ered at a low price and try
not to buy enough at any one time to give an appearance of activity in
the market, but they buy continually when the market is very dull. It
seems to be characteristic of human nature to think that business
conditions are going to continue just as they are. When business is bad,
nearly everybody thinks business will be bad for a long time, and when
business is good, nearly everybody thinks business will be good almost
indefinitely. As a matter of fact, conditions are always changing. It
never is possible for either extremely good times nor for extremely bad
times to continue indefinitely.

You can buy stocks cheaper when there is very little demand for them,
and you should arrange your affairs so as to be prepared to buy at such
times.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] In our advisory Letter of April 25, 1922, we advised our clients to
refrain from margin buying for a while, because the market was advancing
too rapidly. Shortly after that there was a decided reaction in the
market.

CHAPTER VIII.

WHEN NOT TO BUY STOCKS

There are times when stocks should not be bought, and that is when
nearly all stocks have advanced beyond their real values. It is doubtful
if there ever is a time when all stocks have advanced beyond their real
values, but when the great majority of stocks have so advanced, there is
likely to be a general decline in all stock prices. The stocks that are
not selling too high will decline some in sympathy with the others.
Therefore, there are times when we advise our clients not to buy any
stocks.

Some organizations giving advice in regard to the buying of stocks,
advise their clients to refrain entirely from buying for periods of a
year or longer, but we think it is seldom advisable to refrain entirely
from buying for any great length of time. There usually are some good
opportunities if you watch carefully for them. It is our business to
watch for these opportunities and tell our clients about them.

There are also times when the technical condition of the market is such
that we advise our clients to refrain from buying for a while. See
Chapter XIV.

CHAPTER IX.

WHEN TO SELL STOCKS

You should sell stocks when the market price is too high. That is a
general rule, but it is necessary for you to study all the influences
affecting stock prices to be able to decide more accurately when you
should sell your stocks. We give you, in future chapters, much more
in