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THE
MUJIC TFADE
HE NEW
BLIC LIB:.;:
7625S
VOL. LXV. No. 1
Published Every Saturday by Edward Lyman BUI, Inc., at 373 4th Ave., New York. July 7, 1917
Single Copies 10 Cents
$2.00 Per Year
Dealers Should
P
IANO dealers in all sections of the country are reported to view the immediate future of the trade
confidently and optimistically. It is a fact that in most quarters retail trade is about normal for this
season of the year, and there is a feeling that the fall retail business should be a little better than the
average.
Feeling optimistically regarding fall business and being in a position to take care of it, however, are two
entirely different matters, and there is a belief among manufacturers that retailers do not realize the po-
sition in which they may find themselves in the fall, if they fail to show a proper appreciation of the unusual
trade situation, and govern themselves accordingly, in the matter of placing liberal orders for immediate and
future delivery.
Several manufacturers have taken occasion within the past week or so to send to their dealers letters
urging them to make a careful study of their requirements and place fall orders within the next month or so
for the protection of all branches of the industry.
. - _
Optimism is all right in its place, but war conditions demand a full appreciation of existing situations and
of situations that are liable to develop. Things are happening every day, without creating a ripple,"•tha* would;;,
under normal conditions, represent front page news. The retail piano men must not only give thought to'
ters confined to the trade, but must show an appreciation of national developments growing out oiThejdj
of war.
: :. • ;•; .. •
There is, for instance, the one problem of transportation. Hardly a day passes but that therc : 4s : a-report
of some railroad or other taking off passenger trains in order to clear the tracks for transportation of troops
and Governmental supplies. Only last week this Pennsylvania Railroad alone discontinued 102 passenger
trains for that reason. The railroads are going to be heavily taxed to meet the demands for the transpor-
tation of foodstuffs, the things that go to feed and clothe the body: as well as supplies for the army and the
various essentials of daily life, and the Federal Board in charge of transportation has issued a warning that
there is a strong probability of a strict embargo upon railroad shipments being announced in the early fall, if
not before. Even the most loyal men must realize that musical instruments will have a hard time evading
such an embargo.
The dealer who wants to be sure of his piano stock in the fall must place his orders nozv and use every
endeavor to have the instruments shipped before or not later than August. If there is no embargo he will
have lost nothing by his foresight. If there is an embargo, that same foresight may perhaps mean the life
of his business. This is just one phase of the situation.
The second problem is that affecting piano supplies. Supplies of all sorts are not only jumping in price,
but it is becoming increasingly difficult to secure them in quantities. The manufacturer must watch the
finances of his business. He cannot tie up his capital in supplies at present prices without some definite as-
surance that they will be required in the comparatively near future. On the other hand, not stocking sup-
plies he cannot make quotations on future deliveries for which supplies must be purchased at a later date.
The only thing that the manufacturer knows about supply prices is what the quotations are to-day. To-
morrow there may be a jump of from 10 per cent, to 50 per cent. He cannot, therefore, consistently offer
quotations to dealers for fall shipments. The only solution of this problem is for the dealer to place his
orders nozv; to give a definite assurance of the number of pianos that he will require and get his quota-
tions at current prices. Then, too, by ordering nozv, the merchant has the assurance that he will get the
pianos at prices nozv current. Delay may mean that he will be unable to get instruments at any price later.
Third, there comes the question of preference. If the manufacturer finds himself in the position of be-
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