Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE
"DIRTY METHODS INJHE^PIANO BUSINESS."
SUED FOK PAYMENTS MADE ON PIANO.
The House] of Allen & Gilbert-Ramaker Co. JO Style Advertising of the Eilers Concern—Advertising a
Competitor's Wares at Wholesale Rates—Noted Pianos Named—The Work of Porter in Ohio—
How Should This Kind of Competition be Stamped Out?—Work For the Association.
Amended Instalment Law Works Injury to Piano
Dealers—Gives Unscrupulous Parties a Chance
to Get Pianos Practically Free—Judge De-
cides Against Law and Advises Resort to
Higher Court if Dissatisfied.
The Eilers Piano House, Portland, Ore.,
has been issuing a line of advertising which
surely does not reflect credit upon Henry
Eilers, who, by the way, is a member of the
Piano Dealers' National Association. He
has procured a number of pianos for which
the Allen & Gilbert-Ramaker Co. are the
regularly accredited agents. These he adver-
tises under the heading of "Another Piano
Slaughter."
A number of these pianos are advertised
at prices which are practically the whole-
sale rates at which these instruments are dis-
posed of. Among them are the Knabe,
Fischer, Ludwig, Hardman, Packard, and
others. These instruments are offered at
rates at whicli no regular dealer could afford
to sell, and if these pianos are "brand new"
as advertised, they must have been procured
by the adoption of peculiar methods.
The Allen & Gilbert-Ramaker Co. meet
this advertisement by an announcement,
"Dirty Methods in the Piano Business," and
they state truly when they say:
When a competitor advertises our pianos
at ridiculous prices in order to attract trade
to their store, giving the impression that
they are agents for same, they are employing
what is considered "dirty methods in the
piano business" and condemned by all first-
class dealers in the United States. Such
houses manage to get hold of pianos other
than their own line, even if they have to pay
a retail price for same and employ the above
methods for the sole purpose of injuring the
reputation of the piano as well as the house
that represents them. It goes without say-
ing that trade is needed badly as well as cash
to a house that employs such methods.
We want to state here that we are the sole
agents and representatives for Oregon,
Washington, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming
for America's best makes of pianos—the
Knabe, Hardman, Fischer, Ludwig, Pack-
ard and Steck. They can only be obtained
through us, and the firm that gives the im-
pression that they handle them advertise a
deliberate falsehood, and it would take con-
siderable more money than they are asking
to buy a single piano of the different makes
from the manufacturers.
There is need of reformation in the ranks
of piano dealers, for there are those who
still find ways of procuring instruments
which they can offer at prices which closely
approximate wholesale rates, thereby greatly
injuring the standing of such pianos locally,
and injuring the reputation of the dealers
who regularly sell them.
Another case recently at hand:
That well-known Western firm, the Whit-
ney-Currier Co., of Toledo, have worked up
a good sale for the Ludwig pianos in the
counties where Lima is located. In that city
there is a man named Porter who adopts a
method of competition which is most repre-
hensible. It seems that he agrees to fur-
nish any pianos handled by the Whitney-
Currier Co. at ridiculously low rates, which
naturally undermines the faith of the peo-
ple in the old-established Toledo house.
In the first part of the month the Whitney-
Currier Co. sold a Ludwig, Colonial style,
for $305.. Porter called upon the customer
and agreed to furnish one like it for $200,
and the Whitney-Currier Co. could not get a
settlement except they promised in the event
that Porter succeeded in furnishing the piano
for $200 they would refund the money. In
a number of other cases Porter has agreed
to furnish parties a Ludwig piano for prac-
tically the wholesale rates.
Of course, all this is very injurious to the
standing of the Ludwig piano and nullifies
the excellent work which the Whitney-Cur-
rier Co. have done in that territory. Pre-
sumably Porter in some way has obtained
Ludwig pianos from other dealers in some
other territory.
Such actions as this must bring about
work on the part of manufacturers to protect
local dealers. Would it not be well to have
a territorial forfeit for the dealer who sells
outside of his own territory? To compel
Him to pay a forfeit to the man in whose
territory the instrument is shipped, then the
price would be advanced at once to such a
point that the man who works on the lines
of Porter would be prohibited from carry-
ing on his work. But as long as he can
secure a piano from some dealer in neigh-
boring territory and use it to kill a sale made
by an honorable competitor, why then it
is time that conditions should be made so
that such work is prohibited.
The question of territorial rights is a very
important one, and as long as dealers can
secure pianos from other dealers and dis-
pose of them in the territory and to the det-
riment of local competitors, then if the in-
dustry is to be upheld this sort of work must
be uprooted.
These "dirty methods in the piano busi-
ness" can be suppressed.
No one can tell under existing conditions
how soon their instruments may be slaugh-
tered by a competitor who scruples not at
kinds of competition.
AMIE'S JOURNEYINGS.
Nearly sixty thousand miles were covered
last year by J. C. Amie, the Kroeger ambas-
sador. He has built up a splendid following
for the Kroeger in almost every State of
the Union and few men are as widely re-
spected or as deservedly popular as _ Mr,
Amie.
In the interest of the so-called "poor" our
legislators at Albany introduce every ses-
sion a lot of unnecessary bills. In 1900 a
law relating to goods sold on the instalment
plan was amended which leaves a decided
loophole for unscrupulous parties to defraud
manufacturers and others who do business
on such a basis.
An instance of this came to light this week.
Recently a piano dealer in this city was com-
pelled to take possession of a piano which
he had sold on instalments, because of the
non-payment of balance due. This week
he was hauled up in court by an attorney for
the party who bought the piano, who brought
suit for the return of the entire amount which
she had paid on it.
This action was based on the amended in-
stalment law above referred to, which was
introduced primarily to "protect" purchasers
against small furniture dealers on the East
side, who, it is claimed, make a practice of
selling and repossessing furniture. As can
be surmised, this amended law can also work
an injury to the piano dealer, for whom evi-
dently it was not meant.
The Judge before whom the case came
up, like a sensible man, decided that neither
equity nor commonsense was on the side of
the party suing, inasmuch as a favorable de-
cision would work a distinct injury to the
piano dealer, and would open a loophole for
fraudulent transactions at all times on the
part of purchasers of instruments. He fur-
ther said that while the law may be right, he
doubted if it were constitutional and gave a
decision in favor of the piano dealer, adding
that the attorney for the plaintiff could take
the case to a higher court and have the mat-
ter decided.
This eternal tinkering with the law under
the guise of "aiding the poor" invariably
helps the lawyers, works an injury to honest
merchants and affords an opportunity to
schemers to avoid paying their just obliga-
tions.
W. E. Jones has opened a piano store in
Worcester, O., which is under the manage-
ment of Gus Goldsmith. The line of pianos
handled include the Hobart M. Cable, Mason
& Hamlin, Story & Clark, Price-Teeple and
the Cecilian piano player.
ONLY TWO REASONS
WHY A DEALER DOESN'T SELL V I C T O R S .
Either he doesn't have them or people don't KNOW
that he has them.
The first is a misfortune, the
second, a fault.
BOTH CAN BE REMEDIED
Why not write us for catalogues and use them to
secure orders ? It will cost you nothing to try.
Awarded O N L Y Gold medal Tor
Perfection of Sound Reproduction
Pan-American exposition.
Trade Distributors : 1 Broadway,
NEW YORK
=