Production And Distribution

The great problem of trade consists fundamentally in the process of production and distribution. While these activities must be co-existent, the great commercial problem is more that of distributing than that of producing, because production is governed by the demand, or distribution. A moment's reflection will reveal the fact that the selling or distributing forces arc perhaps the greatest activities in the world to-day as every man,regardless of his profession, has something in one form or another to sell.

The Middleman "The Distributor"

The distribution of commodities in most cases is ultimately the work of a retail shop, sometimes called the "middleman." The retailer is to the home what the architect is to the building ; the decorator to the interior of the home. If one will consider the quantity of goods that a single manufacturer puts out, and that this Same manufac-turer makes hundreds and possibly thousands of a sin-gle pattern, and that probably only a very few pieces of each design go into a community, one will appreciate more fully the value of the middleman. Through him we are able to obtain an article at the same low price-as does the person who lives in a large city where hundreds of the same design are sold, Imagine the inconvenience and dissatisfaction of one having to communicate with the manufacturer for each article needed in the home. The fact that there is an army of merchants makes it possible for a manufacturer to offer an article at the minimum cost. To fill these demands enables him to make hundreds of duplicates rather than six or a dozen. It must be understood that the first article of a given kind sometimes costs hundreds of dollars, but just as soon as this article is made in quantities, the cost lowers in proportion, which gives a reduced price to the consumer.

A Word About The Cost Of Furniture Making

One not engaged in the manufacturing business little appreciates the value of cost making. Is it merely some one's idea that a certain article is to bring a certain retail price and that that theoretical price is simply attached, or is there something with a more fixed basis that determines the cost of an article? There must be - so there is. What is the worth of a large oak in a forest? One may buy it for a trifle, perhaps turn it into a household piece of furniture. That thought may lead one to believe that one's furniture will cost but very little; however, it would be found that by the time the tree is converted into furniture the investment will be ten or twenty times the price of the tree, and in the end one will have an article much smaller than the original oak. The real cost of furniture is not the wood that is in it, but the labor and service rendered during its transformation from a tree in the forest to a piece of beautiful furniture in a home. The cost of services and labor can be determined to one's satisfaction by purchasing an old piece of furniture or an antiquity, and having it refinished. Rare specimens of antique furniture have been purchased at a low figure, but when refinished and put into first-class shape it was found that the cost was greater than a new reproduction is worth and not as good, since the workmanship of the high grade manufacturers of today usually surpasses that of the past.

It is a difficult matter to ascertain the real monetary value of an article. Some claim to do so, but in truth no one knows the cost of an article except the manufacturer. Thousands of manufacturers have failed in business, owing to the incorrect estimates of the cost of production, and in consequence,selling the article at little or no profit An article of good merit and construction was placed where experienced buyers from all over the country assembled, who were asked to name a price on the piece. Their guesses varied ten to titty dollars. If the educated buyer makes such widely varied answers, how could it be expected of the laymen to know the value of an article? In most instances the shopper is not really satisfied in his own mind, simply because he does not know values when he sees them, hut often buys to suit his pocketbook, thus sacrificing quality and trusting to luck for the service, which sometimes proves unsatisfactory.