Frequently Asked Questions

In our Fall 1998 issue of LaVoce, we printed our long-standing position on the practice of teacher commissions in the string instrument trade:

We recognize the lengths to which many teachers go, helping their students find the appropriate instrument or bow. Their often unpaid services, such as helping students by coming to the shop to try our inventory, by calling on the phone to discuss options or giving unpaid lesson time to consider choices may be a considerable commitment for them. We try to give our best service to teachers and their students. If it is apparent that a teacher has gone out of his or her way, outside of the normal lesson time, in assisting in the purchase process, we will often send the teacher a gift card for goods or services at Givens Violins, as a way of thanking them. These gift cards range from a minimum of $25 to a maximum of $250, and are transferable.

Claire Givens Violins does not give undisclosed commissions to teachers, even though historically many of the major dealers in the U.S. have perceived commissions to teachers as a necessary part of doing business. We are grateful for the support of teachers, but feel that undisclosed commissions can be against the best interest of the purchaser and can undermine our relationship with our customers.

For more on this subject, including articles by others in the trade, see:

• Speech of Charles Beare, VSA Convention and Competition, Minneapolis, Minnesota, November 1988

• Excerpt from "Mysteries of the Market", Mary VanClay, Strings Magazine Resource Guide, November 1996

• "The Hazards of Secret Commissions and the Duty to Disclose", by Carla Shapreau, from Violin Fraud: Deception, Forgery, Theft and Lawsuit in England, Brian W. Harvey and Carla J. Shapreau, Oxford University Press, 1997, by permission.

• "Undisclosed Teacher Commissions", by Faith Farr, from String Notes, Winter 2001/2002, page 7, by permission.