THE
VOL. LXXVII. No. 17 PUlblished Every Saturday. Edward Lyman Bill, Inc., 383 Madison Ave., New York, N. Y. Oct. 27, 1923
SIDg~;.O~O~:: i~a~ent8
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Misplaced Generosity More Misplaced than Ever
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El-'ORTS trom piano t ravelers wh o have covered various sections of the country are almos t unanim ous
to the effect th a t business has been unusually g-ood during- the early Fall months , in most cases showing
a n increase OVf' r the same season la st year , tha t r etail stocks in some cases a r e lo'w, 'vvith ma ny dealers
o rde rin g in small quantities an d findin g that even then th ey cann ot sometimes g-et shipments as promptly
as they would desire.
In the vari ous piano ma nu fac turing center s dealers are observed in increas ing numbers seeking to ha ve
shi pments of pi a nos, pa r ti cul a rl y th ose ot the better g r:1ci es, ru shed th ro ug h in ord er t hat they may ta ke care of
order s alread y on th eir books or in a n ticipa ti on. In 111:1l1 y cases these same dealers meet with di sappointment.
In th e f au of all these ex istent fact s, it certa inly does not reflect to th c cred it of th e indu stry to have reta ilers
her e and th ere offe r a n increasing varit'ty of goods with each pi a no and pl aye r il1 an eff or t to increase sales
volume.
Some few yea r s ago th e reta il er who gave scar ves, spec ial benches a nd almost unlimited quantities of
" roll s w ith each player or pi a no sale was severely criti cized. Y et we now find generous-minded houses ad
vertising fl oo r lamps , clocks, rugs and other housefurni shing equipment fr ee to each ind ividual who can be pe r
suaded to become a cu stomer.
Th er e' are times vvhen production is f ar a head of dema nd a nd wareroom stocks are so ove r-balanced tha t
th e re tailer may fee l justitlecl in tak ing certain unusual stt'ps to move instrumen ts . Such a situati on does not
ex ist a t t he presen t tim e a nd th is lone exc use f or special inducem ent s to th e publi c has not even th a t bas is.
Jt is a pparentl y useless to reit era te that the buye r of an automobil e does not get a ny special equi pment
for w hich he does not pay good cash money. If it is an extra tire it is cha rg ed f or , as a re extra tools. Ht'
does not get hi s g"as or his spotli g ht or the score of other accessories unless he is w illing to pay th e pri ce . N or
does the furniture dealer as a rul e g ive bonu ses to customers. The man who bu ys a parlor or dining room suite
gets th at suite a nd nothing: else . T here is no la mp or ru g- includ ed. Yet some pia no men f eel th at to place an
instrum ent in the home th ey must clo th eir share in furni shing that home. .\lthoug h th ere are some retailers
who pers ist in their ref usal to see th e li g ht , the fact rema in s that unl ess th ere are sudd en a nd un ex pected de
\'CIOplllen ts in th e manuf ac turin g' tl eld th ere is going to be a ve ry definite a nd se ri ous sho rt age of all much de
sired types of in st rum ents bef or e th e first of t he year. The p roblem is going to be in many cases as it was a
couple ot yea rs ago, that of alloca ting pianos and pla yers to certa in anxiou s pu rchasers rath er tha n draggin g
those purchasers into th e sto re. Such being the case there is not t he sli g htest exc use f or offerin g indu cements
to pi ano purchasers th at even under ordin a ry circum stances prove unn ecessary and un wa rranted .
. \ pec ulia r thin g a bout the situa ti on is that piano houses ha ve even when conditions we re less f avo ra ble
to t he seller d emonstra ted em pha ti cally that it is possible to sell player-pi a nos \J\,Tithout throw ing in a sing le
accesso ry beyond th e ordinary cheap player bench , a nd that w hen p roperly a pp roached the purchase r will see
th e light and is pt'rfec tl y w illing to pay f or the roll s, cab in et and even a pa rti cul a rly elabo rat e bench .
~ot only has t hi s fac t been demonstrated, but it has been demonst rated in th e f ace of com petiti on that
seem cd to g ive everythin g- but the deal er 's saf e to the custome r. The " throw-in" practice not only cuts dow n the
profits of the dealer f ollow ing- it a nd handi caps him in building- up a legitima te trade later , but al so refl ects on
t he sta nding of th e retail houses of the industry a s a whole, fo r th e wiser ones a mong the pu blic na turally arc
not likely to respect a product that can be sold onl y by giving th er ew ith numeroliS a rticl es whi ch und er no condi
ti on can be eve r rega rd ed as accessori es .
"L'" nd er a ny condi t ion th e practice as a g eneral t hing is reprehen sibl e, a nd parti cul a rl y so at thi s time when
th e a verage dealer w ho is doing a ny bu s in ess a t all is wo rrying', or should wo rry, r egard ing hi s suppl y of in stI'u
m en ts f or the com in g months.
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