The merchandise, called in English commodity (plural, commodities), within commerce and the economy, is any good with which any commercial transaction is attempted. These can also be called economic goods, any object of monetary value, for whose property rights a certain amount of money is given; This is affirmed knowing that, when it is called "good", it is because it has some use for the person who owns it or who will possess it. Similarly, it should be noted that the use of the term "merchandise" is quite generic and in no way does it emphasize the particular qualities of the object.
Previously, only raw materials, such as wheat, soybeans, meat, among others, were considered as merchandise. However, a change in the legal definition, in the United States, about what can be considered an object of value, changed; thus, various financial assets, such as currencies and interest rates, can also be considered commodities. Now, the value of the commodity, according to the doctrines of classical economics proposed by Adam Smith, is based on the cost of production; later, the neoclassicals, contributed with new economic theories, where the value is mentioned based on the usefulness of the object, that is, they are the properties of an object and how useful to its owner. Now, in various countries, commodity exchanges are located, such as the Mercantile in New York and the London Metal Exchange.
These goods can be classified, according to their characteristics, being as follows: according to their portability, they can be both movable and real estate; according to its relationship with the demand for other goods, being complementary (its use is linked to that of another product) and substitute (its purpose is to act as a replacement for another product); according to their durability, being classified as durable consumer goods, non-durable consumer goods and perishable goods; according to their function, private and public goods, monopolies and common resources; according to its function, being both free and rare; finally, according to the behavior in the face of the increase in income, finding the inferior good and the normal good, which in turn is subdivided into luxury goods and basic necessities.
