The Tomato Grower

Or, "How Incoterms 2020 Could Have Saved a Neighborhood."

By: John Skelton

Mr. Jones lived at 123 Maple Street in the picturesque little town of Springfield, Ontario. One sunny and warm summer day, Mr. Jones decided to take a walk through the park that was close to his home.

The park was lovely, and his neighbors' properties bordered the north and south sides of the park. He stopped to admire the tomatoes that were growing in a magnificent vegetable garden owned by one of his neighbors. Mr. Jones introduced himself to Mr. Smith, who was the grower of the tomato plants. Mr. Smith lived at 345 Elm Street, about 2 miles away from Mr. Jones.

"Those are fine looking tomato plants, Mr. Smith," remarked Mr. Jones. It so happens that Mr. Jones loved making pasta sauce for his family, and these tomatoes would be perfect for the job. Mr. Jones had scheduled a huge end-of-summer party at his house for family and friends, where he traditionally released his new batch of pasta sauce. He was the "talk of the town."

"I wonder, Mr. Smith, would you be willing to sell some of your tomatoes to me?" Asked Mr. Jones. "I would like to use them in my world-famous pasta sauce."

"Of course," replied Mr. Smith. I would be happy to sell them to you. They will ripen close to September 1^st, so you may have them at that time.

After a little friendly bickering, they settled on a price of $20 CAD for a basket of tomatoes, which would be ready on September 1. Mr. Jones paid the $20 to Mr. Smith in advance, as a gesture of good faith.

The weeks passed, and September 1^st finally arrived. Mr. Jones waited patiently for a knock on his door that would be Mr. Smith delivering the tomatoes. But no one knocked on his door. There was no phone call. Sept. 2, Sept. 3, Sept. 4 ... no knock on the door, no phone call from Mr. Smith. Mr. Jones was frustrated.

So, on September 5, Mr. Jones went for another brisk walk, towards Elm Street. As he approached, he saw that Mr. Smith's tomato plants were laden with red, ripe tomatoes. And there was Mr. Smith, lounging in his back yard. Mr. Jones was upset.

"Hey! Smith!" Shouted Mr. Jones. We had a deal! I paid $20 for a basket of tomatoes! Are you trying to rip me off?"

"No!" replied Mr. Smith. "I was waiting for you to come and pick the tomatoes yourself and bring your own basket! You never showed up!"

"I expected you to deliver the tomatoes to me, with the basket!" exclaimed Jones.

"That was never part of the deal! Those baskets are expensive, and I don't have the time or energy to deliver them!" replied Smith.

After some argument, the two finally agreed that Jones would send his son Freddy pick up the tomatoes the next day, as long as Mr. Smith would pick the tomatoes, put them into the basket, and leave them on his front porch at 345 Elm Street. Jones knew that he would have to pay his son $5 to go and pick up the tomatoes. The pasta sauce was starting to become an expensive proposition.

As arranged, the next day, Freddy Jones rode his bicycle to Smith's house to pick up the tomatoes. He carefully loaded the basket onto his bicycle carrier, secured it with some bungie cord, and rode toward Maple Street.

Then, disaster struck. Swerving to miss a parked car, Freddy hit a pot hole in the road. The bungie cord slipped, and the basket of tomatoes tumbled onto the pavement. Half of the tomatoes were smashed. Freddy was forced to break the bad news to his father.

Mr. Jones was irate. "Smith was supposed to pack those tomatoes properly! He should have helped you to load the basket onto your bicycle! I am going to demand my $20 back! Now I can't make enough pasta sauce for the big party! Am going to sue him for inconvenience and embarrassment!"

And the argument between the Smith Family and the Jones family was renewed. The neighborhood was never the same again.

Questions:

How could consideration of Incoterms 2020 help the dispute between Smith and Jones?

Are Incoterms 2020 appropriate for domestic trade?

Part 2 Answer the following

The Incoterms 2010 are grouped into four main groupings, what are they?

Name the terms that fall under the rules for any mode or modes of transport.

Name the terms that fall under the rules for sea and inland waterway transport.