Demand (creative titles FTW!)

Okay, I'm going to take a small step into the perilous world of economics, because I HATE YOU.  Just kidding!  Really though, I'm going to write about economic theory vocabulary.  Warning, may contain graphic content (no pun intended (you know.. graph-ic?  (ahem))).  Oh, and rights to the image on the right belong to snorgtees.com.  Not like they're going to see, but..

Formal Definition: (makes long trek to economics binder, comes back with ripped clothing and a fish attempting to consume his left toe (yep)) "The desire to have a product, and the ability to pay for it".  That probably didn't help at all.  Should I just stop putting the formal definition in these?

My Definition:  I think that we can all agree that buying stuff at a lower price is better for us as consumers, right?  (If we can't, then you're beyond even my almighty power to be helped..)  Thus, demand, usually expressed graphically, is something economists and businesses use to show how many people will buy a product at a certain price; it helps them find how much you want something and what you'll pay for it.

MOAR STUFF: 

• The law of demand states that as prices go down, more people will be willing to buy a given product
• think about it; maybe there was a videogame or article of clothing you wanted but was too expensive.  If the sellers decided to make the price lower, they could reach more people in your financial situation!
• Demand is almost always paired up with Supply, and together they can be used to find the equilibrium price of an object
• Demand can be shifted from its position due to circumstances in the outside world
• these are: 
• Changes in consumer income (more money to spend) 
• Changes in market size (more people arrive who want it)
• Changes in consumer tastes (a fad)
• Expectations for the future ("it'll get cheaper soon!")
• Availability of substitutes (cheaper substitute) and
• Changes in demand for complimentary products (if more people buy iPods, more need headphones)

Graphically!:

No, don't be frightened, it's okay, really!  The first line to look at is the one on the left, labelled "D1"; that's the original demand.  If you wanted to find out how many people would buy the product at price "k" (on the price, or y-axis), just look for that value on the line and see what the x-value, or demand, is.  

And the line next to it?  That's what happens after there is a shift in demand, in this case positive.  That means that demand increased.  To show that, all we do is move the original line to the right, so that a y-value will have a higher x-value to be associated for.  In other words, more people will buy something at a certain price!  That's it!