21-07.

Tying (commerce)

Pattern description

Tying (informally, product tying) is the practice of selling one product or service as a mandatory addition to the purchase of a different product or service. In legal terms, a tying sale makes the sale of one good (the tying good) to the de facto customer (or de jure customer) conditional on the purchase of a second distinctive good (the tied good). Tying is often illegal when the products are not naturally related.

Inventive problems

The product price should be high in order to:

  • get the maximum revenue;
  • to cover production costs.

The product price should be low in order to:

  • attract more customers;
  • meet the expectations of customers;
  • retain the number of customers.