"Demand and Supply: A case study of Mattel and YEARAmazon.Answer 1:Type of Adver Price URL:doll tised inprice AUD.24.49 $29.97 http://www.fishpond.com.au/c/Toys/q/Barbie+Around BarbieFairy (CHF) +The+World+Toys?outprint=1&page=1SecretDoll –Pink30.59( $29.95 http://www.fishpond.com.au/c/Toys/q/Barbie+Around BarbieCAD) (AUD) +The+World+Toys?outprint=1&page=1in AMerma id Tale2Merma idDressBarbie 53.95 $97.84( http://www.fishpond.com.au/c/Toys/q/Barbie+Around th 50 (GBP) AUD) +The+World+Toys?outprint=1&page=1Annive rsaryReprod uctionBarbieDollCollect orVinylCase$12.85 $12.14 http://www.humuch.com/prices/Barbie-Fashionista- BarbieFashion (USD) (AUD) Play-Doll/______/736ista(PlayDoll)PricesBarbie 629.31 $939 http://www.fishpond.com.au/c/Toys/q/Barbie+Around Museu (EUR) (AUD) +The+World+Toys?outprint=1&page=1mCollecti onWorldArtistDoll –Leonar do DaVinci1 Demand and Supply: A case study of Mattel and YEARAmazon.Mattel $10.75 $11.60 http://www.amazon.com/Mattel-Barbie-2013- Barbie (USD) (AUD) Halloween-Doll/dp/B00CHOPDVS2013Hallow eenBarbieDollBarbie $12.90 $13.92 http://www.amazon.com/Mattel-BBV50-Barbie- Holiday (USD) (AUD) Holiday- Doll/dp/B00CQHZ35C/ref=pd_sim_t_5?ie=UTF8&ref DollRID=1CZ5CBMAADATY5BX5JTQAs per the article in economist, the companies are exploiting the thoughts of thepeople who consider offering their girl child a doll is as important as it should be.Now according to Matthew Notowidigdo, the writer of this article and the econcomistin the university of Chicago, a chart has been prepared that shows the difference inprices due to different in wages. The doll price for snowboarder is 30, computerengineer is 28, swimming champion is 22 and Pilot is 8. This way the doll price variesfor different product of Barbie doll. On the other hand comparison is made with theUs median weekly wages. The computer hardware engineer earns nearly 1.6 thousanddollar, Architects earn nearly 1.5 thousand dollar and designer earns nearly 1thousand dollar. Now the comparions states that the lowest cost price pilot doll priceis 8, but in reality they are paid much more than they actually costs to the company.Thus it really does not matter how much costs that is incurred on the production of aBarbie doll occurs, instead the pricing is done as per the thoughts, beliefs and likingexpectations of the people. (Notowidigdo, 2014)Answer 2:The markets and submarket for dolls includes all the countries around the world.2 Demand and Supply: A case study of Mattel and YEARAmazon.Actually the whole world consists of children and specifically in our case girl child.Barbie dolls are among one of the most favorite girl playing toys. Thus the wholeworld is the market of Barbie dolls. Although this market can be subdivided intofurther sub markets, for instance, a girl between 1-5 years will look up for anautomatic moving and voice generating Barbie doll that would add to her excitement.From 5-10 years age a girl will look for a Barbie doll with different clothes and hairstyle that could become her ideal. The rest of the age group of girl may look in forBarbie doll which reflects latest fashion statement and style. These young girls willlook and make changes in Barbie by combing and dressing in such a way that theywould have observed their ideal television or movie stars. (Townsley et al., 1991)Markets can further be classified on following basis.Relevant demography:Relevant demographic includes the particular age, gender, ethnicity etc.DifferentBarbie dolls are made not only to meet the requirement of different people withdifferent background but also to reflect and represent them through the doll. (Brett,2006)Psychographic segmentation:Psychographic segmentation helps in differentiating customers as per their lifestyle,status and even personalities. Through Psychographic segmentation we can find out3 Demand and Supply: A case study of Mattel and YEARAmazon.what are the requirements of the major customers of the company in terms of newdesign, competitive price, small size etc. (Mangham, 1988)Behavioral segmentation:Behavioral segmentation of a market actually includes the market segmentation of theconsumer on the basis of benefits they seek for. For instance the high earners willlook for style, color and latest attraction which could add to their status in the society.The middle income people look for fairly priced Barbie doll. (Brett, 2006)Answer 3:Demand is actually what a person desires for and actually wants to buy that product orservice. Supply on the other hand is the availability of the product or service at acertain price which is termed fair by the seller. This way demand and supply areactually the functions of buyers and sellers wherein both these parties decide on thesale and purchase of the product and service at a mutually agreed price. (Goldstein,2007)Price discrimination is a tool used by companies so as to attract more customers. Ithappens mostly when the product is homogenous. This way the customer are in aposition to buy any product of their choice. With a view to affect the customerdecision making process, price discrimination is done. This helps in attracting morecustomers through changes in price levels. For instance a company might decline itsprices for the similar kinds of products and services available in the market to clear itsinventory stock or to bring back its sales on track. Thus price discrimination helps in4 Demand and Supply: A case study of Mattel and YEARAmazon.tempting more customers towards buying products and services of a company.Price discrimination occurs with change in prices. In our case Amazon and Mattelobserve price changes from time to time. Although in normal course of business theirprice remains same and they earn good profits. Only in case when they find they haveextra inventory or sales person are unable to meet targets than the price wars takesplace that takes them to price discrimination. (Braeutigam, 2010)Our case is a duopoly market condition where the Amazon and Mattel are offering thesimilar products in the market. With a view to meet maximum customer needs andincrease sales these companies take to price discrimination at different time intervals.This price discrimination affects the revenue and cost cycle of the company indifferent ways. The demand and supply curve that represents the Average andMarginal revenue along with the Average and Marginal cost can be presented in thefollowing diagram.Marginal CostCostRevenuesP1AC1Average Total IndustryTotal Cost DemandMarginalRevenueAverage RevenueFrom the above diagram we see that Demand for Barbie doll is represented on the5 Demand and Supply: A case study of Mattel and YEARAmazon.total industry demand. Now the total industry demand is same for Amazon andMattel. The Average cost and the marginal cost are thus managed in such a way thatthe pricing of the products remains similar with the other company. For instance inour case Amazon will continue to control over its costs and sell the product at themost nearest price of Mattel. Thus both companies earn good profits from theirbusiness. Although price competition may rise between the two incase of lowcustomers season, high inventory or any other reason.The demand and supply of the Barbie doll by Mattel and Amazon can be affected bythe followings.1.Low price discrimination:The prices offered for sale of Barbie dolls are priced in a similar format so to createlower price discrimination. This helps in retaining customers who are searching webfor buying Barbie dolls.2.Easy availability of Barbie dolls:The easy availability of Barbie dolls through various transport facilities of the productis another factor that affects the demand and supply of Barbie doll. Shipping, courierand other facilities are used by these companies to compensate the whole process oftransfers to the customer.3. Variety:6 Demand and Supply: A case study of Mattel and YEARAmazon.A long variety of latest Barbie dolls are made available by both the companies. Thisway they are trying to affect the customer decision of purchase through theirrespective website.4.Easy payment methods:The easy payment method that is buy using Visa and Credit card helps in easypayment for the price of the Barbie doll purchased by the customer. This waycustomer can easily pay the amount through the available bank cards and pay backtheir bank as per their ease for the same particular transaction.5.After sales service:The after sales service of Amazon and Mattel are both kept customer friendly so thatthe customer satisfaction is achieved and more reference comes through the satisfiedcustomer.(Braeutigam, 2010)Answer 4:The other markets that exhibit similar characteristics include the followings.a. The beverages market, more specifically sweetened carbonated beveragesexhibit similar characteristics. The best example is coke and Pepsi. Both thecompanies produce similar products. The pricing of the products of thecompanies are also same around the globe. This way both companies areearning good profits from its sales. However a price competition or aggressive7 "