Some people do, but that stuff is already long gone by the time I'll ever see the ad. There are folks making a living doing nothing but going around cutting down trees and selling the firewood. There's a place not too far from here where they have semi-trailer loads of firewood priced at $80/rick, and that's cheap. These are the guys who wind up with the free firewood, because that's what they do all day. Mr. Software Engineer over here (that's me, if you couldn't make the connection) has ZERO chance of getting those deals. I know because I've tried.
You need to understand what I'm saying here. There are 3 different "prices" for any given good or service: ask, bid, and market. The price a person pays to get an item is the market price. It has nothing to do with the cost to produce the item. The only relationship it has with cost is in the ledger at the end of the business period (day/week/month/year/whatever).
Market prices are a process of discovery. Producing a new good is the act of taking a risk that the market price will be higher than the cost one puts into production. While one might make educated guesses about what the market price will be, no one knows exactly what it will be until the product has hit the market and consumers have had a chance to cast their votes. If the producer's risk assessment is good, the market price covers his costs and then some, and he makes a profit. If his risk assessment is bad, the market price is found to be below the cost of production plus the interest rate, and he either ceases production or finds a new, cheaper way to produce.
So again, the market price has nothing whatsoever to do with the cost of production. It is discovered after the fact, and only then measured against the cost to determine whether the product will remain on the shelves.
Wrong. The amount of wiggle room is the difference between the cost plus the going rate of interest and the sticker price. If the prevailing interest rate is 10%, you need to make 11% before you're making any profit. Otherwise you would be better off putting your money in the bank and producing nothing.
No, you may get the item at below cost, but this is a sign that the item won't be available for much longer.
They do. On the PlayStation 3 itself, Sony loses money. Their bet is that they will make up the lost revenue elsewhere. Presently, they are correct in that bet. But the person who buys a PS3 and a single game and never buys any other games has cost them money.
I'm out everyday, interacting with the public and consumers
But not haggling with them, or in places where haggling is done. When I say you need to get out more, I mean really get out. See how things are done in markets in other countries, where housewives will argue down the price on a handful of green beans. And then do the same for tomatoes. And then for squash. And so on, for every single item they buy.
Hell, watch how things are done on the stock market. They even build tools for trading that let you do exactly what I'm talking about... the stock market is a giant haggling zone. I can place an order for 20 shares of XYZ at $10/share, good until filled, and it will sit there waiting for XYZ to be available at that price.
Well, at least we can agree on something.
