Jim Perry operates a large fruit and vegetable stand on the outskirts of a city. In a typical year he sells \(\$ 600,000\) of goods to regular customers. His sales are \(40 \%\) for cash and \(60 \%\) on credit. He carries all of the credit himself. Only after a customer has a \(\$ 300\) unpaid balance on which no payments have been made for two months does he refuse that customer credit for future purchases. His income before taxes is approximately \(\$ 95,000\). The total of uncollectible accounts for a given year is about \(10 \%\) of credit sales, or \(\$ 48,000\).

You are one of Perry's regular customers. He knows that you are taking a college course in accounting and has asked you to tell him your opinion of several alternatives recommended to him to reduce or eliminate the \(\$ 48,000\) per year uncollectible accounts expense. The alternatives are as follows:

1. Do not sell on credit.

2. Sell on credit by national credit card only.

3. Allow customers to charge only until their account balances reach \(\$ 50\).

4. Allow a bill collector to go after uncollectible accounts and keep half of the amount collected.

Write a report for Perry about the advisability of following any of these alternatives.