About 10 years ago, before the Internet got really big, Clark got very excited about a new trend in the online retail world. It’s called mass customization, and it’s existed for many, many years. But now it’s getting even bigger. Mass customization means you have something built or designed expressly for you by the manufacturer. For years, Rolls Royce has made cars specifically for its owners, and many corporate types have their suits made just for them. But it’s traditionally been available only to the wealthy. Now, that’s changing. Toyota now builds custom-made cars. Land’s End has been extremely successful with its customized clothing line. About 40 percent of Land’s End customers buy the custom made clothing, even though it costs about 20 percent more than regular “off-the-shelf” clothes. And the best news about mass customization is that - because of computer-aided design (CAD ) – you can get the items right away. Some retailers have not been successful. Levi’s, for example, tried it with jeans. People just didn’t want to pay the extra money. When it comes to computers, though, this business model works. No company has perfected mass customization more than Dell. The company has been so successful that Dell is getting out of the computer business. Dell doesn’t make the computer until you ask for it, so you can get any monitor, hard drive, burner, etc. that you want. M&Ms is even getting in on this game. You can now buy whatever color and design you want on your M&Ms. Let’s hope they don’t melt on the way!