Friday, January 23, 2009

Time preference

If something that you want to buy will cost cheaper if you wait for a couple of weeks or months, are you willing to wait?

Of course, the answer is not obvious. That depends on many things; whether you still have the money, whether the thing will still be available, how urgent do you need it now (or, how do you value the goods later), and - for sure - how much cheaper will it be. In many occasions, we will still buy the goods immediately. I need a new laptop now, so it doesn't matter if next year it will cost much cheaper. The text book will surely cost cheaper by the end of the semester, but by that time I will have failed the subject. I am desperate to know the ending of Harry Potter's saga, so I don't want to wait for the soft cover version.

So, I don't have to be puzzled when reading this story. But still, I was amazed. Come on... De Jong, for GBP17m when you can get him for GDP2.3m? But then, this what happens when you have an owner whose money pit is bottomless, but you are not certain whether you will not be relegated by the end of the season.

1 comment:

  1. Sometimes, the player's value will be "increased automatically" when a rich clubs like Manchester City or Real Madrid bid him. The clubs above have highest willingness to pay among the others. I think a 20M Euro defensive midfielder Lassana Diarra, also doesn't make sense.

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