Oords Lurnbcr

The Deoler's Gost of Doing Business

(Continued from Page 2) of materials in packaged lots, the payment of accounts rvithin 10 days after delivery, and the streamlining of certain of our operations are factors that have allowed us to cut prices and make money.

There is a big question in the rninds of some of our dealers about just .ivhere the profits are in package lots or the do-it-yourself market.

It doesn't cost you as much to handle a large packaged sale as it does a small one. Your overhead is much less on a tract-type sale than it is on a do-it-yourself type sale. From first-hand knon'ledge, I know that operation ,costs in a retail lumberyard today can vary all the way from 8 to 35% cost of doing business.

Visualize. if you will, an operation handling packaged sales only. No small sales, a tough-credit policy and complete mech:rnical equipment, as compared to a do-it-yourself type business where the salespeople sometimes spend a half hour in orCer to make a $5.00 sale. The cost of the salesman's time alone, not considering any of the other overhead factors, makes the small sale unprofitable regardless of the mark-up.

NIv quarrel is not rvith the do-it-yourself type operator. I believe in that kind of operation but I insist that he must learn more about his cost of doing business.

He cannot afford to have a salesman spend time on small sales unless he gets paid for it. His cost of doing business rvill be higher and he will have to have correspondingly