38 THE MODEL STOCK PLAN 
and sometimes it is light. Other things being equal, the 
manufacturer is most earnest in his endeavors to sell when 
buyers are pressing him least with their orders. If we are 
going to buy to the very best advantage, therefore, we must 
measure our stock requirements against the urgency of the 
manufacturer’s selling needs. The characteristics of the 
typical manufacturing season are tabulated in the buying 
calendar. On this calendar of the manufacturer's production 
and selling season, these are the important dates: 
1. First showing of samples. 
2. Showing of complete sample lines. 
3. Busiest season begins. 
4. Busiest season ends. 
5. Between-season showing. 
6. Job season begins. 
7. Season ends. 
Let us consider the special significance, from a buying point 
of view, of each of these seven dates. 
Manufacturers—and in this use the term includes also 
wholesalers, importers, mill agents, and all other resources— 
usually show their first samples too early. They have the 
same temptation to do it as have retailers. They want to 
get the reputation of being first to show new things. The 
eager striving among competing manufacturers is, of course, 
of itself very valuable, because it helps us get the best that 
manufacturers can give. 
The manufacturers have more than a competitive reason 
for making early showings, however. Some buyers must 
have their goods earlier than others. What is an exception- 
ally early showing for the merchants of New England may be 
hardly early enough for Pacific Coast merchants, if the 
manufacturer serving merchants in both localities has his 
headquarters in, say, New York. 
Most manufacturers serve more than a restricted territory. 
Those retail merchants who are farthest from the market find 
it practically impossible to come and go from week to week. 
They must order in considerable quantities and place their 
1 Chapter IX, p. 127.