(source is SMBC)
the very notion that demand goes up as price goes down is so economics-pilled that it can't have encountered the real world even once.
this post was submitted on 25 May 2026
629 points (98.9% liked)
Funny: Home of the Haha
9355 readers
847 users here now
Welcome to /c/funny, a place for all your humorous and amusing content.
Looking for mods! Send an application to Stamets!
Our Rules:
-
Keep it civil. We're all people here. Be respectful to one another.
-
No sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia or any other flavor of bigotry. I should not need to explain this one.
-
Try not to repost anything posted within the past month. Beyond that, go for it. Not everyone is on every site all the time.
Other Communities:
-
/c/TenForward@lemmy.world - Star Trek chat, memes and shitposts
-
/c/Memes@lemmy.world - General memes
founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
I dunno, I've bought a lot of games during steam sales that I wouldn't have otherwise. Does that count?
I would not say so, because their is a infinite supply of that video game. Take something finite and apply the concept to it.
Artifically-created scarcity is still scarcity as far as the behavior of the buyer is concerned, though.
That's a good point. Price lowers and it increases demand, but supply is unchanged.
So then the same concept should work for sales at the grocery store, right? If I'm influenced to purchase something (finite) that they're offering for cheap.
Price lowers and it increases ~~demand~~
price lowers and it increases quantity. demand is a curve and you only measure a single point of it.
Grocery stores having sales.
Or, you know, any retail sales.
I guess it depends on what you consider demand.
True demand is the actual uptake ability of the market. A town of 100 people where everyone eats one loaf of bread a day will be precisely 100 loaves of bread every day (for simplicity we're not accounting for tourism and travelers etc.). If you bake 200 loaves, you're left with 100, period. And if you raise the price so only 20 people can afford bread, well, the demand didn't lower, the buying ability did.
And most economist falsely measure this latter buying ability as "demand". Just because people can't afford it, it doesn't mean they don't want it. In that aspect, demand is relatively stable.
I mean, but suppose the baker bakes 200 loaves of bread. Everyone buys their one loaf, the the baker has too much bread, and really, no where to store it. So they lower the price to 0 - literally free bread.
Well now, its free! So people come by and grab an extra loaf to make french toast the next morning. Or to feed to their cat to save money on cat food. And then someone realizes they can just put it in their composter to make free compost for their garden. With an infinite supply of free bread, soon people will figure out how to build their houses with it or turn it into vehicle fuel.
That's not really how demand is measured, demand is a function of price and usually equilibrium is a matter of where demand and supplu meet (using the most basic models).
Producing 20 loaves could be the equilibrium point or 120 could dependant of what defines the supply line (based on material costs/labor).
The secret ingredient is the incessant propaganda to get you to buy shit you don't need
It works in some cases.
-
For commodities with 'elastic demand', a lower price will increase demand (at least up to some limit of satiation). For example, say, luxury cars. Lots of people would like to drive a luxury car instead of a regular one, and if luxury cars became very cheap, more people would upgrade to one, thus increasing demand. But it doesn't hold true for inelastic demand. If cars in general became very cheap, it would only increase demand up to a point ... then, once everyone who wants a car already has one (or several), there's not much reason for anyone to buy even more.
-
For commodities with demand currently suppressed by high price. Healthcare is a good example of something with (mostly) inelastic demand. The amount of healthcare people need doesn't really change depending on the price, and (most) people have no motivation to go out and get more healthcare than they actually need. But in the US, healthcare is very expensive, with many people not getting as much as they need because of how expensive it is, which has reduced demand below the level it 'should' be at. If healthcare became cheap, demand would increase back to the 'normal' level, then stay there.
Sort of like the relationship between rarity and value. "This rock came from my backyard and there are no other rocks from my backyard for sale. It is an exclusive! $100,000"
Ooh.. tell me more about this unique rock you have.
And a thing is only worth as much as somebody's willing to pay for it.
What's rare is expensive ! A free horse is rare, thus a free horse must be expensive !
I think this joke only works on those who still rate people on a 1-10 scale. Sex is not difficult to acquire when you lower your standards and this tactic would likely work. He might have to spread his cheeks for a homeless man but still.
I knew a guy who always seemed to have a girlfriend, in spite of him being sort of a troll, but the guys who knew him would say "Yah, but have you seen the girls he goes out with?"
It always gives me pause when I see unattractive couples. I think "why are they attracted to each other? And how do they even feel attractive enough to be in the game? When I feel ugly I feel unattractive and completely lose my libido and desire to be with anyone else." Then I look at myself, conventionally attractive yet alone, because I have such high standards and/or crippling anxiety, and I remain alone. Which serves as yet another reminder not to judge other people, because they are better off happily living their lives without overthinking things.
Just to clarify here, "troll" in this case refers not just to looks but he had a very sketchy personality too.
When I feel ugly I feel unattractive and completely lose my libido and desire to be with anyone else.
Ah, but when another person likes you and wants your body, that makes you stop feeling unattractive usually. And when someone gives you that feeling, you might not care as much what they look like.
I've found myself being interested in girls who weren't what I'd typically find attractive at first but their personalities grew on me so much that I started to be blind to the looks issue.
That was me and my ex, until she turned out to be an actual monster of a human being and consequently I stopped finding her attractive physically too. Turns out horrible people can mask it for a while. But when I still liked her as a person, I was also attracted to her physically
that's still far from what I would consider "infinite demand"
some infinities are countably small. (looks in pants)
Your penis is asymptotic
that's not what the doctor said
The joke here
is that obviously he should charge money for it, if he wants more takers.
Funny part is that if you actually want to give something away on Facebook marketplace then it’s easier to list it for like $5-10 bucks and then not charge the person who didn’t didn’t hassle/haggle you.
Indded, and that's a fascinating case, because it demonstrates that lower price means higher demand, and the point of the nominal price is a filter so you have fewer people's bullshit to deal with.
I wish I understood how this psychology works...
I received a brand new mattress that I didn't need (warranty replacement - but I bought a new mattress because I couldn't wait for warranty to be approved)... So list this $300+ mattress for free several times, showing it's still fully wrapped in plastic, brand new, etc.
During a week's time I got over 30 different messages like "still available? I'll take it", said yes, replying with my approximate address and phone number... not a single person ever responded or came by.
I got so burned out that I just dumped it in front of some Salvation Army or such place. Probably illegal, but at least they'd hopefully find some better use for it instead of taking it to the landfill.
i have tried to get free shit that way, and ended up spending 5 bucks on a lot of shit i was happy to spend 5 bucks on.
In fact human nature has shown that people tend to disrespect & devalue & vandalize things that are given away for free. Before they even consider that the thing might actually be quite valuable.
well infinity includes zero so its pretty hard to know what happens there .. the limit does approach infinity though so its better to offer a price close to zero that seems like a bargain to entice people into thinking they are getting a deal rather than removing your garbage.
Classic marketing hyperbola.
I would 🤷♂️
Pretty sure you learn about inelastic demand in high school economy
His problem is marketing. He should have claimed he was a physicist, or maþematician. Alþough, þe latter may have backfired.