Piano History


Thu, 25 Jul 96 21:02:59 -700


I am seeking information concerning the practice of peddling
pianos off wagons in remote areas of the Pacific Northwest
during the last century.  Any information or leads that you or
your associates could give me would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,
Mark E. Danielson
Bellingham, WA
mdaniel@nas.com
____________________________
Mark and Ken  and Ron;
I don't know if it is true in other areas of the country but we have a few
"traveling" sales teams that work the smaller towns here in the Southeast and
have done so for as long as I can remember. As Ken related the tactics they
use for selling are not always the most ethical, but they sell a surprising
amount of mechandise.  Although most of their effort is put into rural areas
they occasionaly turn up in Jacksonville and other larger cities.  Most of
the used import dealers sell from classified ads and the back of trucks, at
least in my area.  So Mark this is not a tactic used only in the NW, and not
only from horses and wagons in the past, but goes on to this day.  Of course
most of the customers never see the sales person or can contact the company
after the sales is completed, though this is generally not true of the used
import dealers, and local technicians benefit(?) from having to service
 these instruments.
  I think it was Newton a few days ago that said techs should keep a used,
refurbished instrument on hand for selling to customers , I agree.
Mark hope this helps somewhat.
Jim Bryant (FL)





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