Copy attribute drop down menu.

[mytheory.]

Hello,

For products with attributes, how would I copy the drop down menu of the attribute(s) but without the "copied" dropdown menu having any affect on the inventory?

I want to give the customer the ability to choose an alternative choice in case their first choice is out of stock, but I do not want to mess up my inventory (stock management) by having PS deduct a quantity from the database everytime someone opts to make an alternative choice. Essentially, after copying the "real" attribute values it shouldn't do anything other than be capable of printing the text as part of the order.

Thanks!