Hidden costs of consumption

Consumers often underestimate the costs resulting from their consumer decisions. This is especially the case when purchasing durable consumer goods, but also for recreational activities, for which e.g. athletic equipment is bought. A similar situation exists when pets are kept. This disregard for the costs of subsequent use connected with the purchase of household appliances is problematic for consumers. In a study on the usage life of consumer goods¹ in the household, it was recognized that many consumers do not pay attention to these subsequent costs. The decisive consumer problem was not the durability of consumer goods, nor their tendency to become defective, but the resulting costs of the purchase, the operating costs of household appliances. On one hand, the working expenses are not considered at the time of purchase and their effect is not included in the purchase decision. On the other, the operating costs vary greatly, depending on the chosen type and model of appliance and, of course, on the specific form of utilization. In this paper, the question of the durability of consumer goods is first discussed with the help of empirical work. Then the hidden resulting costs, i.e. operating costs or costs of usage of consumer goods, are described. The resulting costs of keeping pets are also discussed. In the final part, the question of objective help for the consumer making purchase decisions is discussed.