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THE MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
11
a second-hand instrument depends entirely on
two things—the name on the tailboard and its
condition. Some pianos tnat have been in use
This Subject, Which Was Treated of in Last Week's Review, Has Excited Much Interest Among
for a dozen years will show less wear than some
Members of the Trade—Conceded That The Review Has Struck the Keynote of the Evil
that have been'abused for one year. I hope that
That Has Been the Chief Drawback of the One Price System—Wm. Dalliba Dutton Says
you may arrive a t some solution of this prob-
It Is a Problem That Has Only One Solution, the Honesty of the Dealer—Fictitious Prices
lem, and I know that the dealers jyho are jeal-
on Second Hand Pianos Should be Abolished—Wm. E. Tway Holds It Is a Difficult Prob-
ous of their good reputation will heartily co-
lem to Solve—Hugo Sohmer Approves of Appointment of Board of Appraisers to De-
operate with you in your efforts. Any dealer
termine the Value of the Instrument—An Interesting Discussion That Is Worth Reading.
can better afford to lose a sale than pay a price
that is all out of proportion for an old piano,
"You have struck the keynote of the evil that ures, and charging only a legitimate profit, the as he will sooner or later be called upon to do
has been the chief drawback to the one-price second-hand instrument will have a value ac- it again, and probably with disastrous results.
system," said one of the leading dealers and cording to the ability of the dealer to hoodwink Another thing, dealers should educate their
manufacturers in this city, after perusing the the customer. We have our maximum and mini- salesmen upward and discountenance any tricks
symposium in the last issue of The Review on mum limits for second-hand pianos, which varies that may tend to bring reproach on the trade.
the lack of fixed valuation on second-hand according to the maker of the instrument and Compel them to firmly adhere to the price set
pianos. "It has been a subject that nearly every its condition at the time of the sale. The pur- by the house. By so doing they will win the
dealer has given considerable thought to, but chaser gets just what the piano is worth, no respect of the customer, and are far more likely
which, up to the present time, the trade press has more nor less. The fictitious prices placed on to make a sale than if they begin to slide down
entirely overlooked. I do not pretend to say this class of piano My some dealers is doing in- the scale of prices, or keep increasing their offer
that I can suggest any immediate remedy, hut calculable harm to the trade at large, and is a for the old piano so as to keep even with the
I think the dealers can, if they will only work two-edged weapon that in time will cut the other fellow."
in concert, mitigate if not entirely eradicate the wielder deeper than anyone else. It creates the
evil. In fact, if a dozen of the reputable deal- impression that the honest dealer is trying to Hugo Sohmer Approves of a Clearing House.
ers in this city would agree to come together get a good instrument for nothing, while the
"You remember that Barnum once said 'the
on this point, and let the public know why they other class of dealer is a public benefactor in American people love to be fooled,' and the more
were taking the step, it would be only a short disguise, and is praised for a season at least, I see some of them biting at the alluring
time before the others would be forced to join but the day comes when his customers awake bait held out by some of the unscrupulous piano
in the ranks in order to hold their trade. Reso- to the fact that they have been duped, and dealers, the more I believe that he was right,"
that they have received nothing after all. The
dealers in the small towns are the worst offend-
ers, and the hardest to get at. They will quote
a price on a cheap instrument at double its
value, and then make a correspondingly large
offer for the piano to be exchanged, throw off
a big discount, "being that it is you," and in
the end get a big price for their piano, and in
all probability a second-hand instrument that is
worth fully as much as the one that they have
sold. If the manufacturers of reputable pianos
could get together and blacklist these fakirs,
as that is all they are, the second-hand piano
might be given an approxima>e value. It is
going to be an up-hill fight, but I think that
the good sense of the public will assist mate-
rially in solving the problem. In the mean-
time, keep the fight up, and you will be render-
ing a great service to the trade."
FIXED VALUATION ON SECONDHAND PIANOS.
William F. Tway Sees No Immediate Relief.
"So long as dealers are compelled to take
second-hand instruments in trade, just so long
will some offer all kinds of prices for them,"
said William F. Tway to The Review, in dis-
cussing the subject. "For my own part, I would
be glad if some other outlet than the dealer
could be found. I make it a rule to pay for a
second-hand instrument exactly what I consider
it worth, and I seldom offer one for sale. My
W I L l . I A M II.W.I.IBA D U T T O N .
reason for so doing is that I am selling my own
lutions advocating such a step, unless backed up instruments, and am not pushing another deal-
by practice, are of no value, and it is for this er's or manufacturer's wares. When I get a
reason that the one price system has, so far as lot of second-hand instruments together, I close
the general trade is concerned, been a huge them out in a bunch to some second-hand dealer,
farce. There are a few dealers that practice and he can have the fun of putting them in
it, but as a rule, the rest of the trade doubt order and getting rid of them. Of course, there
their sincerity, and believe that they will find are a few of the very highest grades, that when
some way to avoid the issue, rather than lose they are in good condition, I sell as second-hand
a sale. This is not so, as there are several instruments when I have a call for such, but
very consistent men in the piano trade, who even those I look upon with disfavor. To show
would lose a dozen sales rather than break you how the second-hand piano is abused, a case
away from their fixed prices. They have gained recently was brought to my notice. A piano
the confidence of the public, or at least that that eight years ago was sold second-hand for
part that realizes what one-price means, and $250 was recently placed on a bargain counter
when they make an offer for a second-hand in- of one of the large department stores and ad-
strument, it is final, just as the price marked vertised as a great bargain at $225, the original
on their pianos is the fixed price. Needless to price being $375. Just to think of a second-hand
say, the price offered for a second-hand piano is piano that had deteriorated in value only $25
its just and fair value.. They cannot afford to in eight years. The buyer will in time say that
pay more."
that particular make is not what it is adver-
tised to be, as the instrument bought at the
William Dalliba Dutton Decries the Evil.
The firm of Hard man, Peck & Co. adopted the bargain counter is deteriorating too rapidly, and
one-price system in their retail warerooms a lit- the result—the maker will lose a certain amount
of prestige. As to suggesting a remedy for this
tle over a year ago, and have conscientiously held
evil, that is beyond me, but I would favor the
to it ever since, and itf commenting on the sub-
plan of sending all second-hand instruments to
ject of the value of second-hand instruments,
dealers in that class of instruments, and putting
William Dalliba Dutton, of that firm, said to
a value on them so that they can never at any
The Review: "It is a problem that has only
future time be foisted on the public as slightly
one solution, the honesty of the dealer. Until used or great bargains at a price that is far
the dealer comes down to an absolutely one- above their real value to anyone. The value of
price system, marking his pianos in plain fig-
1 1 1 ! (JO
S O J I M Kit.
said Hugo Sohmer in discussing this topic. "The
methods employed by some dealers in making a
sale are such that at times I have to Mush for
the trade, and there is no way in which rank
dishonesty is more apparent than in the offers
made for second-hand instruments. It is a very
difficult matter to fix a value on a second-hand
piano outside of a square. With so many makes
and grades in the market, and the possibility of
a piano being on the verge of dissolution, it re-
quires an expert to determine its worth, so it be-
comes almost impossible to conceive of any plan
whereby a standard of value could be justly ar-
rived at. The most dignified way would be, as
has ueen suggested, to have a sort of a clearing
house for second-hand instruments, and refuse to
accept any in exchange for new pianos. I would
approve of such a p'an, and then if the manufac-
turers of any instrument offered for sale wish
to purchase it for the purpose of rebuilding it
they would have the opportunity. As every
member of the trade well knows, it is not an
easy task to put a piano of another make in good
condition, particularly where new parts have to
be supplied. A strict adherence to one price,
while it may work considerable hardship at first
and result In the loss of a number of sales, event-
ually places the dealer in a far higher class than
his opponents, who resort to unfair and illegiti-
mate tricks in order to make a sale, and will give
him the class of patronage that Is the most