THE MORE-PROFIT TIME TO SELL 135 
more nearly than ever before, we shall find opportunities 
to improve our service to customers. For instance, an 
increase in the completeness of our stock of sizes' not only 
gains a direct additional volume of sales but also brings still 
more volume from the purchases made by these special-size 
customers in all the other departments. 
Thus it is that a more than ordinarily complete stock 
becomes a drawing card. And there are other major 
advantages, such as the savings in alteration expense, where 
we have in stock the sizes needed and do not have to try to 
supply the right size by altering a wrong size, as is so often 
the case. The more closely we approach having a Model 
Stock the more advantages we shall find, Under the Model 
Stock Plan we get great economic forces working for our 
store’s success. 
The various elements that go to make up a stock—style, 
color, material, price, size—have differing effects on the 
customer. A customer is obviously interested in only one 
size. When we present a broad selection of styles, colors, 
and materials to seléct from, we make a favorable impression 
and permit the customer to eliminate quickly those which are 
least interesting. 
But if we have many prices from which to choose, we 
complicate the customer’s task of deciding. With only 
slight differences in prices, we put a woman shopper face to 
face with making up her mind whether the blue dress at 
$27.50, which she likes, is worth to ber in style and quality 
the difference in price over the brown dress at $25, which does 
not strike her fancy quite so completely. 
A frequent result of such uncertainty—as any experienced 
salesperson can tell us—is that she takes neither, but decides 
to look elsewhere before making up her mind. If we have 
three prices, for example, $13, $25, and $35, she confines her 
attention to the $25 dresses, assuming that this is her price 
level. And when it comes to choosing between two $25 
dresses, one blue and the other brown, she quickly makes 
1 The opportunities for specialization in outsizes and other classes of goods 
are treated in detail in Chap. XVI, p. 235.