Consumables (also known as consumable goods, non-durable goods, or soft goods) are
goods
In economics, goods are items that satisfy human wants
and provide utility, for example, to a consumer making a purchase of a satisfying product. A common distinction is made between goods which are transferable, and services, which are not t ...
that are intended to be
consumed. People have, for example, always consumed
food and
water
Water (chemical formula ) is an Inorganic compound, inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living ...
. Consumables are in contrast to
durable goods.
Disposable products are a particular, extreme case of consumables, because their end-of-life is reached after a single use.
Consumables are products that
consumer
A consumer is a person or a group who intends to order, or uses purchased goods, products, or services primarily for personal, social, family, household and similar needs, who is not directly related to entrepreneurial or business activities. ...
s use ''recurrently'', i.e., items which "get used up" or discarded. For example consumable
office supplies
Office supplies are consumables and equipment regularly used in offices by businesses and other organizations, by individuals engaged in written communications, recordkeeping or bookkeeping, janitorial and cleaning, and for storage of supplies o ...
are such products as
paper
Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, rags, grasses or other vegetable sources in water, draining the water through fine mesh leaving the fibre evenly distrib ...
,
pen
A pen is a common writing instrument that applies ink to a surface, usually paper, for writing or drawing. Early pens such as reed pens, quill pens, dip pens and ruling pens held a small amount of ink on a nib or in a small void or cavity wh ...
s,
file folder
A file folder (or simply folder) is a kind of folder that holds papers and money together for organization and protection. File folders usually consist of a sheet of heavy paper stock or other thin, but stiff, material which is folded in hal ...
s,
Post-it
A Post-it Note (or sticky note) is a small piece of paper with a re-adherable strip of glue on its back, made for temporarily attaching notes to documents and other surfaces. A low-tack pressure-sensitive adhesive allows the notes to be easil ...
notes, and
toner
Toner is a powder mixture used in laser printers and photocopiers to form the printed text and images on paper, in general through a toner cartridge. Mostly granulated plastic, early mixtures only added carbon powder and iron oxide, however, ...
or
ink cartridge
An ink cartridge or inkjet cartridge is a component of an inkjet printer that contains the ink that is deposited onto paper during printing.
Each ink cartridge contains one or more ink reservoirs; certain producers also add electronic contacts ...
s. This is in contrast to capital goods or
durable goods in the office, such as computers, fax machines, and other business machines or office furniture. Sometimes a company sells a durable good at an attractively low price in the hopes that the consumer will then buy the consumables that go with it at a price providing a higher
margin
Margin may refer to:
Physical or graphical edges
*Margin (typography), the white space that surrounds the content of a page
*Continental margin, the zone of the ocean floor that separates the thin oceanic crust from thick continental crust
*Leaf ...
. Printers and ink cartridges are an example, as are cameras and film as well as
razors
A razor is a bladed tool primarily used in the removal of body hair through the act of shaving. Kinds of razors include straight razors, safety razors, disposable razors, and electric razors.
While the razor has been in existence since before ...
and
blades, which gave this business model its usual name (the
razor and blades model
The razor and blades business model is a business model in which one item is sold at a low price (or given away for free) in order to increase sales of a complementary good, such as consumable supplies. It is different from loss leader marketin ...
).
For
arc welding
Arc welding is a welding process that is used to join metal to metal by using electricity to create enough heat to melt metal, and the melted metals, when cool, result in a binding of the metals. It is a type of welding that uses a welding powe ...
one uses a ''consumable''
electrode
An electrode is an electrical conductor used to make contact with a nonmetallic part of a circuit (e.g. a semiconductor, an electrolyte, a vacuum or air). Electrodes are essential parts of batteries that can consist of a variety of materials d ...
. This is an electrode that conducts electricity to the
arc but also melts into the weld as a
filler metal A filler metal is a metal added in the making of a joint through welding, brazing, or soldering.
Soldering
Soldering and brazing processes rely on a filler metal added to the joint to form the junction between the base metal parts. Soft solderin ...
.
Consumable goods are often excluded from
warranty
In contract law, a warranty is a promise which is not a condition of the contract or an innominate term: (1) it is a term "not going to the root of the contract",Hogg M. (2011). ''Promises and Contract Law: Comparative Perspectives''p. 48 Cambri ...
policies, as it is considered that covering them would excessively increase the cost of the premium.
[e.g. batteries in computers: , ]
See also
*
Durability
Durability is the ability of a physical product to remain functional, without requiring excessive maintenance or repair, when faced with the challenges of normal operation over its design lifetime. There are several measures of durability in us ...
*
Durable good
*
Fast-moving consumer goods
*
Principles of Intelligent Urbanism
*
Repairable component
A repairable component is a component of a finished good that can be designated for repair.
Overview
Repairable components tend to be more expensive than non-repairable components (consumables). This is because for items that are inexpensive to ...
References
{{Reflist
External links
Defining consumable relative to waste
Environmental design
Goods (economics)