Music Trade Review

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COLLECTIONS ARE EASY
if the
APPLICATION FOR CREDIT
WILL A. WATKIN COMPANY
CREDIT
IS SOUND
ill A. Watkin Company
PIANOS AND ORGANS
Dallas, Texas,
ABOVE—CREDIT APPLICATION BLANK. AT R I G H T -
FORM OF INQUIRY SENT TO REFERENCES.
GENTLEMEN :
Enclosed we hand you stamped envelope and ask in the strictest
T
HE credit situation, both retail and wholesale, is
admittedly one of the problems of the piano busi-
ness today as it is the problem in many other lines
of industry, particularly those in which retail sales
are made on the instalment or time payment plan. Long
time paper and questionable accounts serve to tie up an
excessive amount of the retailer's liquid capital, with
the result that not only are his normal activities cramped,
but his assets become so frozen that he is likely to get
into trouble with the manufacturers who supply him
with merchandise.
It is one thing to follow the easiest path and quote
prices and terms that, according to popular impression
and expression, are "in keeping with the times," and quite
another to keep the quotations within the limits that will
protect the dealer's financial structure. If terms are ex-
tended for an additional six months, it means the tying
up of capital for just so much longer. If the dealer carries
his own paper it means he is losing that much potential profit
and if he places it with a finance company he is going to
pay through the nose for that extra accommodation. This,
of course, is assuming that the account is good and will even-
tually pay out.
The safety valve of the retail music business today is an
efficient credit department headed by a man with the back-
bone to see a sale get by if the credit risk is not up to par.
The employment situation and general industrial conditions
make it essential that sales to wage earners be scrutinized
with particular care, not only as a check against dishonest
buyers, but as a protection against those who may be classed
as "casual workers." As an instance in point, a dealer in
radios told the writer not long ago that of eighty-one applica-
tions for credit on the purchase of radio sets selling at less
than $100 all but twenty-three were turned down, chiefly
because the applicant had not resided at the address given
for at least a year, and had not been employed by the same
concern for at least a similar period. Here is a situation
that requires thought if the dealer is to avoid costly mistakes
in judgment and the expense of collection service and finally
THE
192
MUSIC
TRADE
REVIEW,
May, 1931
confidence if you would consider
of
a safe credit for an unsecured
account of $
>
r 1
-, payable about $
We attach no responsibility to you in this inquiry and will hold your
reply confidential.
Respectfully,
WILL A. WATKIN COMPANY,
PLEASE REPLY HEREON.
GENTLEMEN:
Per
v
.192
repossession. Neglect means loss of profits.
In discussing credits and collections recently Robert N.
Watkin, secretary and treasurer of the Will A. Watkin Co.,
Dallas, Tex., and past president of the National Association
of Music Merchants, stated that after nearly fifty years in
business his company did not have any serious collection prob-
lems. He said: "We use most of our system in selecting
credits and then we don't have to use so much system in
actually making collections." There's the answer in a nut-
shell.
The sort of information that the Watkin Co. demands
before credit is granted may be judged from the credit card
reproduced herewith. There is nothing complicated about it
nor is there anything in the questions to embarrass the cus-
tomer. Another angle of the Watkin system that saves future
troubles is that the references given by the customer are
properly consulted by mail, the form used for that purpose
being also reproduced. Here again there is nothing to em-
barrass the customer if he is really able to meet the obliga-
tions he assumes.
The dealer who scrutinizes his credits with unusual care
(Please turn to page 25)