几周前，我在里贾纳（Regina）的一个Facebook朋友抱怨说，在大学的自动贩卖机中，霍尔斯咳嗽药的售价为2美元，而糖果和薯条的售价仅为1.75美元。这里'他正在谈论的机器：
实际上，价格为2美元的唯一其他商品是一袋口香糖（或其他任何东西）。其他所有产品的价格都在1.75美元或以下。我在这里看到的所有其他自动售货机都具有相同的价格。这是大厅的特写'在自动售货机中。
我的立即反应是"需求价格弹性".
It is possible that Halls are a bit more costly to produce; after all, 他们 are individually wrapped. But then, Excel gum is blister-packed and its price is only $1.75.
我的感觉是，如果您有咳嗽和/或喉咙痛，您更愿意为咳嗽药水支付更高的费用。即，您的需求价格弹性小于零食和零食。
如果您有咳嗽和/或喉咙痛，可以考虑使用止痛药来缓解。例如，门多斯（Mentos）就在礼堂旁，对某些人来说可能同样有效。但是，如果您感到有些绝望，Mentos并不是一个很好的替代品。步行或开车去校园外的其他零售商店，都不只是为了以较低的价格寻找大厅。
At the same time, not many people looking for a snack buy Halls. That surprises me a bit because when we were young, we absolutely loved Smith Brothers wild cherry cough drops as a candy snack. We could buy a small box of two cough drops for a penny. But because Halls do not seem to be a good substitute for other candy, 他们 don'通过为Halls定价更高而损失很多。
谁是"they"? It's the people (university!) who control the vending machines. So 他们 set the price of snacks and treats a bit lower because there is a somewhat higher price elasticity of demand for them -- a reasonable substitute is to wait or to plan ahead and bring your own. But when you are suddenly afflicted with a cough or sorethroat, waiting doesn'工作有多少人随身携带止咳药"just in case"（我愿意，也许你们当中有些人愿意，但我却不多'd guess).
由于售卖厅的优质替代品较少，因此需求的价格弹性低于零食，因此自动售货机操作员可以通过为售卖厅设定高于零食的价格来提高利润。