Page 72 - Past Chair Book-Pre 2020

"*> The .Xational .Supply and Machinery Dealers’ Association

all the hammers of that one manufacturer, and keep a record of
them for a month. While in one case some showed ten per cent
profit which was unsatisfactory, on the whole they showed thirty-
three and a third. It would have been a mistake to put that on the
list at fifteen.
On some thing’s like taps, when you are selling them at five
or ten per cent, still we have customers we are charging fifteen
and twenty per cent.

JIr. B radley : The line I had in mind when I spoke was files.
In thinking further of this proposition since the discussion began
it occurs to me that there is another difference between the situa­
tion in the Hardware Jobbers' Association and in our own, that is
this, with the dealers in our Association, for the most part, the
great bulk of our business is in selling to the consumer and not
selling to the other dealer. It seems to me if we should adopt
this plan, that the effect would be to put all the small dealers who
are not members of our Association on a par with the dealers
of this Association, who are the large distributors, who occupy the
relative position of the jobber in the hardware trade. It is a fact
we all recognize that the dealers in this Association market most
of their goods to the user and not to the other dealer, and it seems
to me that is a phase of the situation we have to think about.
M r. M cI ntosh : That brings up the matter of files. What
will you do when you run against a quotation of W. B. Belknap
& Company, printed black and white with one discount to all rail­
roads, and another to consumers? You must get a price fixed
so we do not have such competition. It is possible the large jobber
suffers a little. The smaller jobber is put in position to do business
that he could not do otherwise, but the larger one makes so much
more money that he can afford to do it. I think your officers will
arrange the two prices, one for the dealer and one for the
consumer.
A M e m b e r : Will Mr. McIntosh explain about the rebate on
goods previously sold, or on the amount of sales to get a basis
on sales in the past?
M r. M cI ntosh : I think as a rule the rebate to every one
will be alike. Some manufacturers •would possibly object to it.