Private goods

Private goods are goods bought and consumed by individual consumers or firms for their own benefit.

Examples: food, clothes and textbooks.

Private goods are excludable

It is possible to exclude or prevent some people from using a private good. This is normally done by charging a price. If the price is not acceptable, then that good will not be consumed. Once one person has purchased a private good, it cannot be consumed by others.

Private goods are rival

There is rivalry for private goods. The consumption of a private good by one person reduces the availability for others. For example, when we purchase food, clothes or books then this means that fewer of these goods are available for purchase by others.