Being a Real Retail Lumber Merchant

By Mr. E" D. Tennant, secretary-manager The Los Angeles District Lurnibermens Club, before the San Bernardino County Lumbermen.

When at least 75 per cent of the retail lumber business of California is conducted by men who have realized the vital necessity of creating suflrcient backbone and merchandising sense to organize their business whereby it carr render tl.re greatest service to the public and then insist on receivir.rg a price for the lumber t'ney sell lvhich rvill assure their receiving not only the cost of renclering that service and the lumber which goes with it, but rn adclition a fair profit on cacl.r sale n.r,ade, then the retail lur-nltcr business oi this State lvill be on an equal basis rvith other successful retail lines of business ancl the orrlertaker or price crrtter u'ill have been frtrcerl to retire or go to other states where business is still conclucted as it u'as ir.r the days of our grandfathers.

The retail lrrnrbqrman or lumber saiesman who ltresents a quotation on a bill of material with the (tuer\f iHow is that for a ltrice" or "I-et me know if price is trot satisfactorv" has no place in the management or selling encl of the retail lunrl>er business. He.ought to be out in the yarcl shoving boards with a red-heacled Jrish foreman over-hinr to see that he does an 'nonest diay's wor-k. As a lumbe,r <lealer or salesman he is a good hod-carrier.

The average huntan beirg .ivho buys lumber rvill immediately decide. or.r being askecl above or sinrilar questions, that the pricer cluoted is too high. 1'he chump s-aiesman puts the thought into his head, ancl. of couise, the lur.nber shover inrmerliately gets cold feet for fear of losing the sale and cuts his orice.

A lumber clealer shoulcl know exactly what it costs him to put er-ery foot of sto.ck he carries into his yard;what it costs him to clelit'er;rvhat his overhead costs,are;an,ri triren be busir-ress man enough to see that every sale carries its sl.rare of; his total costs ancl a fair margin of profit.

The r,vholesale cost of lumlter in any given district ar,erages about the same and there is, theriiore. no real business reason rn'hy retail lumber prices should often vary from $.1.00 to $8.00 per thousand. There mieht be a valid excuse for a rlifference of $1.00 to $2100 causecl by the better elhciency or buf ing power of differelt yarcls.- Rut any clifference beyoncl that is simpl,r' price crrtting and poor merchanclising.

The dealer who is always undersellir.rg his competrtor is not only a rotten business executive but a menace to the industry an,d the community in which he lives. Hd creates clistrust and suspicion of every one engaged in the lumber business. The buyer of lumber, rvhen he purchases other nraterials, is quoted one price and one only; is satisfied that it is the going price and pays it. Wiren he comes to buy lrtmber he often runs up against the price cutter, who imnrecliatelf instills into his mind the idea that in order to g*et a fair price he must shop around and look out or he n'ill be skinned. The buyer rightfully comes to the'conclttsion that lumbermen are a bunch o{ sharuers and not to be trusted.

The price cutter is oiter.r {orced. irr orrler to break even orr his sales, to sultstitute gracles or s'hi1t short measure and again puts the lumber business in a bad light. He periodically starts a price cutting campaign and thereby creates the impression that lumber prices are coming down and causes prospective buyers to defer their plans for immerliate buil<ling operations. He not only spoils his own market, but unclermines the market for the entire district irr which he is locatecl.

By filling his place in li{e as an authority on building materials, as a busirress man who is alrvavs prepared to assist his crlstomers toward making a success of their building operations, as a man w1i.ro is known to always ask a fair price and who expects to nrake a fair profit. By beirg a real Att.ter-ic:rn business executive who insists on getting his an,d, in giving his competitors a chance to get theirrs, knowing that in order to successfully build up his own business, he ulusq help his cor-npetitor make money. By maintaining his l>usiness on the al>ove standards the retarl lunr.berman becomes a power for good in the comrnunity in w'hich he lives, creating a feeling of trust and confidencq in the lttmber industry, and in short, plays a man's part in a he-man's country; one who has no use for slinking down the alley-rvays and by-ways of cut-throat competition.