THE MORE-PROFIT TIME TO SELL 123
The foreign buying of style apparel illustrates this. A
manufacturer or importer goes to Europe. He sees different
proposed styles, but, as a rule, cannot remain abroad until
the public’s final judgment is pronounced. To stay that
long would put him too far behind in getting his own manu-
facturing under way.
When we come, then, to buying style goods so that we may
offer them to our customers at the earliest possible moment,
we must decide which of the styles shown by manufacturers
will succeed and which will fail. Here we, too, are guessing.
A scientific method, of course, combined with a careful
study of the experience of the past, helps greatly. We use
our best judgment in looking over the samples of the manu-
facturers and from experience pick what we think may be
favorably received. But let us not pretend infallibility.
Let us admit that we do not know, for we do not.
One guide besides experience may be information that we
possess concerning the trend of styles and of demand in
general. This is too large a subject to be treated at length
here; but there is a steady trend, an underlying law of fashion
through the years, and there are waves and recurring tend-
encies, all of which have their share of influence. Present
methods may seem to indicate that they are largely freakish,
but further study may disprove this and disclose scientific
principles.
There is one procedure, however, that offers an appreciably
scientific method and reinforces the present methods of
reaching the final decision. This is what I call the “yellow-
ticket” method. Before we examine it in detail, though, let
us refresh our memories of how the problem that the yellow-
ticket method tackles is handled in the typical small store,
where the proprietor has to watch everything closely himself
or else be unable to pay his bills.
He usually buys and oversees the selling in person. He
gets daily the most reliable information possible as to the
desirability of his merchandise through a direct personal
contact with his customers and first-hand knowledge of their
attitude toward his stock. He remembers very exactly what
