Everyone’s heard it- capitalism is bad because it caters to people who are greedy. It’s all about money, greenbacks, bills. And in this way converts every human activity into a monetary accounting.
But that’s often not the case. The timing of an event or an aquisition often has a large impact on the desire to trade. Take travel. Families with kids want to catch a plane to grandma’s house when the kids are off school. If they were greedy, than they would save the dollars and pull the kids from class. The airlines respond to the demand at the holidays by increasing fares. So they must be greedy. Whereas, the price increase just encourages those who are not beholden to a school schedule to pick a different day; the price system encourage them to free up their seat so a kid can head to Grandma’s for Thanksgiving.
Timing has been a key feature in the Amazon Prime business. It’s not just that you can find what you want on line at a price you feel is acceptable, but you can get it tomorrow. The item is nore valuable to you since you can use it quicker.
Timing also plays into what typ a store you shop at. Pay a little more and shop at the smal exclusive grocery instead of the large box store with better prices. I know economists call this opportunity cost, but for some it’s different than substituing your labor time. It’s a luxury to walk in and walk out with the item you want. It makes you feel special.
Timing is a key motivator in personal transactions. I bet it features up there second only to price.
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