Music Trade Review

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-THE:
MUSIC
TRADE:
REVIEW
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AUTOMOBILES VS. PIANOS ON INSTALMENTS.
Will the Latest Move of the Studebaker Corporation to Sell Automobiles on Instalments Prove
Detrimental to the Piano Business?—That is the Question Which Now Comes Up for Con-
sideration—Some Views of the Detroit Piano Merchants on This "Live" Subject.
(Special to The Review.)
get smaller some men will buy autos who might
Detroit, Mich., Dec. 5, 1911.
have bought pianos, others who own pianos and
Detroit piano merchants were deeply interested, buy motor cars on instalments will find themselves
some of them startleS, this week, by an announce- getting behind on their piano payments and we
ment which most of them believe is to have a
will feel the general bad effect on business of
widespread effect on the piano business of the thousands of men succumbing to the motor craze
entire country—the announcement by the E-M-F and putting the best ol their means into something
Automobile Co., the greatest component part of
which is bound in the end to prove absolute waste."
the Studebaker corporation, of a decision to sell
W. James Brennan, manager of the local branch
automobiles on time. The effect of this policy on of the Bush & Lane Piano Co., thinks the auto-
the piano business and upon business in general, mobile business is doing enough harm to the piano
and the causes which led to it, were a topic of
business now, and says the new departure will not
earnest discussion.
alter conditions much. "I have an instance in mind
That the piano business will not be adversel} right now," he said. "I sold a player-piano to a
affected to any extent just now, but that this good customer, who lives in a nice house and was
movement of the automobile folks portends vast out of debt. He mortgaged the house to buy an
possibilities, is the Concensus of opinion expressed automobile. Now whenever the payment on his
to The Review. The automobile business has for player are due he makes an excuse to stand us'
years been felt as a direct competition to the off—claims something wrong with the player and
piano business. All the dealers have learned of
such things. Pretty soon we will have a repos-
Cases in which the family election had decided in session of that player, sure as the world.
favor of a motor car instead of a piano. The "If automobile manufacturers sell on the instal-
fact that flow not nearly as much ftioney will be ment plan on a large scale, they will have to make
required to get possession of a motor car as for- the payments so large that they won't conflict with
merly seems to forecast that more of these family our business. They will have to reckon with de-
decisions will go in favor of the automobile.
preciation and accidents. An insurance clause in
In Detroit, the center of the motor car industry their contracts might protect them against the
of the world, there is an offset to such losses of
accidents but not against depreciation. They are
sales—the vastly increased local prosperity diie to making a big mistake. We can send a piano out,
the immense capital invested and the great num- let it stay a year and if we get it back we can
ber of men employed steadily at high wages, these touch it up, tune it and it will look like new. But
people making first class piano customers. In In- what does a year-old automobile look like?"
dianapolis, Cleveland, Buffalo and one or two other
J. Henry Ling takes an optimistic view of it.
cities where there are several large automobile "Automobiles on instalments will not harm the
plants, similar conditions pertain, though to a piano business much," he said, "because the aver-
much less extent than here. But elsewhere the age piano buyer can't afford to contract for fifty
piano business loses to the automobile business dollars a month payments. We have lost but few
without a source of recompense.
sales through automobile competition. Even if
An announcement of the sale of automobiles on the piano dealers should feel the effects of the
time is believed to mean that that industry is on new plan they should acquiesce with good grace,
the verge of an over-production, a condition that
for the automobile industry has brought them
has long been predicted, and that if one firm sells prosperity unprecedented by enabling so many peo-
on time the others manufacturing the same class ple to buy pianos and pay for them in quick time.
of machines will be forced to. The competition That the automobile manufacturers are on a differ-
thus engendered will result in the acceptance of
ent footing than they were a year ago is shown by
smaller first payments and smaller instalments, the fact that they are soliciting trade now. For-
until such sales are likely to come in direct com- merly they waited for trade to go to them, and it
petition with piano sales.
went. I actually think the selling of automobiles
"It will damage business in general," said E. on time will stimulate their business and bring
P. Andrew, manager of the Farrand retail stores, them and us more prosperity. But they won't go
"and in doing so will harm the piano business as into that instalment business very far for it would
much, or more, indirectly than it does directly. be too easy for a man to keep himself in new cars
Looking at it in a general way, it is actually a by letting the old ones go back every six months
crime to sell automobiles on instalments. Why? or so."
Because such a policy will induce thousands of men
"As far as we are concerned," said Leonard
who cannot afford to own cars to buy them. They Davis, manager of the Melville Clark branch, "we
have no idea of the cost of up-keep. When they don't expect to be harmed much, for Apollos are
have paid all their available cash as first payment, high priced instruments and are purchased by
then find themselves obligated for twenty-five to high-class trade. In fact, I think most ©f our cus-
fifty dollars a month payments and another twenty tomers have automobiles and are able to keep up
more for tires and other repairs, to say nothing the expense of operating them. So when they buy
of the current cost of operation, fuel, oil, etc., Apollos they are able to pay for them also."
there are a lot of them going to get badly into
C. A. Grinnell could not be located. He has
debt. They are going to lose their homes. It will
often expressed the view, however, that the auto-
break up families. It will in many cases lead to
mobile business did much harm to the piano trade.
actual dishonesty. There are many cases now of
He holds that the craze for motor cars induces
men mortgaging their homes to pay for motor cars.
men to save up money which otherwise they would
There will be many more such cases when the
use in buying pianos until they get enough to buy
amount to be raised is not so large. The unex-
an automobile and let the piano go by altogether.
pected expenses they will meet will put them down
and out.
TO CLOSE CUT PIANO STOCK.
"I am not talking by guess. I own a car and
know its expense. I have a salesman, getting a
The J. A. Kieselhorst Piano Co., Alton, 111., an-
good salary, who had the cash to buy a car and nounce that they will close out their piano stock
did so. He thought he could save the expense for the purpose of entering the furniture business,
of up-keep in its utility. But in a year he was and state that they must dispose of over $23,000
a couple of hundred dollars in debt, little bills he worth of pianos by December 12.
could not meet, and had to sell the car in order to
keep his head above water.
.The F. O. Evans Piano Co., Waterloo, la., re-
"At first the piano dealers will not feel the com- cently purchased the entire stock of the J. Mar-
petition, for the payments required by the auto- shal Smith Co., Omaha, Neb., and are closing the
mobile men will be so large that they won't come stock of pianos out at special sale. A gold watch
into the sphere of piano contracts, But when they free is the inducement offered to each purchaser.
Electric
Coin-Controlled
attract attention and
nickels because of
their handsome ap-
pearance, but the flow
of coin is not inter-
rupted by frequent
accidents to t h e
mechanism. They
are built to work per-
fectly.
Musically
they are away above
the ordinary coin-
controlled class.
Write for catalogue
and let us outline the
"Seeburg System."
J. P. Seeburg Piano Co.
OFFICES:
902-904 Republic Building
State and Adams Streets
FACTORY: ''
415-421 S. Sangamon Street
CHICAGO