The high cost of low prices (book)

Cheaponomics: The High Cost of Low Prices

Do you really think you are getting a good deal when given that free mobile phone for switching service providers, or by the fact that food is cheaper today than ever before? Think again! This compelling book clearly shows that cheapness is an illusion. The real cost of low prices is alarmingly high, for example where consumers provide welfare support to poorly-paid workers, or rely on the exploitation of workers in poor countries. Environmental pollution is paid for indirectly by people living away from its source or by future generations. Even private cars, when properly costed, prove to be an astronomically expensive model of transportation. The key point is that costs and risks are socialised: we all pay for cheapness, but not at the point of purchase.