"REAL PRICES"

Evening Post, Volume CIII, Issue 73, 28 March 1922, Page 8

"REAL PRICES"

10 THi (DITOH.

Sir,—ln' your leader column on Saturday, under the heading "Real Prices," you refer to remarks made' by the president of the Master Grocers' Association, You quote ,Mr. Bennett, in mentioning the distribution of Christinas- boxes and presents as bad habits of the trade. . I presume what is meant is that grocers, in order to please their customers and induce a continuance of their patronage, give them' Christmas boxes and other presents. This is absolutely incorrect, and I believe it is most unusual for grocers in Wellington to ■giveNj anything away in the I shape of !Christmas boxes or presents to their: customers. Mr. Bennett also refers to bonuses and coupons! I am at a Joss to know,what is meant- by bonuses. If this ie also supposed to- :be another gift to. customers, I never heard of its being done,'' except in co-operative concerns, I where they distribute part of their profits in this manner, 'i If it. refers to bonuses given to assistants for efficient service, I cannot agree that it is ;i bad habit. ; ■■■•,■ : The system of discounts : and oou. ( pons which :in this instance aTe the same thing (the coupon being simply a method by which small purchases are recorded, for the purpose of discount) is used by stores doing a mixed credit and cash business, in order to give purchasers who pay cash, the advantage in price they are entitled to. With regard to the amount of this discount being reflected in the Government Statistician's cosUof-living figures, Mr. Bennett must have overlooked the fact thai the costof-living figures, increase or decrease, are all based on the standard of 1914 year, and the prices for groceries for that year were taken from the same sources as they are now, and under the same conditions with, regard to discount. If,, as it seems to be sagg«ted, Uie prices taken in 1914 are subject to discount, and the prices given at the present time are to be net, that is the discount already taken off, the result would be hardly fair, and wonld ' show the cost of living as compared i with 1914 lower than it actually is. Your question, "Is it practicable; for traders to sell for net cash only," is a very big one. It would mean that producers and manufacturer* wonld require to receive cash, before or on delivery of [ the goods, merchants would requir* to do the sain«, and so on, and to bring |ft i to its logical conch'sion, wages would have .to b« paid daily. ,It would be j unreasonable to expect wage-earners 'to , give their services on credit for a week j or a month, if they were called -pay j cash down for what they purchase with their wages. I am afraid, the inconvenience of trading for 'cash- only wonld outweigh any advantage gained. I think the words, "parasitical overheads," should not have been used in | connection with the grocery trade. ! The competition is far too keen to allow any trader to carry on a business successfnlly eacept by strictest economy and sound management.—l am,' etc., H. WABDELL. Zlih March. A .