THE
4
MUSIC
TRADE
REVIEW
AUGUST
4, 1923
The p()int to h e con~i(kr('d is that author it ies agree that a n et
pl'Olit of 10 to 12 pet' c('nt is to he considered very fair in tht~
r e ta il p iano bu s in ess and these percentages are macle by l11er- '
chants who charge interest on their in s ta lment paper.
On thi s
ba s is what can the fellow who doesn't charge inte r est get o u t
of it?
THE
f1UJ!C~l,
•
'MERC H ANDISING THE TRADE-IN PIANO
(Relriltered in t be U. S . P atent O ffice)
PUBLISHED BY EDWARD LYMAN BILL, Inc.
Presiden t and Treasurer, C. L. Bill, 383 .'vI ad ison Ave., New York; V ice·Pr esident,
B . Spi ll ane, 383 Mad ison Ave., New York; Secon d Vice·P r eside n t, R aymond Bill, 383
Mad ison Ave., New York; Secretary, E dward Lyma n Bill, 383 Madison Ave., New Yo r k;
J.
Assistan t T reasu rer» W m. A . Low.
J. B. SPILLANE, Editor
RAY BILL, B. B. WILSON, BRAID WHITE, Associate Editors
WM. H. McCLEARY, Managing Editor
CARLETON CHACE, Business Manager
L. E. BOWERS, Circulation Manager
Executive and Reportorial Stall
E. B.
M UNCH ,
V. D.
T HOS. "V. B RESNAHAN, E .
A.
\ VALSH ,
EnWARO
V AN
HAUUN GEN,
LEE ROBTNSON,
J. N EALY, C. R . T IGHE, FREDERICK B. D IEH L, A . .T. NICK LIN
FREDER I CK CARTER, FREDER I CK
G.
SANlJlilO:\l
W E STERN nIVISION:
B O STON OFFI CE:
ARTHUR N EALY, Representa tive
J OH N H , WILSON , 324 Wasbington S l.
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NEW8 SERVICE 18 8 U PPLI E D W E F;I{ L Y B Y O U R C ORRESl> O N Dr~N T S
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.. " der t he Act of Ma r ch 3. 1879.
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ADVERTISEMENTS, rat e. on re q ue.t.
REMJTTANCE8, s ho uld be m ade payab le to Ed ward Lyman B ill. Inc.
Exposition Honors Won by The Review
Gran d Pris.. .. .. . . . P ari. Ex position . 1900
Silver M rdal.. . Cha r ks to n Exvosilion , 1902
Diploma . . • • P a n·American Ex position, 190 1
Gold Medal ... . . S!. Lo uis E xposition. 1904
Gold M , dal·- L ew is·Clark Exposi tion . 1905
O
N a n other page of thi s iss ue of T h e Review is an artic le s u m
mariz ing thc gradua l changes in the met h ods of merch a n
dising the trade ·in piano I\'hich are taking place in the r e tai l p iano
tracle. There is no Cjuestion that this problem is receiving c1cse
attent io n from the progressi ve merchant at the present time, and
no more qu es t ion that the inn ova tions which arc taking p lace a re
meetin g w ith a g r ea t meas ur e of s uccess.
The great evil, of course, in the entire trade -in s ituat ion is
the tendency of the a verage merchant to mak e ove.r-a ll owances on
thr. in struments whic h h e receive s in t ra d e. But as great a n ev il
has heen the lack of attention which has been g iven to moving th e
o ld pi a nos o n ce th ey ha ve been take n in , thu s lead ing to an accum u
lati o n of such in s truments and a consequent heavy inv e.;tme nt in
~ Iow - moving goods.
Th e r es ult h as been that capita l h as been
tied u p for long periods w ith no return a nd the loss represen t ed
in turnover ha~ o nl y gone to swe ll th e los s in the cos t oi the
in st r ume nt s a:i rep r esen ted by the a llowances.
] f the merchant wo ul d on l ~' co n sider no tra n saction wh ich in
vo lves a trade-in closed unt il the old p iano rece ived is so ld at a
profit, he would pay a good d eal more attention to se lli ng this
in strument and wou le! "top the "yqem of a llow ing t hem to ac
cumulate un til, in de::;pe r ation, he slas h es the ir prices r igh t a n d
left in the effon to move th elll hy a ;;pecial sale, with th e conse
quent heavy ov('rh eae! requi r ed hy t h e s pec ia l advertis ing put
b eh ind it.
T E L E PHON ES-V AN D ERBJLT 2642-264.3-2644-2645-2647-2648
Ca bl e A d dre,,~: "E lb ill . Ne w Yor k "
Vol LXXVII
I CHARGING
S OME
NEW YORK, AUGUST 4, 1923
THE NATIONAL PIANO STUDENTS ' CONTEST
No.5
IN TE REST ON D E FERRE D PAYMENTS I
day, anc! it is hoped that day will come before the m il
len n ium, piano merchant s as a body wi ll come to a r eali za
t ion of the iact that selli ng a n in s trument on te r ms means actu
;t1I\. loaning the m o n ey involved in deferred payments to t he cus
l()lTIer in o),(ler that the latte r llIay ha ve th e use of th e p ian,)
,vhi le paying for it and that th e merchant is just as much en
t it led to inte r est on th e llIoncy thu s loarit:d a s h e wou ld be had
he pl:t that amo lln t into real estate mortg-ages or boncl s .
. \ s it is now, mus ic m e r chants who r ealize both t he logic and
t h e nec ess ity of inter est cha rges on deferred payments, a nd they
r epi',scnt by far the great majority of the trade, find it ne cessary
10 carryon loca l campaigns in an effort to make thc practice
general in specified territory. Thi~ is emphasized b:v" the recent
mov e in Balt imore to have this practi ce adopted by all th e piann
r etai lers of that city.
It happens at times that th e d ealer who fail s to charge interc,;t
a r g u es th at in advertis ing that fact h e get, a fair propo r tion of
1r:lc1e from h is competitors, but h e neglects to take into consid
e ration th e fact that he is getting that tracll: at a prohihitive
cost , regard less of h ow ca ll oll :; h e Illa y be in hi s mark ur methods
or how generous h e seek s to ll1ak e hi s g ross profit.
I t is a known fact that even d ealers who h an dl e a great volu me
of instalment bu sinc~s an d charge interest thereon hav e dIfficulty
in financing thel11
t he ir capital in liquid and lI ~ab l e fo rm.
It is also notewo rthy tha t those cOtllpanies speciali zing 1I1
fi n a n cing p ia n o m e r chants t h rough d isco u nting in sta lment leases
rdu se to hand le paper which c1oe::; n(A call for th e payment of
interest a t legal rates.
The dea ler who I()ans hi,; capital for p eriod,; of two to three
\'car" or even morc without interest may huild up what is appar
e n t l) a s uils ta n t ia l sa les vo lum e, but :ll a cost in actua l cash and
iii energy that is calcu lated to lJe .di sco u raging. , Such a dea lu,
;1'; a ruk , would f-ind mon: sa ti sfac tor.,: r6 IJit~.· .at thc' e nd of th c
Yl';\r !») putting his cas h into sound l)(Jnds ';[11<1 g'd ' a corrl' s polld
ing illcome without effort.
E
.\CH week the p lan suggested by The Reviev.· for a national
p iano competi t ion in connect ion w ith the 1924 convention of
th e A ll iecl 1\1 u sic T r ades in N ell' Yo rk, t o be open to a ll students
of the piano attending hi gh or grade schools which g rant mu sic
cred it,;, is gai n ing im petu s as the lead ing memhers of the trade
give it th e ir endorsemen t.
Iv[e n of v ision see in the s uggest ion an opportunity for focu,;
ing nat iona l attent ion on th e piano a n d piano music over a con
siderab le period wi th p r ospective res u lt::; t hat s ho u ld prove of di s
t illct adva ntage to the trade as a whole. The compet it ion s hou ld be
kept on a hi gh p lane that will bring to it the s upport of tho se who
are j'(~alJy interested in the dev e lopment of musica l educa ti on
rht'Ou g h t h e m ed ium of t he piano.
The p hase of the p la n that recomme n d s itse lf particu lar ly to
I r~ost mem b ers of the trade is t hat it is li ke ly to throw t h e s po t ·
li ght n i, gTJ.llting mus ic cred it s by schools, a move whic h is de
"ignen 10 develop interc,t ill 1l1 u ~ i c right in the home wh,ere the
best rcs ults are accomplished. Meanwhile, d etails of th e plan are
he ing Cflll"idered and developed in the expectation that ways a n d
means w ill be fo u nd ' f o r giving t h e n ational competi t io n a· loca l
ij;;pc..: t t h rough e li m ina t ion tests in variolls sec tions and in vari
OllS States.
MORE REASONS FOR REASONED OPTIMISM
A
CCORDING to repo r ts compiled b y t h e Government, mo r e
than $400,000,000 wi ll be s pent by the ra ilroads of t h e
co untr y
lines both in developing the right of way and in securing new
eq uipment, with the bulk of the mo n ey goiJlg in t o ro ll ing stock .
This mean s great in dust ri al act iv ity.
Thi s ex penditure of th e r a il roads sh ou ld have a d istinct bear in g
on ge nera l bu s in ess for monlh s to come, for $400,000,000 is a
lot of money even in these post-war cl ays when t h e term b illi o n s
falls so eas il y from the lips. On top o f th is the bu ild ing bool11 that
ex ists in many sec t iolls a nc! the apparen t s tab il ity o f bas ic in du ~
t r ic:; app~ar to be ge nuin e r eason fo r connde n ce on t h e pa r t o f
th e Il1l1 sic in dus try.
: \t p r e:ient, ev~'I'y indi cation po in ts to a heavy d e m and thi s
cOlll ing' val l.