The gemara on the top of Bava Metzia 40b states that Rav Yehuda would receive more than a 1/6 profit on the pitchers of wine he sold even though the wine was considered something that is life sustaining. The gemara explains that from the profits he would pay for someone to install the spigot (or announce the sale) and he would be compensated for his "tircha", and after subtracting these two expenditures he would make a profit of exactly 1/6.
Am I mistaken in thinking that the normal "tircha" and effort one exerts to sell merchandise he purchased in bulk is what the 1/6 profit is coming to compensate him for? If not, why should he be allowed to make more than 1/6 in order to compensate him for his tircha, unless the "tircha" is referring to some extraordinary effort that most wine merchants do not need to put forth.
Aharon Levine
I believe that your assumption is mistaken. If the allowable 1/6 profit margin were merely to enable the seller to cover his costs and expenditures (beyond the principle laid out for the merchandise itself), then what sort of profit will he make after paying his spigot-workers and advertisers? None. Rather, the 1/6 is the allowable profit margin after incidental expenses. Consequently, it is permitted for the seller to charge more than 1/6 over the value of the item when the expenses will cut into his profit otherwise.
Y. Shaw
(See also basr-090.qa1)
Thank you for the response. Perhaps I was not clear on my question. I accept the fact that normal expenses such as spigot workers and advertisers should be deductible before calculating the 1/6 profit margin. My question was specifically on the "tircha" - why is this deductible before calculating the 1/6 profit margin? Isn't the profit which the seller is entitled to receive in exchange for the effort he exerts to buy and sell (in essence, for providing the service of buying and selling)?
If so, what is the tircha which the gemara is speaking about which gets subtracted before the profit margin is calculated?
Thank you for clarifying your question, and my apologies for misunderstanding it. You are correct that the normal service of providing goods is part of the 1/6th profit. The Gemara, though, is referring to a different Tirchah -- breaking the merchandise into smaller quantities which were not initially packaged for individual sale.
Y. Shaw