Where Buyers and Sellers Meet

Sellers choose how much to offer and buyers choose how much to take home, and both choices shift as the price changes. The price settles at the level where the amount offered and the amount wanted are the same.

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In the picture

The apple crate: the stock a seller brings to the stall. The higher the price, the more sellers are willing to offer.
The basket and coin purse: what a buyer is ready to carry home. The higher the price, the less people buy.
The level beam of the balance: apples in one pan, coins in the other, neither side heavier.
The chalked price board: the number that makes the two amounts match exactly.

Examples

Concert tickets: when a small venue sells out in minutes, the price sat below the balancing level, and resale prices jump.
Strawberries in season: farms harvest all at once, so shops cut the price until the whole crop is sold.

Key takeaways

Supply rises as the price rises; demand falls as the price rises.
The equilibrium price is the price at which quantity supplied equals quantity demanded.