ABSTRACT
The essence of a Purchasers’ Association, whether it is formed of the consumers of finished goods or of producers who will utilise their purchases in further production, is that its policy is directed to maximise aggregate purchaser’s benefit minus aggregate costs. The Purchasers’ Association, however, has a considerable advantage over an ordinary Joint Stock Company, because it is able to offer to those who join it, not only cheap goods, but also a certain sense of part ownership in an important corporate institution. It is easy to point to services, which many persons need in small individual lots, but which can be produced much more economically in large lots. It is true that a Purchasers’ Association can work in this field much more cheaply than a single small farmer; but, exactly the same thing is true of an ordinary commercial firm, undertaking to sell the service of marketing to the farmers.
