Discussions

First post -  

A consumer product that I use and know about very well is an Electric Toothbrush. I highly recommend electric toothbrushes to all my patients because as I simply explain in my everyday career it does the job for you and it does a better job than a manual toothbrush. The next question I always get asked is which one should I buy?

          Today there are an abundance of choices available for adults and children. This makes Electric Toothbrushes highly elastic because there are many substitutes for the product. A Few examples include: Sonicare, Oral B, Burst, Waterpik and Quip. Along with these name brand models there are many series of toothbrushes you can buy. For example, Sonicare offers the Protective Clean Model which is their base model starting at 25.99-45.99. Sonicare also has the Essential Clean, Diamond Clean, and Flexcare Classic Edition which can range from $100.00- $250.00. This offers the customer options and flexibility in pricing. Quip is a fairly newer brand which you can buy for under $50.00. It also offers a refill subscription for its customers to receive brush heads, floss and toothpaste for 5$ each month your due. In this thread I have only touched upon two major toothbrush models although there are many more to choose from online or in stores.

Customers can find electric toothbrushes on Amazon, directly from the consumer or simply in stores such as Cosco, Target, Kohls and Bed bath and Beyond. This makes the availability high because many companies offer this product. Advertising is done often on TV for oral and systemic health. It has been proven over years that the plaque level is reduced when using an electric toothbrush over manual because of the vibrations, size and shape of the toothbrush head. 

References

McGuigan, J., Moyer, C.R., & Harris, F. (2016). Managerial economics: Applications, strategy, and tactics (14th ed.). Cengage Learning.

Second post -  

For me, I am choosing VW I absolutely love my VW I have had a hard time finding a car that doesn't sit too low and that isn't too high off of the ground. I have had several knee surgeries and low cars are hard on the knees and so are the high ones. For me when I was looking for a car height was a factor, the room was another factor, electric seats are way easier for me because of my knees. I recently traded my VW for another VW with more room to hold grandchildren as the first one was just a 5 seater and now we have a 7 seater. When I was dealing with the sales guys they were great they tried to find what I needed, however, the one car they wanted to sell me was a 2021 but it was a downgrade to the current one I had. We look at several different options but with covid and credit, it does make it difficult for quality and payments. We are however satisfied with VW as a whole they have done us well and it helps my husband works for that company as well. The company advertises well on the side of their building, Facebook, and word of mouth. 

The VW falls under the inelastic demand for this product as it is still a very popular item it is super expensive in order for the companies to make money off of the VW. My husband's company is still debating whether or not they want to keep VW as part of their inventory I think for that reason. the 2021 VW is going for right around $45,000 which is super expensive because of the mark-ups even with employee pricing it is well above $35,000. Most people see that and think wow I can buy a house for that price in some cases you can. 

For me, VW is still my number one go to car because it had all the functions that fit my needs both physically and personally. I think that no matter what car brand you buy it can still last for years because it falls under the "Durable Goods" because you can keep doing maintenance on them so they will last for years even after all of the warranties are gone and you have had it for 30 years. 

McGuigan, Moyer, Harris (2016) Managerial Economics Applications, Strategy, and tactics Pg. 71, Pg. 83