Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE
VOL. 85. No. 16
REVIEW
Published Weekly. Federated Business Publications, Inc., 420 Lexington A?e., New York, N. Y., Oct. 15,1927
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Indiana Merchants
Hold Annual Convention
C. R. Moores Elected President, Frank Wilking and Albert
A. Klamer, Vice-Presidents; George Stewart, Secretary;
and T. H. McPheeters Treasurer—Membership Increases
Joel B. Ryde
NDIANAPOLIS, IND., October 11.—The
second annual convention of Indiana Asso-
ciation of Music Merchants opened yester-
day with a luncheon at the Indianapolis
Athletic Club, with President Joel B. Ryde in
the chair.
Dick Miller, president of the Indianapolis
Chamber of Commerce, welcomed the visiting
delegates and gave an interesting talk on the
"Value of Associations," pointing out their ad-
vantages in enabling the merchants to place
their business on a higher plane through the es-
tablishment of better methods.
President Reviews Activities
President Joel B. Ryde then made his annual
report as president, in the course of which he
outlined the activities and accomplishments of
the Association during the year.
The Secretary's Report
George E. Stewart, as secretary of the asso-
ciation and chairman of the membership com-
mittee, followed with his report taking up sev-
eral important subjects such as the phonograph
trade-in situation and the carrying charge which
were discussed later at the meeting. Mr.
Stewart also made a plea for an increase in the
membership of the association. He said:
"This has been a trying year for the music
dealers and all have spent hours trying to de-
termine what is wrong. There are many prob-
lems that need solving. The cost of doing busi-
ness is continually rising and the sales do not
increase in proper proportion. The trade-in
evil becomes daily a greater question.
I
"The once happy phonograph dealer finds
competition keener and he is confronted with
a new situation for him, but one that has been
for years a problem with a piano dealer. He
now must bid against his fellow merchant for
some old, worn-out, obsolete phonograph un-
til finally there is no profit in the deal for any-
one, except possibly the buyer. Hundreds of
thousands of dollars are lost annually by music
dealers in Indiana that could be saved if all
would only stand united on the allowances for
old pianos, phonographs and radios. This alone
would put back the business on its feet as a
profitable enterprise. The problem seems easy
to solve, but will call for a lot of educational
work on the part of our association. Our first
step in the right direction is the folder which
you have just received entitled, 'Phonograph
Trade-Ins.' Read it carefully and put a copy
into the hands of everyone of your sales people.
I want to say here that I have yet to see an
old style phonograph that is worth 10 per cent
of its original retail price to the dealer. They
can be bought nearly every day at any one of
four large auction houses here in this city at
prices ranging from $5.00 to $15.00. One
Thursday, a few weeks ago, I witnessed twelve
of these old style phonographs of the upright
model sold at Shak's Auction House, and the
largest and finest one offered brought $14.00.
On the very next day, a certain Indianapolis
dealer allowed $75.00 for one of the same make,
but a smaller, older and less desirable finish. I
believe sincerely that this association will in
time bring about an improvement of this situa-
tion just as it has in the matter of the larger
interest charges on instalment sales.
Value of the Carrying Charge
"While on this point, I want to call your at-
tention to one great accomplishment of the
year for our association. Two of the larger
Indianapolis music houses have definitely
agreed, having already printed up new con-
tracts, to adopt the carrying charge plan adding
one-half of one per cent per month. This will
increase the revenue of one of these houses by
as much as $50,000 per year. If adopted by
all Indiana music dealers this would put into
their pockets, I estimate, over $1,000,000 ad-
ditional revenue annually. And I am pleased
to report now that at least six more Indian-
apolis dealers will fall in line as soon as the
start is made.
"The carrying charge plan as now contem-
plated by those dealers costs the buyer only
\\^/\ per cent interest per annum, whereas these
same buyers are willingly paying from 18 to 30
per cent for financing their purchases of auto-
mobiles, washing machines, vacuum sweepers,
ice boxes, etc. The dealer that continues to
charge 6 per cent interest is out-of-date and be-
hind the times.
Six per cent will not pay his
cost of collecting, bookkeeping, repossessing
and re-selling, leaving nothing for the interest
on the money. The music dealer to-day oper-
ates within his music store a finance company
and receives no interest on his money."
Mr. Stewart closed his report with a strong
appeal to the members to co-operate whole-
heartedly with the officers in carrying on the
work of the association, declaring that the in-
dividual member only got out of the organiza-
tion in proportion to what he put into it. He
paid high tribute to the work of President Ryde
throughout the year and suggested that a paid
assistant secretary be appointed to travel
throughout the State and endeavor to bring all
music merchants into the association ranks.
The regular officers with their own businesses
to take care of could not be expected to do this
work, he declared.
The Chairman of the Membership Committee
read his report and stated that there were now
forty-nine active members and twenty-three as-
sociate members in the association, a gain of
nine active and five associate members since the
association was formed last year. He ex-
pressed the hope that it would be possible to
enroll at least half of the three hundred music
merchants in Indiana in the association ranks.
The next speaker was W. E. Guylee, presi-
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