Supply (pricing structures part 2!)

I've decided commit (GASP! (see left)) to adding a new definition every day to this blog, even though nobody reads it.  I suppose I'm working on synthesis and making sense (cents!  another pun!  Sorry..) now.  Anyway..  Time to rock this already very rocked party!

Formal Definition:  "The willingness and ability of producers to offer products for sale in a market"

My Definition:  Supply is basically Demand's arch-nemesis, since otherwise consumers would get all their stuff for next to nothing!  Ultimately it shows producer (or seller) behavior, by showing how much of a product they would produce at a given price.  Since selling a product at a higher price would give more net profit per item, the seller is more inclined to produce more of that item since it provides a better source of income.  It's a difficult thing to understand for non-sellers, so here's an example.

• You are given the opportunity to sell bottles of soda.  They cost fifty cents to make.  
• Would you sell them for fifty cents?  No, since you wouldn't make any money and it would be a waste of your time.  
• How about selling at one dollar per bottle?  Assuming that people would buy it, that would actually give you a profit, so you might make some if it gives you extra cash.  
• What if people would even buy it at fifty dollars?  Well then, screw your old job, if you sell enough at that price you'll retire as a millionaire in a year!  So you'll produce many, many more since it's more worth your while!

Fun stuff:

• The Law of Supply, unlike the law of demand, states that as price for a product goes up, so will a producer's willingness to make more.  Therefore, quantity of a product will go up too!
• The Supply curve can also be shifted (left is means less supply, right means more), by:
• Government Action (taxation, yaay!)
• Producer Expectations (cheapened production costs, or increased demand for a product in future)
• Change in Number of Producers (more competition means harder work to stay on top!)
• Change in Input Costs (i.e. soda ingredients get cheaper)
• Changes in Labor Productivity (better workers means faster production!)
• Changes in Technology (paid workers replaced by machines (until they rebel!!))
• Those are the main categories, there may be others though.

Graphically:  It's pretty much the same as the Demand curve, only that it slopes upwards instead of downwards (so as price increases, so does quantity!).