COST: Best referred to as opportunity cost, this is the highest valued alternative foregone in the pursuit of an activity. This is a hallmark of anything dealing with economics -- or life for that matter -- because any action that you take prevents you from doing something else. The value expressed in terms of satisfaction of the foregone activity is your opportunity cost. Because there are usually several alternatives that aren't pursued, opportunity cost is the highest-valued one. An opportunity cost is sometimes compensated with some form of payment, like a wage. However, the existence of an opportunity cost is independent of any actual cash outlay.

     See also | opportunity cost | economic cost | economics | value | satisfaction | explicit cost | implicit cost | accounting cost |

COST, AmosWEB GLOSS*arama, http://www.AmosWEB.com, AmosWEB LLC, 2000-2024. [Accessed: September 19, 2024].

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A formal market exchange in which prospective buyers make bids to purchase a commodity. An auction is an effective way of exchanging commodities by bringing together buyers and sellers. Auctions are commonly used to exchange financial instruments, agricultural commodities, personal assets, and works of art. Three notable types of auctions are English, Dutch, and sealed-bid.

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