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THE MODEL STOCK PLAN 
may make a lot of money by foreseeing a probable demand 
that is not visible to our competitors. In short, the more 
definitely. we take into consideration all the factors that 
influence the manufacturer’s busiest season and all the 
factors that make for his having large or small supplies on 
hand the better shall we be able to supply our trade at the 
right prices with profit to ourselves. We must remember 
that the manufacturer’s busiest season is the time when he 
makes his.greatest profits. 
I have always held in our business that we should be able 
to make the most money when trade is generally declining. 
This conclusion is based primarily on three facts: 
1. We are then willing to work harder, fight bad conditions 
more, turn our stocks more rapidly, and study more 
determinedly the scientific principles underlying good 
merchandising. 
2. The supplies of available merchandise at such a time 
are the largest and can be bought more advantageously. 
3. The difference between scientific and rule-of-thumb 
methods is more important when trade is declining than 
in a buoyant market and, therefore, scientific operation 
outruns competition by a greater margin. From all this 
there develops a fundamental buying rule: 
Buy, if possible, at the time when the fewest other people 
want what we wand. 
We might phrase that in another way: in buying, eliminate 
all the competition possible; outdo others by harder work, 
greater zeal, greater knowledge, and closer study of market 
conditions affecting supply and demand, both as they are 
now and as they will probably develop in the future. 
I know of one great manufacturing corporation that 
always refused any orders beyond its planned output. A 
great panic occurred. Almost everybody refused to buy. 
Yet this firm never failed to keep continuously busy. 
It was managed this way: At the time of the panic its 
factories were provided with orders for the first part of the 
period. Cancellations did not affect them seriously because 
of their well-known, unbroken rule to book and fill every