How much will your check to the School's "preferred" vendor really be when the dust settles ?
You might be surprised!
Because school vendors nationally are under pressure from competing high quality-value priced music providers like ourselves, many school vendors will attempt to appear more competitive by offering a discount or coupon. We believe that any real program or promotion which reduces the actual cost to the parents of beginning student musicians is desirable.
After all, we were the first to offer a low, discount rate on band and orchestra instruments.
As a parent you should be aware that a common tactic used by some vendors, in order to appear to offer a lower price, is to "un-bundle" service and fees, and then simply charge for them separately.
Let's look at an example. A hypothetical introductory rental rate is $72 for 4 months. That rate includes a maintenance or administrative fee of $5 per month (this fee by the way does not apply to your purchase). So it's pretty easy and straightforward- $72 for 4 months maintenance fee included.
Now let's put on our marketing hat and see how creative we can get. The following examples are the same offer as the one shown above, except that we are going to un-bundle the maintenance and administrative fee and call it "optional". In reality it is not optional, as you might discover if you actually try to get a rental from a school vendor without accepting the 'optional insurance:
$56 for 4 months * (you then add a fee of $4 per month) = $72 total
$52 for 4 months * ( you then add a fee of $5 per month) = $72 total
$48 for 4 months * ( you must add a fee of $6 per month) = $72 total
Here's something interesting
Did you know that some vendors actually charge you a fee to accept your rental payments? Yes, some will add an extra charge if you autopay your rental, and some vendors might charge you extra if you don't. At Naperville Music you receive all offers and discounts regardless of whether you make your regular rental payments by check, cash, money order, or autopay. You pick the payment method that best fits your needs, and we never charge you extra to accept your payment.
Something Else You Might Find Interesting
Did You Know that some Vendors actually charge different amounts for the same instruments in different districts? Let me say that another way. If you are in district A you might pay $43 per month, but if you rent the exact same instrument from the same vendor in district B, you might actually only pay $28 per month. Naperville Music has a one price policy. We may adjust our rates from time to time, but all customers renting during any given time period will always pay the same rate for the same instrument. We don't consider zip codes in determining our pricing policies.
Since we are talking about saving money, let's take a closer look at the cost for the "insurance", or "maintenance fee". This fee does not accrue as a credit to your purchase. This fee is what every dealer uses to keep the instruments in good repair, provide loaners, and provide replacements if an instrument is accidentally damaged. Every dealer has a fee, the questions to ask are:
Is the fee included in the monthly rates beginning quoted? (our fee is included and most school vendors simply tack on another $5-6 per month when you're not looking - or by using the inconspicuous asterisk * a few times).
How much is the fee? (Our fee is $3 per month- lower than every other dealer who services your school- and it is included in every price we quote). What does this mean to you? More of your payment is applying to the purchase than with other companies. Low maintenance fees is another way that we actually save you money and allow you to build equity. Would you rather pay $3 fee per month or as much as a $6 fee?
Why do the school's vendor fees vary by instrument? Remember the higher the fee, the less of your money that goes to the purchase. Fees that differ by instrument make no business sense to us, because we spread these expenses over all rented instruments. The more instruments we rent, the less it costs us per unit. It costs the same to fix a bent clarinet key as it does to fix a bent alto saxophone key.
Why would you want a lower maintenance fee?
It's simple. More of your payment is being credited to your account each and every month.
On a final note, some competitors might lead you to believe that there is some sort of trick with the low rental rates that we charge at Naperville Music. Here's the reality of the situation. Look at our website and see what we do. Look at the competitors website and see what they do. We are a full line music dealer. We rent, we sell, we teach, and we service. We deal in guitars, amps, band and orchestra instruments, sheet music, and pianos. It's not a 'trick', it's our business model. We spread our overhead over lots of transactions- not just the band and orchestra rentals that happen once each year.
We include all fees in the rates quoted. We don't charge you extra depending upon which payment method works best for your family. We don't charge different amounts depending upon which school district you attend.
Here at Naperville Music, we would like to have your rental business, and we will do everything possible to be certain that you are a satisfied customer. We start with a low introductory rate so more students can give music a try, we follow with a low monthly rate that is parent friendly. We continue with a team of associates who are personally responsible for your continued satisfaction.
So as you go to music registration, just remember you do not have to pay the high prices that other vendors are asking.
Click Here to See Why a Low Introductory Rate combined with a Low Monthly Rate is important to every parent.
**Get started with the rental process:
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