<p>Such markets are said to be <em>homogeneous goods</em> markets or <em>commodities</em> markets. And the goods traded within them are sometimes known as commodities. From <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodity" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Wikipedia</a>:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>"In economics, a commodity is an economic good or service that has full or substantial fungibility: that is, the market treats instances of the good as equivalent or nearly so with no regard to who produced them. Most commodities are raw materials, basic resources, agricultural, or mining products, such as iron ore, sugar, or grains like rice and wheat. Commodities can also be mass-produced unspecialized products such as chemicals and computer memory."</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-10-16T12:38:48.323Z
2018-10-16T12:38:48.323Z
Ubiquitous
<p>Consider the market for retail banking. Everyone is governed by the same interest rates, and it's not like one bank can offer something remarkably different from the others.</p>

<p>Retail pharmacies are the same way. They're all selling the same drugs.</p>

<p>In these markets, competitors have less "room to maneuver" when competing. They have to differentiate based on intangibles like service and amenities. They can't actually change the product.</p>

<p>It's like a 100-yard race. How do you win? You run faster than everyone else...full stop. There's no strategy. There's no way to subtly maneuver yourself into a better position. Everyone is selling the same thing -- speed in a straight line for 10 seconds.</p>

<p>Is there a name for this type of market? Or a name for the type of product?</p>

<markets>
What is the name for a market where everyone is basically selling the same thing?
Deane
# What is the name for a market where everyone is basically selling the same thing?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-10-16)

Consider the market for retail banking. Everyone is governed by the same interest rates, and it's not like one bank can offer something remarkably different from the others.

Retail pharmacies are the same way. They're all selling the same drugs.

In these markets, competitors have less "room to maneuver" when competing. They have to differentiate based on intangibles like service and amenities. They can't actually change the product.

It's like a 100-yard race. How do you win? You run faster than everyone else...full stop. There's no strategy. There's no way to subtly maneuver yourself into a better position. Everyone is selling the same thing -- speed in a straight line for 10 seconds.

Is there a name for this type of market? Or a name for the type of product?

**Tags:** markets

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2018-10-16. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

Such markets are said to be *homogeneous goods* markets or *commodities* markets. And the goods traded within them are sometimes known as commodities. From [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodity):

> "In economics, a commodity is an economic good or service that has full or substantial fungibility: that is, the market treats instances of the good as equivalent or nearly so with no regard to who produced them. Most commodities are raw materials, basic resources, agricultural, or mining products, such as iron ore, sugar, or grains like rice and wheat. Commodities can also be mass-produced unspecialized products such as chemicals and computer memory."


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