New-York tribune., 1895-12-15
PROFITS OF FISH-DEALERG:
THERE IS WIDE MARGIN BETWEEN
WHOLESALE AND RETAIL PRICES.
VET THE MERCHANTS INSIST THAT THEIR BUm4
NESS YIELDS EXTREMELY SMALL RETURNS
EXPENSES AND VARIOUS LOSSES.

rxpENsEs AND VARIOUS LOSSES.
tn. retail price Of Ash in this city is commonly
he,,eved 10 be excessive IN comparison with the
ubo,c,ale price Consumers Of fish make complaint
=, ,ba, score They see cargoes sold for only q
,eu cents a pound, but find that price multiplied
when they 90 to buy. The high price OF beef 10 70
them less astonishing. because cattle have to bs
raised and taken OF for several years at con-
.,derable cost and brought here long distances by
railroad at large expense for freight and other
charges That fish. however. which are so bounu-
fully provided by nature. and have merely to bs
caught and brought to market should be 30 costly
,s less comprehensive. A Tribune reporter a few
days ago asked several leading retailers about the
subject whose statements are appended.
Eugene G. Blackford. Of Fulton Market express
id,nt of the State Fisheries Commission. said
1.-THE difference between the wholesale and retail
prices OF fish by no means represents the profit
~ the retailer Every retailer who buys stock
~ fish in the wholesale market has to take it
away hirns e,f He therefore has two carriages TO
navone from the wholesale market to his store
and another from his store to his customers The
retailer buys his FISH with all It's entrails and waste
narts. for which he has to pay. He must clean the
esb at great loss before he can sell II, and the
loss from as vs snr m % os a5s not
haiibut today. which is not sold at once It viii
drain ard dry out so rapidly that by tomorrow
It VIII 70 not meafe that q per cent Of the orgn4
ntantity purchased will be lost or wasted.
COMPETITION OF THE PEDLERs.
when fish are very plentiful they are sold not
only by dealers who have stores, but are also
hawked all the city by pedlers Sme!ts for
instance which can often be bought around the
market for from 3 10 cents pound, may be
sold for from 10 to 10 cents pound by uptown
dealers who have to pay rent and store expenses.
white the itinerant vender may be able to sell them
cheaper retailer s can h meyer % rdSs 5s precisely
contingencies must lay in an ample ,s stock While
at ucb tles of /, viii be left on his hands in unmsket
able condition. Fish OF all KINDS Is so extremely
perton is entailed upon every retailer. Then assn
OF fish that are bought at wno.esae certain per,
perhaps made wholIy unmarketaDe by being
sThe wholesale dealer sells on commission, and
Ia abe 10 clean out his stock every day. The
tail dealer: however must keep "a large quantity
restaurants and families. and is never able entirely
to clean out his stock Biuefsh has no, !, been sold
for less than 3ha cents pound for good fresh fish
When buesh are plentiful they are bought % up Sy
when the supply becomes more scan scant' het5Iigsra:
rTea Un cUs,s shsnksse @ Frozen fish dry out very much
and their moisture evaporates and is congea.ed In
the form t s 9n Os s psi p o. shrink @
cent in from three 20 I'VE months
NARROW MARGIN IN OYSTERS
The difference between the wholesale and retail
prices of oysters is small and seldom exceeds over
20 cents on 100 oysters, and the oyster dealer at
retail has to pay for opening the oysters. oystss
panting is also a risky business and from various
causes planters frequently lose entire crops which
IL has taken about three years 10 propagate.
Fully 70 per cent of all the fish that comes TO
this market is consigned to the wholesalers bea ny
the owners OF vessels, who snip IL by rairoai ana
steamboat from all along the coast and the Great
Lakes Even the wholesale dealers do not get rich
So far as the retail fish business is concerned, you
may
1t Is not generally profitable. on the contrary II
is an extremely hazardous trade. The best evi'
dence of this is that there are fewer rich men n
the tsh business than in any other oranch OF trace
in the market; There are more failures among me
fish dealers than any others In the market' ana ana
failed one or more times in thelr business
careers" ,,,sr.
ers in FISH. at Fulton Market. said: the dinerenes
So et"Gsa nearly e so great as is commonly supposed
There are great many contingencies 70 oe ,akso yen
supplied his customers he has done only
moderate margin OF profit The newspaper market sos
higher than they really are. don't know where
they get their Information but II we soua sen az
large profits The retail price OF fish depends large.
ly upon conditions Of the weather and the voIums
LOSSES OF THE RETAILER.
There are many and various causes for the d!f
ference between wholesale and retail prices. The
retailer buys his fish at gross weight but sells AZ
net weight. He to clean. dress. his fish at
a loss of Is 1-S of their weight according TO
the kind Of fish Then he has to sell them In small
quantities, cutting them up to suit customers, and
frequently delivering. at considerable expense IN
pounds apiece. In summer the retailer i under
heavy for Ice for keeping his fish & but eysa
they are frozen and then no one wants them. Tbs
s S'; than n Il. naSuSS o.s 81 ss5es
other commodty in the market We buy say l;T ~,
s. OF n hsn 3 hO. Of that Hf hs
other half must be carried oyer I'll the next day.
Would have to throw away about one:half OF the
quantity carried over or one-quarter OF the wnoie
We frequently spend as much as so week ior
When market cod cost at wholesale 2ls KS Sents "a
from to cents pound net weghs ros steae SHa
was cut up into steaks and rctailed for from 10
12 cents a pound. according to the cuts ana the
When bluehsh cost from 8 to sl2 cents a pound
at wholesale In summer u is retaied at from 10
come here by the schooner load are bluefsh, cod,
fish, weakhsh and mackerel, in their seasons and
whoiesaie w and are retaiied at 20 cents a pound.
Striped bass which cost is cents pound at whole
sale ss for Is cents Of S RGpns at os Tfa Extraordinarily
only one kind Of hsh that is selling cheap. while
times some kinds OF nsh may be selling say; toii
cents pound to-day, which to-m9rrow cou'd no,
be bought for less than cents. There are NOR
fluctuations in the fish market than in the stocs
market"
UNFORTUNATE OWNERS OF SMACKs.
The Fulton Fish Market Association. which
composed OF eighteen wholesale firms. leases ths
fish market and pier No. % and part OF pier NO.
%. East River J. W. Campbell chairman o. the
associations Executive Committee, said: "Our as
sociation does not fix the wholesale prices OF hsh
through concerted action. Each firm makes its own
prices, and there is the sharpest kind o. competi-
ton between the eighteen firms which are mem.
bers The fish disposed or here Is SOLD wholly Vn
commission. The greater part OF II comes by RAJ.
from different parts OF the country There are
about 10 fishing smacks which go from here. Iness
smacks. which are operated by members OF the as
sociation. have many owners Besides the mem
bers of the association there are outside owners
The captains OF the smacks usually own part oI
their boats and them on shares The crews
work for reeillar hut In summer get bonus