Confusion Between Prices and Costs of Production
Price is commonly confused with the notion of cost of production, as in “I paid a high cost for buying my new plasma television”; but technically these are different concepts. Price is what a buyer pays to acquire products from a seller. Cost of production concerns the seller’s investment (e.g., manufacturing expense) in the product being exchanged with a buyer. For marketing organizations seeking to make a profit, the hope is that price will exceed cost of production so that the organization can see financial gain from the transaction.
Finally, while pricing is a topic central to a company's profitability, pricing decisions are not limited to for-profit companies. The behavior of non-profit organizations, such as charities, educational institutions and industry trade groups, can be described as setting prices. For instance, charities seeking to raise money may set different “target” levels for donations that reward donors with increases in status (e.g., name in newsletter), gifts or other benefits. These targets can be seen as prices if they are interpreted as specifying a cost that must be paid by buyers (donors) in order to obtain something of value.
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Famous quotes containing the words confusion, prices, costs and/or production:
“There is ... no glamor at banquets—I mean the large formal banquets of big associations and societies. There is only a kind of dignified confusion that gradually unhinges the mind.”
—James Thurber (1894–1961)
“On the breasts of a barmaid in Sale
Were tattooed the prices of ale;
And on her behind
For the sake of the blind
Was the same information in Braille.”
—Anonymous.
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—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
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—Debbie Taylor (20th century)