Answer #1

Generally speaking, price is the end value or worth of a certain product or service while the cost is the total value of manufacturing the product or service.

The relationship between price and cost is like a parent-child connection wherein the cost is the parent, and price is the child. The accumulated amount of manufacturing expense, which is the cost, determines the price or the final value of any product or service being sold, therefore, making price a subclass of cost.

The difference between these two terms also depends on the speaker. From the consumer’s point of view, cost and price may sometimes appear very similar. One may ask “How much does this item cost?” without the intention of truly knowing the cost, instead they are asking for the price. It can also be explained as the initial amount you pay for an item you bought. In contrast to this, cost refers to an item’s life expectancy or quality, proving the statement, “you get what you pay for”. For example, if you bought a cheaply-made item then expect that it will not last long – that is the cost for buying affordable yet poorly made products.

On the other hand, when looking at the seller’s point of view, price can be defined as the accumulated value of the item you are selling based on the cost plus the mark-up price, while the cost is the amount you paid to produce the item you’re vending, which includes production expense, bills, labour, etc.

Some similarities, however, is that both words can be used as an adjective. For instance let’s look at these two examples, “That item is sold at an exclusive price.” and “Large firms use costless access to search for criminal records online”. Another thing both can be used interchangeably to indicate what is or what you must give up in order to obtain or acquire something. For example, “having unwanted media exposure is the price of fame” or “the cost of fame is having unwanted media exposure”.

In conclusion, price and cost are two distinct words that have different meanings but are sometimes used interchangeably due to the slight similarity in their connotation.

Answered By: joanna [10 ]