METHODS  OF  DOING  BUSINESS  239

of  merchants  and  under  no  circumstances
should  lines  which  might  sooner  or  later  develop ­
  into  competing  ones  be  allowed  to  be
carried.
Such  an  arrangement  appeals  particularly
to  the  smaller  manufacturer  or  merchant  in
that  it  brings  his  goods  to  the  attention  of  the
foreign  dealer  at  a  minimum  of  cost  with  a
maximum  of  efficiency  and  paves  the  way  for
developing  the  market.  Many  of  the  leading
sellers  in  Latin  America  to-day  had  their  start
along  this  line  of  co-operative  selling.
Whatever  medium  you  may  feel  it  wise  to
select  in  entering  these  fields,  bear  in  mind  the
fact  that  under  no  circumstances  should  your
representative  overstock  the  buyer  with  goods.
It  is  far  better  to  receive  small  orders  at  first
than  to  sell  large  ones  which  may  move  slowly.
Climatic  conditions  are  such  that  in  Latin
America  many  goods,  unless  sold  quickly,
rapidly  deteriorate  and  the  consequent  loss  will
fall  on  the  individual  merchant  and  result  in
complaints  from  the  buyer  if  he  becomes  the
possessor  of  damaged  goods,  thereby  prejudic-