 packages the buyer must take the whole lot. 
Twenty packages is the usual unit, though in some markets it is as 
low as 10. 
The receiver may exercise the right of " no privilege." This phrase 
is used by the auctioneer when announcing from the stand that the 
quantity offered by the receiver will be limited to one auction unit. 
The buyer understands that he will not have the usual privilege of 
Fig. 11. — A railroad terminal used for auction purposes. Fruit may be seen stacked 
on the warehouse floor. The salesroom is in the two-story portion at the farther 
end. The teams and trucks; are waiting for the deliveries 
taking as many units as he desires at the price finally determined for 
the line. This right is often exercised by the receiver when the 
market on that commodity is unsettled and the bidding is lower than 
he believes it should be. 
DELIVERY 
Goods are ready for delivery very soon after the sale has been 
made (fig. 11). The buyer may take delivery of the goods with his 
own trucks, or may make arrangement with the auction company to 
have his purchases delivered. In some cities collections are made for 
the truckmen, the auction company billing the cartage to the buyers. 
The piers and warehouses in which the goods are stacked frequently 
become severely congested shortly after the sale starts, because of the 
large number of trucks and drays brought in for supplies. 
