The Edison phonograph monthly (Jan-Dec 1916)

EDISON PHONOGRAPH MONTHLY, MARCH, 1916 IS Dealers' Questions Answered W. E. H., Philmont, N. Y.— 1. Why don't you call it "Edison Diamond Amberola Monthly"? 2. I have an Edison Amberola 50 that repeats on some records. Same records play perfectly on other machines. Does not always repeat on same record nor always in the same place. Record tight. Feed nut in perfect mesh. Reproducer let down quickly. 3. An Amberola 75 plays false when a certain note is played on a band piece. Something seems loose but I can't find it. 4. Some cabinets have scratches or other defects in the varnish. Packing is in good shape and wrapping paper intact, but when I expose the machine I find scratches, etc. Looks like careless handling before packing. [1. This is probably a better name and we may later adopt it. 2. The reproducer swivel stud may bind, thus preventing the weight from working freely. The remedy is to apply one drop of Edison Diamond Oil and to see that reproducer sets snugly and firmly in arm and horn stem. 3. The false notes usually indicate that the reproducer is in need of adjustment. The proper procedure is to send it to your jobber for replacement. 4. Our cabinets are in perfect condition when packed for shipment and no expense is spared in packing them so that they will reach destination safely, but, regardless of the care exercised, these highly finished cabinets, like any other piece of furniture, may need retouching before they can be placed on sale. The Edison cabinet retouching outfit will enable you to easily remove these blemishes. If you do not know what this retouching outfit is ask us to send you Form 2876.] SELLING DANCE RECORDS A GOOD suggestion and sales help is to have part of your store, if you have the room, in such shape so that, should a couple care to dance when listening to dance records, they may do so. The floor can be prepared at small cost and kept in fairly good shape for dancing with very little trouble. This does not mean that you need to have any space like even a small dance hall. Good dancers can try out steps, etc., in a very small space. If you have rugs or furniture try to arrange them so that they can be pushed back with an appearance of being but little bother. No one would care to dance if they thought you were being put to such trouble as to obligate them. This may seem like a trifling suggestion to some, but underlying it is one of the first and fundamental principles of salesmanship — the instinct of possession, in us all. If, in your sales methods, you can in any way excite this primeval but ever present instinct, your sales are three-quarters made. If you have ever danced yourself — to the extent of real enjoyment — you will realise that listening to and dancing to music are things far apart. The extra enjoyment a dancer would secure through dancing to a certain record — even for a short space of time — would strengthen that instinct of possession, or, more commonly called, the desire for possession. The rest is easy, when that feeling is roused. THE WAY OF THE WISE "I didn't sell it to you. Let the man who did fix it up for you," is a sentiment often expressed by dealers, although perhaps in not these words. The words are usually aimed at some individual who has bought an Edison Phonograph in some other way or in some other place than from the dealer in whose town he now lives, but who is asking that a little attention be given his phonograph, and who is expecting to pay the usual price for the service. The dealer who gives voice to this sentiment is lacking in ability to appreciate a sales possibility when he sees it. Probably the purchaser now regrets quite as much as the dealer that he bought the phonograph elsewhere, and how differently he would feel if, instead of the dealer going back at him in the foregoing manner, he would express his prompt willingness to give the purchaser service and take immediate steps to do it. How much better it would be if the dealer would say, "The fact that I didn't sell you the phonograph makes me none the less willing to assist you. I would have been glad to have made the sale, but that I didn't is now a thing of the past. I want to keep your phonograph in good shape because I want to sell you some records. In fact, if I could sell you enough of them, I would rather sell you records than the instrument itself." Can't you imagine how the purchaser would feel toward a dealer under these conditions, and can you imagine that he would ever buy a dollar's worth of phonograph goods from any other dealer? Enthusiasm is contagious. See that every prospective customer who steps into your store is properly and completely infected. Needles are made to sew with — not to play phonographs.