Music Trade Review
Issue: 1903 Vol. 36 N. 16 - Page 6
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE MUSIC TRRDE
REVIEW
EDWARD
LYMAN
BILL,
EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR.
J . B. S P I L L A N E , MANAGING EDITOR
EXECUTIVE STAFF :
THOS. CAMPBELL-COPELAND
QEO. B. KELLER
A. J. NICKLTN
EMILIE FRANCES BAUER
GEO. W. QUER1PEL
* Published Every Saturday at I Madison Avenue, New Y o r k . *
SUBSCRIPTION (including postage), United States, Mexico and Canada, $2.00 per
year; all other countries, $4.00.
ADVERTISEMENTS, $2.00 per inch, single column, per Insertion. On quarterly or
yearly contracts a special discount is allowed. Advertising Pages $50.00 ; opposlt*
reading matter, $75.00.
REMITTANCES! in other than currency form, should be made payable to Edward
Lyman Bill.
Entered at the New York Post Office as Second Class Matter.
NEW YORK, APRIL J8,1903.
TELEPHONE NliriBER. I745-EI0HTEENTH STREET.
TH E
On the first Saturday of each month The Review contains in its
ARTISTS'
"Artists'* Department" all the current musical news. This is
Mr-Mi- en * ec t e d without In any way trespassing on the size or service
DEPARTMENT of the trade section of the paper. Jt has a special circulation, and
therefore augments materially the value of The Review to advertisers.
DIRECTORY
The directory of piano manufacturing firms and corpora
nr PIANO
tlons found on page 27 will be of great value as a reference for
MANUFACTURERS ^ l e r s and others.
EDITORIAL
E frequently hear the expression as applied to especial
branches of manufacture "that is a trade secret." All
lines of business, especially those whose primary stages involve
assistance from the mechanical arts, have their trade secrets; their
place is in the administrative department, and although this com-
mercial arcanum is well guarded, important secrets occasionally
find egress through closed doors.
Jn common with other businesses depending upon the process
of uniting a number of articles purchased separately into a com-
plete whole, piano manufacturing is complicated.
It is an intricate process involving matters of detail which are
thoroughly vexing to a degree frequently, and subjected to a mul-
titude of capricious whims influenced by a variety of styles.
We could name some men to-day who have not as yet thor-
oughly solved the actual cost of production. We think the ques-
tion of cost is a hazy one, and they have been selling goods at
W
considerably less than some of their neighbors believe that it costs
them to produce.
Such work can only have one end. It is a question of length
of purse to stand the strain. There are many expenses, too, which
are involved in piano-making which do not figure in the material
and labor bills. There are continual expenses which frequently
bring the cost of piano-making up higher tban some figure upon.
The cost is still "a trade secret" with some.
OTWITHSTANDING all reports to the contrary it seems
that Macy proposes to rigidly adhere to the cash system in
selling pianos. In its advertisement this concern denounces the
instalment plan of piano selling as follows:
"The long-drawn, interminable, troublesome and extravagant
N
policy of instalment buying is a bane to thousands of homes. The
things secured in that way frequently develop into burdens instead
of pleasures.
"Broadly speaking, we advise no one to buy a piano until it.
can be paid for. Be its real owner when it is placed beneath your
roof."
Macy's advertised prices are from $124.96 to $174.98.
These are cash prices for Strauss pianos.
Now, it would be contrary to facts as borne out by piano his-
tory for any institution selling pianos regularly at those prices
and on a strictly cash basis to develop a great piano business.
As a matter of fact the people who can afford to pay cash will
invariably buy higher priced instruments, and it is only by selling
on the instalment plan that thousands of pianos are purchased by
people of moderate means, who are interested in what Macy terms
an "obsolete expediency."
W
HEN one sells pianos in a variety of grades it must be on
the instalment basis if a large volume of business is ex-
pected.
We do not know of an institution in this great big country of
ours which has developed a satisfactory business in the piano line
solely on the cash basis. While it pays to emphasize the importance
of cash, yet to confine piano retailing to strictly cash sales means a
contraction of business instead of expansion.
We do not believe in the dollar down and a dollar a week plan.
The class of people who will be attracted specially by such prices
are those who are more than liable to become delinquent in their
payments.
There is a department store in New York which has made a
specialty of that line of piano business for years, and it is said
that they have more than a half million of dollars locked up in time
sales of this character, and that it is the hardest kind of work to
secure anything approaching prompt payments from the line of
customers who have been attracted by their alluring announcements.
OWEVER, all of the advertising which the department stores
in New York have been doing has been, in a measure, help-
ful to the general piano business, for it has called the attention of
thousands of people to the necessity of owning pianos, and all of
these purchasers have not gravitated to the department stores.
They have rather sought in hundreds of cases the regular piano
H
warerooms.
The more pianos are talked of in public print, the better it is
for piano merchants everywhere, and all advertising which is done
on a large scale has a stimulating effect upon the local trade.
N'E dealer in referring to a recent editorial in The Review
urging dealers to give special attention to piano players,
writes: "I never realized what there was in the player business
until I gave it proper space, time and attention. Previous to that
I had handled them in what you term an indifferent manner, and
with indifferent results. Now, by specializing, I am doing a splen-
did business with the players."
There is no question regarding the monetary returns in hand-
ling piano players, and in order to make this a splendidly paying
department of the business it is necessary that special treatment
O
THE MUSIC TRRDE
REVIEW
EDWARD
LYMAN
BILL,
EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR.
J . B. S P I L L A N E , MANAGING EDITOR
EXECUTIVE STAFF :
THOS. CAMPBELL-COPELAND
QEO. B. KELLER
A. J. NICKLTN
EMILIE FRANCES BAUER
GEO. W. QUER1PEL
* Published Every Saturday at I Madison Avenue, New Y o r k . *
SUBSCRIPTION (including postage), United States, Mexico and Canada, $2.00 per
year; all other countries, $4.00.
ADVERTISEMENTS, $2.00 per inch, single column, per Insertion. On quarterly or
yearly contracts a special discount is allowed. Advertising Pages $50.00 ; opposlt*
reading matter, $75.00.
REMITTANCES! in other than currency form, should be made payable to Edward
Lyman Bill.
Entered at the New York Post Office as Second Class Matter.
NEW YORK, APRIL J8,1903.
TELEPHONE NliriBER. I745-EI0HTEENTH STREET.
TH E
On the first Saturday of each month The Review contains in its
ARTISTS'
"Artists'* Department" all the current musical news. This is
Mr-Mi- en * ec t e d without In any way trespassing on the size or service
DEPARTMENT of the trade section of the paper. Jt has a special circulation, and
therefore augments materially the value of The Review to advertisers.
DIRECTORY
The directory of piano manufacturing firms and corpora
nr PIANO
tlons found on page 27 will be of great value as a reference for
MANUFACTURERS ^ l e r s and others.
EDITORIAL
E frequently hear the expression as applied to especial
branches of manufacture "that is a trade secret." All
lines of business, especially those whose primary stages involve
assistance from the mechanical arts, have their trade secrets; their
place is in the administrative department, and although this com-
mercial arcanum is well guarded, important secrets occasionally
find egress through closed doors.
Jn common with other businesses depending upon the process
of uniting a number of articles purchased separately into a com-
plete whole, piano manufacturing is complicated.
It is an intricate process involving matters of detail which are
thoroughly vexing to a degree frequently, and subjected to a mul-
titude of capricious whims influenced by a variety of styles.
We could name some men to-day who have not as yet thor-
oughly solved the actual cost of production. We think the ques-
tion of cost is a hazy one, and they have been selling goods at
W
considerably less than some of their neighbors believe that it costs
them to produce.
Such work can only have one end. It is a question of length
of purse to stand the strain. There are many expenses, too, which
are involved in piano-making which do not figure in the material
and labor bills. There are continual expenses which frequently
bring the cost of piano-making up higher tban some figure upon.
The cost is still "a trade secret" with some.
OTWITHSTANDING all reports to the contrary it seems
that Macy proposes to rigidly adhere to the cash system in
selling pianos. In its advertisement this concern denounces the
instalment plan of piano selling as follows:
"The long-drawn, interminable, troublesome and extravagant
N
policy of instalment buying is a bane to thousands of homes. The
things secured in that way frequently develop into burdens instead
of pleasures.
"Broadly speaking, we advise no one to buy a piano until it.
can be paid for. Be its real owner when it is placed beneath your
roof."
Macy's advertised prices are from $124.96 to $174.98.
These are cash prices for Strauss pianos.
Now, it would be contrary to facts as borne out by piano his-
tory for any institution selling pianos regularly at those prices
and on a strictly cash basis to develop a great piano business.
As a matter of fact the people who can afford to pay cash will
invariably buy higher priced instruments, and it is only by selling
on the instalment plan that thousands of pianos are purchased by
people of moderate means, who are interested in what Macy terms
an "obsolete expediency."
W
HEN one sells pianos in a variety of grades it must be on
the instalment basis if a large volume of business is ex-
pected.
We do not know of an institution in this great big country of
ours which has developed a satisfactory business in the piano line
solely on the cash basis. While it pays to emphasize the importance
of cash, yet to confine piano retailing to strictly cash sales means a
contraction of business instead of expansion.
We do not believe in the dollar down and a dollar a week plan.
The class of people who will be attracted specially by such prices
are those who are more than liable to become delinquent in their
payments.
There is a department store in New York which has made a
specialty of that line of piano business for years, and it is said
that they have more than a half million of dollars locked up in time
sales of this character, and that it is the hardest kind of work to
secure anything approaching prompt payments from the line of
customers who have been attracted by their alluring announcements.
OWEVER, all of the advertising which the department stores
in New York have been doing has been, in a measure, help-
ful to the general piano business, for it has called the attention of
thousands of people to the necessity of owning pianos, and all of
these purchasers have not gravitated to the department stores.
They have rather sought in hundreds of cases the regular piano
H
warerooms.
The more pianos are talked of in public print, the better it is
for piano merchants everywhere, and all advertising which is done
on a large scale has a stimulating effect upon the local trade.
N'E dealer in referring to a recent editorial in The Review
urging dealers to give special attention to piano players,
writes: "I never realized what there was in the player business
until I gave it proper space, time and attention. Previous to that
I had handled them in what you term an indifferent manner, and
with indifferent results. Now, by specializing, I am doing a splen-
did business with the players."
There is no question regarding the monetary returns in hand-
ling piano players, and in order to make this a splendidly paying
department of the business it is necessary that special treatment
O
Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).