182 THE MODEL STOCK PLAN
75 or 50 cents tends to make the customer believe that our
regular prices were too high or that something is wrong with
the goods. (The only thing we might more effectively do to
undermine customers’ confidence in our regular prices would
be to advertise that we shall sell our $1 goods “today only”
or “this week only” for 75 or 50 cents.) Under the Model
Stock Plan the marked-down goods, which make such
attractive additions to the next lower full line, which is
itself composed of carefully selected and attractive merchan-
dise, must draw trade to this line. Then there is no need
of any reference, in our advertising, to the fact that they are
marked down. For if they were properly placed and good
values at the higher full-line price, a description of their
qualities and an offer to sell them at the next lower full-line
price would be most convincing and have adequate drawing
power.
Under the Model Stock Plan such basically weak advertis-
ing as “for today only” or “for this week only” is not called
for; it is also contrary to all of the Model Stock Plan’s
principles. Such temporary bargain appeals are manifestly
defects in any kind of advertising; but they are impossible
under correct Model Stock Plan advertising.
Most merchants doing business along traditional lines of
merchandising instead of by the Model Stock Plan firmly
believe in the traditional style of retail advertising; otherwise
they would not annually spend such great sums in using it.
But this kind of advertising is profitable only because most
of the other stores are doing little or no better. Let a Model
Stock Plan store employ really strong advertising methods
to back up its sound merchandising methods, and the
disadvantages of the traditional advertising will be forcefully
and painfully brought home to its competitors. No one of
us could keep on using such weak methods unless our
competitors were doing the same foolish things. Inci-
dentally, of course, the more of unprofitable bargains a store
offers the more surely must the rest of its prices be too high.
The losses on unprofitable bargains must be made up
elsewhere.
