The Edison phonograph monthly (Jan-Dec 1910)

8 Edison Phonograph Monthly, Jan., 1910 MANDOLINA. Joaquin J. Arriaga. 6010 Brisa— Vals, Carlos Curti VIOLONCELLO. Luis G. Rocha. 6043 CauserieiVals Lento, F. Villanueva PORTUGUESE AMBEROL RECORDS. MUSICA DE BANDA. Pela Banda da Guarda Municipal de Lisboa. 5041 O Coronel e Torres Branco — Duas Marcha 5040 O Recemchegado — Marcha 5039 Rapsodia Brazileira 5042 5043 H8 8015 8014 8016 8017 Rapsodia de Cantos Populares, No. 1 Rapsodia de Cantos Populares, No. 2 FILIPINO AMBEROL RECORDS. MUSICA DE BANDA. Banda de la Constabularia Filipina Sampaguita (La), M. Ruiz SOLOS DE BANDURRIA. Por Jose Ramirez. Dos Danzas Chilenas Madrilena (La) — Danza Potpourri Bailable Sopimpa (La) Selling the Goods Did you ever hear the story of the man who was walking through the park in • the early Spring? Well, he sat down on a bench to rest and listen to the birds. Pretty soon along came another man, and, as he sat down on the bench, remarked to the first man on the sweet singing of the birds, and added "Those little birds are singing for me." The first man replied, "You are mistaken, sir. Those birds are singing for me." Then there was a fight. A policeman arrested both men, took them to court, and the judge, as he fined each $10.00 and pocketed the money remarked: "You were both mistaken. Those little birds were singing for me." Leo Slezak, the world's greatest lyric tenor, now sings for New York audiences at the Metropolitan Opera House, at the rate of $5.00 per seat, and for every owner of the Edison Phonograph who wants to hear him, at the rate of $1.00 per Record — but every time you pocket the profit on a Slezak Record you can pat yourself on the back and say to yourself: "Slezak is singing expressly for me." It doesn't hurt a prospective customer a bit to give him credit for wanting to buy a higher priced instrument than he had figured on. Take a case like this for example : An advertising solicitor for a publication comes into an advertiser's office and says: "How about a double-page ad for our next issue?" or words to that effect. Now, it may be that the advertiser had just been thinking that he ought to have a double page, and he takes it. But, on the other hand, he may say: "Double page? That's too strong — I'll take a page." Now, if the solicitor had asked the advertiser to take a quarter-page, although the advertiser may have been thinking of half-pages or pages, it's a cinch that publication wouldn't get more than a quarter-page for that issue, and it's doubt ful if it would get even that much space. Now, in offering the Amberola to a customer it doesn't matter who he is or what his circumstances, you don't hurt his feelings a bit by presuming that he is able to buy it. If he feels that the price of the Amberola is beyond him, it is easy enough for you to drop to the lower priced instrument and sell him a Triumph, Standard, Fireside or even a Gem. Whereas, if you had started out by offering him a low-priced machine, and he had really considered buying a machine that cost more, the chances are a hundred to one against your getting him up to the price he had intended to pay, and it's doubtful if he will buy at all. You can't tell what a man's purchasing ability may be by the cut of his clothes, any more than the length of a frog's tail is an indication of how far he can jump. And that fact is well illustrated in the following story: Sometime ago a seedy little man dropped in at the City Hall, in Chicago, to declare his taxes. The clerk at the window began asking the usual questions, and in a rather supercilious manner. "Have you a piano?" "No," said the seedy little man. "Any horses or carriages?" "No." "Any automobiles?" This last from the clerk with a supercilious raise of the eyebrows. "Yes," said the little old man, "two— a runabout, value $2,000.00, and a touring car, value $6,000.00." "Well, what do you know about that?" said the clerk to the next man in line, as the little seedy man left the room. Give every prospective customer credit for being able at least to buy an Amberola. Then, even if he can't afford the Amberola, he's pretty certain to buy the best Phonograph he can afford. It doesn't hurt any man's feelings to have his bank roll over-estimated.