Music Trade Review

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Kieselhorst Plan
With Carrying Charge Profitable
Twenty Months Time With 20 Per Cent Down With a Carrying
Charge of >2 of 1 Per Cent a Month Would Eliminate Com-
petitors' Control of Profits, Says St. Louis Piano Dealer
T
HE article of E. A. Kieselhorst, of the body in this way is treated fairly and squarely. United States that they have gotten down to
Kieselhorst Piano Co., St. Louis, Mo.,
When I was in Chicago, from January 17 to pretty nearly the vanishing point, so ere long
in The Review of January 15, advocating January 20, inclusive, I did not meet one of there will not be any more profits to control. 1
the establishment of instalment terms of 20 per the many visiting piano merchants of the United never heard of any merchant controlling the
cent down, with contract to pay out in twenty States who did not complain of the extremely other fellow's liabilities, so we have nothing to
months, regardless of the type of instrument meagre profit his operations were producing. look forward to in that direction you can be
purchased, has aroused wide interest both in Why even some of the manufacturers them- very sure.
and out the piano industry. One of the leading selves frankly stated in their addresses and con-
As the character of the nation is nothing
statistical organizations of the country wrote versations that there were piano merchants in more or less than a reflection or rather
lor copies of the article in question, and sev- iarge and small cities with investments above a composite of its individual citizens, so is the
eral other organizations, particularly interested a quarter of a million dollars who were getting character of an industry a reflection or a com-
in retail instalment selling, also showed their less than they would net if they sold out their posite of its individual merchants. I am sorry
interest in the same manner.
business and invested the proceeds in safe tax- to say that after thirty-five years of pretty close
observation, I am inclined to the belief that the
In the following letter Mr. Kieselhorst elabo- free bonds.
rates his idea on this subject, giving it further
This is a sad state of affairs for any indus- character of the retail music instrument indus-
application to retail instalment selling of pianos: try. If a retail merchant in any line cannot net try is pretty far down in the scale. In fact at
St. Louis, Mo., February 15, 1927.
at least double a safe security interest, taking times we are playing our music in the bass
Editor Music Trade Review: Following the into consideration the great risk of investment register.
article I wrote you recently, and really making and worry of management, he ought to get out
The remedy? Individual action by those who
this letter a part of it, "if" the piano mer- of the business and make room for other mer- fully realize they are rushing to their Niagara
chants of the United States can muster up a chants who can, because our competitors con- Falls of destruction.
copious supply of the kittie's intestines com- trol our profits, and profits in the retail music
Cordially and sincerely,
monly called guts in order to inaugurate a safer, business have been so controlled all over the
E. A. KIESEUIORST.
saner plan of selling on instalments, by adopt-
ing the suggestion I made of making their mini-
mum initial, or down payment, 20 per cent of
the selling price of the instrument, irrespective
of any trade-in or other credit, and 4 per cent
of the net difference as a monthly payment,
making instalment contracts mature in twenty
months or an average of ten months, they
should then have so cultivated a state of intesti-
/
I*?
nal fortitude that they could easily further im-
prove the safeness and saneness and profit of
instalment selling by eliminating the time hon-
( ored 6 per cent interest per annum on the de-
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A t f
^
ferred payment plan, to a combination accommo-
dation-carrying-service-charge of ^ of 1 per
cent monthly.
With twenty months maximum time on in-
stalment accounts, the maximum combination
accommodation-carry-service-charge on the in-
stalment plan would be 10 per cent in lieu of
From Left to Right: Virginia Fore, Marion Rosette, Florence Otey, Katharine Lucke, directress;
interest.
Audrey Cordero, Esther Love P olvogt, Katharine Simmerman
It will not be necessary for me to go into
A SPECIAL musical event was staged rc- directed by Katharine Lucke and was the
any extended explanation of the simplicity and
cently by the Baltimore Music Club with featured number on the program. The mem-
practicability of a piano merchant collecting this
combination accommodation - carrying - service - the concert given at the Emerson Hotel, Bal- bers of the piano sextet also played individually
charge of 10 per cent on his instalment con- timore, Md. Six Steinway pianos were furnished various other parts of the "Carnaval" and the
for the concert by the Kranz-Smith-Hammann- concluding portion of the program was given
tracts.
Why, an ordinary mentality with a dry or Levin Co., Steinway representative in that city, over to piano paraphrases of well-known or-
spit-upon lead pencil, can quickly figure out the and were used in two ensemble numbers, the chestral compositions played by four hands on
plan, and readily see that it is absolutely fair to "Preambule" and "Marchc des Davidsbundler two Steinways.
The concert was listened to by a large and
itll three angles of instalment piano selling—the contre les Philinstins," of the "Carnaval," by
customer, the house and the salesman. Every- Robert Schumann. The ensemble playing was enthusiastic audience.
Six Steinway Grands in Ensemble Concert
Played Before the Baltimore Music Club
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ESTABLISHED 1862
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L^VUTER
NEWARK, N. J.I
MANUFACTURERS OF PIANOS!OF QUALITY
GRANDS
UPRIGHTS
THE LAUTER-HUMANA