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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW, OCTOBER, 19U
TRAD
W
XNOTMNATEVUX — lets but sell at wholesale, in substantial quantities, pay the
This is not a typographical
error. It is a pattern of
what has been going on in the brains
of piano manufacturers during the
past month after answering the tele-
phone about forty times a day spend-
ing most of their time trying to ap-
pease the wrath of dealers who think
they should be deserving of more in-
dividual attention which the manu-
facturer would give him if it were
possible. No, Mr. Dealer, you must
not be unreasonable in these strenu-
Carieton chace
ous times when not only piano manu-
facturers but supply maufacturers
are bending every effort to take care of their customers.
Furthermore, manufacturers are now in close touch with
Washington authorities through a representative which was
appointed last month who is keeping the Materials Com-
mittee well informed, the chairman of which has reported
some progress in the matter of priorities promising a some-
what brighter future for the piano industry. With a well
planned system of working several months ahead in order
to secure supplies there is every reason to believe that the
piano industry will receive its share of material for produc-
tion purposes soon. So-K\VITCHERBELLYAIKEN.
Computing the
10% Excise Tax
f l T ^ H E new excise tax of 10 r ,' on musical instruments
II went into effect on October 1st. According to best
advises anything shipped after that date was subject
to the tax whether the order for it was taken before Octo-
ber 1st or not. Accessories and parts are exempt. There-
fore, piano manufacturers who must pay the tax, are bill-
ing the price of the piano including the box, plus the tax,
plus the price of the bench. Based on a hypothetical whole-
sale price of $200, the billing is now as follows:
Piano
Tax
Bench
$200.00
20.00
6.00
Total
$226.00
As a bench and cabinet are accessories the tax does not
apply. The dealer, however must include the tax in his re-
tail price as having been levied on the wholesale price and
paid by the manufacturer, if the tax is added separately to
the dealer's bill it will reveal to the purchaser the whole-
sale price. It must be remembered that it is illegal to
make a profit on a tax. The price of the piano should in-
clude the tax in the same manner that the automobile in-
dustry has operated for many years, except that in the
latter case accessories are included whereas the piano dealer
should charge extra for the bench that goes with the piano.
In case a piano is sold on a lease or installment contract and
the title does not pass until a future date "notwithstanding
partial payments by installment, or a conditional sale, there
shall be paid upon each payment with respect to the article
that portion of the total tax which is proportionate to the
portion of the total amount to be represented by such pay-
ment." Manufacturers who maintain their own retail out-
tax on the wholesale price. Transportation costs are exempt
and if charged by the manufacturer should be billed as a
separate item.
Installment
Regulation Pleases
HE new regulation on installment selling has now
been in operation for over a month and from what
dealers tell us it has interfered very little with sales
and is working out advantageously in most instances. We
have heard of a few individual cases where the monthly
payment has been too steep for the purchaser but these
have been in the minority. In cases like these it has been
mostly because the prospective purchaser had not realized
that such a law had gone into effect. The feeling is that as
the public begin to learn more about this new regulation it
will be accepted and when purchases are anticipated it will
be with the thought firmly in mind that the terms arc set.
In this way there will be no time lost in explaining and the
purchaser will buy according to his means. Of course there
have been some methods resorted to to get around the
larger down payments but investigation has revealed that
these are not working out satisfactorily. On the whole
dealers hail the new provisions as a good thing for the in-
dustry. Some southern dealers, however, feel that the middle
classes in that part of the country do not earn enough to
make the monthly payments required under the 18 month
edict and that, inasmuch as the business done in the South
is but a small part of the total business done in the nation,
the government should make an exception and allow
dealers in that territory to sell on 24 months. But, now is
a time with unified installment sales and someone con-
tinually looking for something you don't happen to have
that the salesmen have an opportunity of showing their
mettle and sell on the merit of the product and not on
price and terms.
Watch Your
Bank Balance
W
ITH the new plan on retail selling in force,
larger down payments and shorter terms, the dealers
credit situation should become very much improved
as time goes on with the result that he can buy his pianos
on shorter terms, if he has been buying with payments
spread over several months. Under present conditions no
terms should be extended over four months with the result
that the dealer can ultimately make better margin of profit.
Many dealers will also find that they will have a larger
balance in the bank than they have had for sometime which
should be carefully guarded from reckless spending as he
may need it badly in the future. Buy wisely and get the
proper retail price, concentrate on cash sales as much as
possible, and remember it's the profit you're interested in
not just a big bank balance.