Classification of prices. Pricing and Pricing

In a capitalist economy, probably, any commodity has its price. It can be formed on the basis of the most diverse mechanisms and regularities. Moreover, a single approach to determining the essence of prices among world researchers is difficult to detect. There are a large number of criteria for classifying the corresponding indicator. Which of them are common in Russia?

What is the price and what are its functions

Price in accordance with a common definition is a way of expressing the value of a commodity in cash. It is called to perform a variety of functions. These include: accounting, incentives, and distribution.

Regarding the accounting function, its implementation assumes that the price fixes the costs of production and sale of products. Stimulation is designed to create positive conditions for increasing the efficiency of output of goods, improving their quality, improving the processability of production processes. The distribution function involves the inclusion in the price of various taxes, excises and fees, which are then transferred by the seller to the budget.

Some researchers also highlight the social function of price. It assumes, on the one hand, that the population of a country (region or municipality) will be able to purchase goods at an economically reasonable cost, on the other hand, that an enterprise that produces the corresponding type of product can be profitable and thus maintain jobs. As an option - for residents of the same city or region.

Let us now consider how the classification of prices can be carried out.

Features of the classification of prices

There are a large number of grounds and signs for which the corresponding indicators of the expression of the value of goods can be classified in one category or another. So, among the most common methods - the classification of prices, based on the scope of commodity circulation. On this basis, the expression of the value of goods can be represented as:

• Wholesale prices (as an option, for industrial products);
• Purchasing indicators of value in agriculture;
• Transport tariffs;
• Retail prices;
• Consumer tariffs (for example, for the provision of public services);
• Prices involved in determining foreign trade priorities.

Some researchers are inclined to supplement this scheme with a classification based on the specifics of the stages of commodity circulation.

Commodity Circulation

So, three main stages of this process are distinguished:

• The movement of goods from the enterprise that issued it, to wholesale organizations;
• Moving products from wholesalers to retail businesses;
• Sale of goods by retail points to the end user.

This scheme forms another basis for the classification of prices - the division of the corresponding indicators into wholesale and retail. A little later we will look at their specifics in more detail.

Concerning wholesale prices, it can be noted that they are sufficiently close to purchasing, which is used in the field of agriculture. They are established by private farmers or agrofirms for the end user or, for example, intermediary structures - retail outlets, networks, kiosks, etc.

There is an economic criterion, within the framework of which the classification and the structure of prices are carried out . So, researchers base the classification of indicators to a particular category, based on the degree of state intervention in pricing. If we adhere to this methodology, then the signs of the classification of prices will be expressed in terms of their compliance with the patterns of supply and demand. Thus, the indicators can be:

• Free (that is, the formation of prices is carried out only on the basis of the laws of supply and demand);
• Regulated (the state sometimes intervenes in the appropriate mechanisms, most often this applies to sectors strategically important to the national economy);
• Fixed (authorities clearly fix prices for specific types of products).

At the same time, in the economies of even the most developed countries considered capitalist countries, there may be a second and a third mechanism. Similarly, in state formations with strong government intervention in the economy: for example, China has a place for free pricing.

Trading mechanisms

Classification of prices can be carried out for other reasons. Thus, the relevant indicators of the value of the goods can be assigned to one or another category of the trade sphere. If we talk about this segment of commercial relations, then prices can be: auction, stock exchange or contractual. The first type of indicators can be characterized by a significant disparity when compared with market figures. This can be traced to a certain specificity of auctions. Relatively close to the market price may be stock indicators. In commercial legal relations, contractual criteria are common. In accordance with them, the price of the goods, which one enterprise under the contract must deliver to another, can be determined.

Sometimes the classification of prices by geography is applied. So, the corresponding indicators of the cost of goods can be national, regional or local. But in the Russian economy this approach to price classification is not very common.

We will study the specifics of some types of prices, which probably have the greatest prevalence in world economies. Types of prices and their classification, adopted in expert communities around the world, may vary, but almost always in the relevant techniques there is a category such as wholesale indicators of the value of the goods. Let's study them in more detail.

Features of wholesale prices

The wholesale price is an indicator that characterizes the products of enterprises that work most often in various industries, in the aspect of sales and purchases when interacting with counterparties. The form of ownership within the framework of the relevant mechanisms most often does not matter. There are a number of additional grounds on which the classification of prices belonging to the wholesale category can be carried out. So, they distinguish:

• Selling prices;
• Industrial cost indicators.

Specificity of selling prices is that they are set by the manufacturer of a product for the purpose of selling to the marketing businesses. In some cases, the corresponding indicator can be determined in the form of a transfer price. This is possible if there is interaction between the structures of one legal entity (for example, several joint-stock companies within the holding). Often the transfer price is fixed in contracts, the subject of which is a commercial loan.

As for the industrial indicators of value, they characterize the goods transferred in general through the same channels as at wholesale prices, but including VAT and other charges and mark-ups (usually due to intermediary services). Thus, the difference between the two noted varieties of wholesale indicators is noticeable, but on the whole, their substantial structural similarity is observed.

Some researchers single out wholesale prices in a separate category, which are formed with a noticeable effect of exchange factors. It is assumed that the corresponding indicator is formed on the basis of quotations on the stock exchange and is finally established taking into account possible discounts and other preferences of the supplier for the consumer (or, conversely, on condition of an increase, for example, due to not completely stable relations between businesses).

The functions and classification of prices adopted in many research communities suggest the allocation of a separate type of retail indicators of the value of goods. Let us study their features.

Features of retail prices

Retail prices are indicators that characterize the value of goods sold by the enterprise directly to the consumer in the person of a citizen or other organization. Their formation presupposes the influence of a number of key economic components. Among them - the wholesale price (in some cases, the corresponding procurement), various taxes and fees (for example, VAT), labor costs. The formation of retail indicators directly depends on the criteria of profitability of the business, its credit load, the terms of agreements with investors.

The methodology, which includes the prevalent price system in Russia and their classification, suggests that retail prices are usually more volatile than wholesale prices. The fact is that they are more sensitive to the final level of demand, which is not always stable (especially with respect to elite goods, to a lesser extent - for everyday goods). As a rule, retail prices are not fixed in contracts (as wholesale in a number of cases). Moreover, the corresponding figures can differ significantly in different stores. Than it is caused? Most often the difference in the key aspects of the business model that we have noted are the profitability, the cost of credit services, and so on.

The price system and their classification adopted in many states include the allocation of a separate category of indicators that relate to foreign trade. Let's study their specifics in more detail.

Specificity of foreign trade prices

Foreign trade prices characterize the goods and services supplied by private and public enterprises that have a residence permit in a particular country, abroad. They can be established both by virtue of market factors and by private arrangements, in which government structures usually take part.

Classification of world prices for a particular type of products, as a rule, is quite universal. For example, as for the relevant indicators for oil, the modern exporting countries of this type of fuel have adopted a methodology in which the base value of the goods is calculated on the basis of Brent.

There are a large number of mechanisms within which the considered indicators of the value of goods are formed. Such aspects as the concept and classification of prices, we investigated. It will be useful to consider now, within the framework of what laws can pricing be carried out.

Two basic mechanisms of price formation can be distinguished: intra-corporate (when the corresponding indicators are formed by the enterprise that produces goods or providing services), as well as the market, when certain figures reflecting the value of the goods are formed on the basis of the supply and demand in one or another segment Free market. As a rule, both marked mechanisms are used simultaneously. Let us consider them in more detail.

Intra-corporate pricing

So, prices can be set, first of all, by the management of the enterprise itself, which produces goods or provides services. Based on which priorities are the relevant indicators being determined? The price policy of the companies producing goods and service providers can be based on such factors as the tasks of the company's development, the cost of production, the priorities of owners, investors, etc.

In some cases, the firm maintains low prices in order to occupy a larger market niche than its competitors, and in this case a second mechanism for the formation of market value indicators is already connected. Let's study its specifics in more detail.

Market pricing

Low prices, therefore, can be set by the company, based on objective market factors. So, it is possible, if the demand is insufficient (or it has decreased, as a variant, as a result of the crisis) or the competition in the segment is so great that it has to be sustained by manipulation with prices.

It is entirely permissible that the corresponding indicators will predetermine the unprofitability of the enterprise. In this case, the firm may decide to reduce costs (either by saving certain resources or by improving business processes) or seriously reduce its presence in the market. In some cases too high competition leads the company to bankruptcy.

Non-market price formation factors

Note that in some cases pricing (the classification of prices can also be based on the appropriate criteria) is carried out under the influence of non-market factors. More often than not, these are administrative mechanisms that can be used by the state (or local entity - the regional government, the municipality). On the example of the current situation in the world, one can trace the influence of the political factor of price formation: certain indicators of the value of goods may be higher or lower than market prices, not because of demand-supply mechanisms, but because of tensions between states or, on the contrary, too friendly relations of one country To another.

So, we investigated what is the price (concept, function, classification). We realized that there are a large number of research approaches to determining its essence. We also identified several popular criteria for price classification, common in Russia and among world experts. We can conclude that the indicator of the value of the commodity, in spite of the apparent simplicity of the structure, is a phenomenon that is extremely important from the point of view of the development of any economic system-an individual enterprise, holding, or the country as a whole. Competent pricing is a factor in the successful provision of competitiveness of economic mechanisms built by entrepreneurs and state authorities.