Editing Consumables (section)

{{Short description|Goods intended to be consumed}}
{{distinguish|Consumer goods}}
'''Consumables''' (also known as '''consumable goods''', '''non-durable goods''', or '''soft goods''') are [[goods]] that are intended to be [[wikt:consume|consume]]d. People have, for example, always consumed [[food]] and [[water]]. Consumables are in contrast to [[durable good]]s. [[Disposable product]]s are a particular, extreme case of consumables, because their end-of-life is reached after a single use.

Consumables are products that [[consumer]]s use ''recurrently'', i.e., items which "get used up" or discarded. For example, consumable [[office supplies]] are such products as [[paper]], [[pen]]s, [[file folder]]s, [[Post-it]] notes, and [[toner (printing)|toner]] or [[ink cartridge]]s. This is in contrast to capital goods or [[durable good]]s in the office, such as computers, fax machines, and other business machines or office furniture.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.law.berkeley.edu/faculty/rubinfeldd/Antitrust/FTC%20v%20Staples%20etd.pdf|title=FTC v. Staples, Inc.|website=Law.Berkeley.edu|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070613094124/http://www.law.berkeley.edu/faculty/rubinfeldd/Antitrust/FTC%20v%20Staples%20etd.pdf |archivedate=2007-06-13|format=PDF}}</ref> Sometimes a company sells a durable good at an attractively low price in the hopes that the consumer will then buy the consumables that go with it at a price providing a higher [[profit margin|margin]]. Printers and ink cartridges are an example, as are cameras and film as well as [[safety razor|razors]] and [[razor|blades]], which gave this business model its usual name (the [[razor and blades model]]).

Printing consumables include items like [[toner cartridge]]s, which are consumed, utilized and then exhausted. These supplies are considered to be a major element of printing process.

For [[arc welding]] one uses a ''consumable'' [[electrode]]. This is an electrode that conducts electricity to the [[Arc welding|arc]] but also melts into the weld as a [[filler metal]].

Consumable goods are often excluded from [[warranty]] policies, as it is considered that covering them would excessively increase the cost of the premium.<ref>e.g. batteries in computers: {{cite web | title=Apple One (1) Year Limited Warranty – Accessory - For Apple and Beats Branded Products Only. | website=Apple Legal | date=2015-08-14 | url=https://www.apple.com/uk/legal/warranty/products/accessory-warranty-english.html | ref={{sfnref | Apple Legal | 2015}} | access-date=2018-03-10|quote=This warranty excludes normal depletion of consumable parts such as batteries unless failure has occurred due to a defect in materials or workmanship and, damage resulting from abuse, accident, modifications, unauthorized repairs or other causes that are not defects in materials and workmanship.}}, {{cite web|url=https://motorola-global-portal.custhelp.com/euf/assets/downloads/AUS-One_Year_Warranty.pdf|title=AUS-One_Year_Warranty|quote=this Warranty Does Not Apply to: (a) Consumable parts, such as batteries or protective coatings designed to diminish over time unless failure has occurred due to a defect in materials or workmanship. As with all batteries, the maximum capacity of the battery will decrease with time and use;}}</ref>