WOOL SALES.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1702, 19 March 1913, Page 10

WOOL SALES.

, LOCAL V. LONDON. (To the Editor.) : Sir,—Your leader in a recent issue of your journal re London v. local wool sales attracted my attention. The London wool-selling houses seem to be taking turns in distributing-pamphlets throughout the Australasian colonies whereby they try to hoodwink sheep men of the superiority of"London sales over colonial selling centres. I \ Thisy though) perhaps is only' natural as'.they' are .finding the selling business being diverted to its natural quarters.

I might mention here that the wholesale. printing and distribution of these pamphlets entail considerable expense, and to get on equal terms with their competitors, local brokers may be induced to follow suit, which will later mean higher commission charges for the sheep man. Such has already been: attempted in the colonies, and your recent article will servo a good purpose, not only to brokers and others, but particularly the farming community. However, ■ I admiro the wisdom of our sheep men, also 'the ability of our selling agents in building up tho local sales with a selling system, which, though not quite as favourable as some Australian centres, nevertheless has given'great satisfaction to botb sellers and /purchasers, which cannot bo said of London. I do, not advocate sellers constantly changing their markets, nor their brokers, but I am sure it is a wise ' policy for growers to dispose of the clips at the seat •of production, and not only will they themselves benefit thereby,, but the community as well. By dividing the clip as at present, .divides the purchasers, as, though many English and other manufacturers require a. portion of our wool they secure thenneeds in ! London, and are at present iiot represented hero.

' It is only 100 well known that the selling system in vogue. in London is slow and out of date, and though'all bales are shown to the buyer, which is sometimes claimed as an advantage, the buyers hero ask only for a proportion, and are satis- 1 fietl, so what more is required? Furthermore, in London the auctioneer has not only to sell the different lots, bilt does the clerical work as well, which is unbusinesslike, as he not only loses time, but loses (to a certain extent) his hold of the bidders.. Then, again, such a rule as allowing the last purchaser of a lot to take succeeding lines -providing other bids do not exceed, his by I'd., would not be tol-. erated here, as such a system is decidedly against the l interest of the seller. It must be admitted that in London wool often receives very unsatisfactory handling between ship-side and wool store, of which tlio grower, of course, is generally ignorant, and the all-round charges are higher there than here. By selling locally .the grower not only .has his returns much earlier for' use, but is, or should be, in close touch with his agent, who generally shows a'genuine desire to do his very best for his client, which,- of course, is to his interest, as there is much competition between brokers for biggest and most, attractive catalogues. •

In showing wool to Lest advantage, a good light and a good position are important factors; also a mild, soft climate is an agent in influencing values. Now, much wool is shown and valued by purchasers'in London when dense fogs and dulLweather prevails. Thus the wool does not .look' attractive to the . buyers, and as it also handles damp and clammy, purchasers are sure to make due allowance and .try to err oil the right side. We also know that the longer between being clipped and being sold the lower the colour; moreover, the.heavier wool has been pressed the less attractive it is in appearance, and to liandle, which are also important factors in selling. This is why sorno Australian and New Zealand sheep men will not on any account have their wool heavily pressed or dumped, whether for sale locally or for shipment—they are quite contcnt to pay the extra freight charges on undumped wool. To my mind dumping takes at least Id. per lb. oil' tho tone of any good line of wool. Another important point in disposing of clips locally is that purchasers can ship direct to seat of manufacture, which means about Gs. per halo being saved, besides, having the wool much earlier to enable him to enter into forward busi-

MOSS. / ■ Though tho comparisons of llio London centra houses may appear all right to tho unintelligent and .uninquisitivo,- they will not dcccivo tho sheep man who lias studied all branches of his business. Tho higher price obtained per bale in London' is aiiytmn? but a fair comparison. In tho first place, the charge in freightage, etc., is never deducted by them (about lid. per lb.). Also there is practically no scoured or slipo sorts sold locally, it being shipped, but instead a largo proportion of fanners' lots, many of which aro ill-bred, shabby, and linclasscd, while 011 tho other hand a large/proportion of big, straight, well-classed station lines are shipped, while tho skirtings, belly pieces, locks, crtitchiugs, dead wool, etc., are often sent to the local sales, or sent to be scoured locally before shipment abroad. —I am, etc., W. T. HAMBLY. 425 Durham Street North, Christchurch.