Thats strange, maybe this is an okc craigslist from another galaxy then cause it seems people around your parts DO give away firewood for free.
oklahoma city free stuff classifieds - craigslist
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.
EXACTLY, so you can only buy something for more then what someone PUT INTO making it, correct? Otherwise there would be no product to get because people dont make products to lose money and provide everyone but them self a better life.
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It has everything to do with cost, if it cost me 300 to produce an item, you are not going to pay me less then that(again unless i go into drastic times,foreclosure,etc).
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.
The amount of wiggle room is the difference between the cost of producing the item(or whatever it cost the shop owner) and the sticker price.
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.
Exactly, you either pay the price that it cost to produce an item, or you never get the item.
No, you may get the item at below cost, but this is a sign that the item won't be available for much longer.
Or were you trying to imply that sony sells all their playstations for a loss?
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.
I totally agree with you here, well except for the fact that the system will collapse, no might about it, but i do agree that is is a good thing if it is prepared for, for most it will be like hell.
Well, at least we can agree on something.