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There is a distinction between the usage of the names COMMERCE and
BUSINESS. The interchange of products and manufactured articles
between countries, or even between different sections of the same
country, is usually referred to as _commerce_. The term _business_
refers more particularly to our dealings at home--that is, in our own
town or city. Sometimes this name is used in connection with a
particular product, as the _coal_ business or the _lumber_ business,
or in connection with a particular class, as the _dry-goods_ business
or the _grocery_ business. The name _commerce_, however, seldom admits
of a limited application. In the United States TRADE is synonymous
with _business_. The word TRAFFIC applies more especially to the
conveyance than to the exchange of products; thus we refer to
_railroad_ traffic or _lake_ traffic. PRODUCTS, when considered
articles of trade, are called _merchandise, goods, wares_. The term
MERCHANDISE has the widest meaning, and includes all kinds of movable
articles bought or sold. GOODS is applied more particularly to the
supplies of a merchant. WARES is commonly applied to utensils, as
_glassware_, _hardware_, etc.
GROSS commonly means coarse or bulky. In trade it is used with
reference to both money and goods. The _gross_ weight of a package
includes the weight of the case or wrappings. The larger sum in an
account or bill--that is, the sum of money before any allowance or
deductions are made--is the _gross_ amount of the bill. The word NET
is derived from a Latin word meaning neat, clean, unadulterated, and
indicates the amount of goods or money after all the deductions have
been made. To say that a price is _net_ is to indicate that no further
discount will be made.
The word FIRM relates to solidity, establishment, strength, and in a
business sense signifies two or more persons united in partnership for
the purpose of trading. The word HOUSE is very frequently used in the
same sense. In mercantile usage _house_ does not mean the building in
which the business is conducted, but the men who own the business,
including, perhaps, the building, stock, plant, and business
reputation. The name CONCERN is often used in a very similar way.
The name MARKET expresses a locality for the sale of goods, and in
commerce is often used to denote cities or even countries. We say that
Boston is a leather market, meaning that a large number of Boston
merchants buy and sell leather. In the same sense we call Chicago a
grain market, or New Orleans a cotton market. In its more restricted
sense the name _market_ signifies a building or place where meat or
produce is bought and sold. We say that the _market is flooded_ with a
particular article when dealers are carrying more of that article than
they can find sale for. There is _no market_ for any product when
there is no demand. The money market is _tight_ or _close_ when it is
difficult to borrow money from banks and money-lenders.