Markets are important for human societies. It is where individuals and groups meet to purchase, sell, buy, or trade something. Markets are the places where people meet to make transactions and it is known as a marketplace. A market is a collection of processes, institutions, systems, infrastructures or bodies through which individuals and groups interact in trade. Most markets rely on established sellers offering their products or services for sale to potential buyers at payment for cash. These markets provide a venue for informal negotiations and transactions among individuals and groups.
Markets are a place where people come together to buy and sell goods or services. There are two kinds of markets: primary markets, in which goods and services are bought and sold from established providers at prices determined by supply and demand, and secondary markets, in which goods and services are bought and sold from those who are not established providers but who wish to take advantage of the increased competition. Both primary and secondary markets are characterized by the existence of a set of marketable commodities or products. Primary markets may refer to agricultural produce, goods manufactured and traded in quantities, precious metals, electricity, gas, and water. Secondary markets may refer to financial securities, money, personal property, franchises, and inventories.
The existence of markets is supported by five factors. First, markets allow for the spontaneous order of supply and demand. When producers and consumers in a market reach a consensus on the price at which they will buy or sell a good, there is no need for a government intervention to maintain the price level or to guarantee the supply. Instead, markets help provide the means through which goods and services are supplied and marketed to consumers.
Second, the prices that are determined in the marketplaces are always given in terms of units. Units of production include both the total volume of goods being produced and the total number of units that are required to make the product. In a pure market system, goods are produced in quantities sufficient to meet consumer demand, with the excess going to the producers of raw materials, fuel, and other large-scale business assets. In addition, goods are usually allowed to fall in value, which allows consumers to take advantage of economies of scale. However, when production and consumption are controlled by forces beyond the control of consumers and producers of raw materials and fuel, the results are market-induced changes in the prices of these goods and services.
Third, buyers and sellers in markets often have an incentive to behave in ways that benefit them. This is because the price of goods and services that sellers offer to their customers are a function of the cost of resources that they have to pay for the production of those goods and services. It is important to remember that although some sellers and buyers will engage in wasteful practices in markets, the costs and transfers of wealth are generally small compared to the gains from such practices.
Market behavior in nature occurs over time as natural selection acts to solve the problem of the allocation of scarce resources. Market processes take place in real time with prices tending to be set by the circumstances that surround the markets. These processes occur on a long-term basis and are usually a long term trend. Thus, we do not find price ceilings or minimum pricing above which the supply cannot exceed demand.