Understanding Markets
Judging what you buy
Learn how to judge what you buy, as a careful consumer.
Markets offer a huge choice. How do you decide what to buy?
Say you've saved ₹150 for marbles for a competition. Did you think about price, size, strength and colours? Every consumer needs to judge quality.
Now pick up a 1 kg packet of gram flour (besan) and read it. It shows:
- net quantity
- date of manufacture and best before date
- MRP (maximum retail price)
- maker's name and address
- ingredients and nutrition facts
- allergen warning
- batch number
- FSSAI mark and licence number
All of it is there so you can judge before you buy.
You can't test a medicine or a tyre yourself. So government agencies test products and give certification marks. A mark on a product means it meets minimum quality standards:
| Mark | Means | Found on |
|---|---|---|
| FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) | food tested and safe to eat | food packets |
| ISI (from the Bureau of Indian Standards) | good quality, safe to use | electrical appliances, building materials, tyres, paper |
| AGMARK (AG = agriculture) | quality-certified farm products | fruit, vegetables, cereals, pulses, spices, honey |
| BEE stars (Bureau of Energy Efficiency) | how much electricity it uses | TVs, laptops, ACs, fridges |
With BEE stars, more stars = less electricity used: lower bills and better for the environment. (That's the fridge story from before, printed on the box!) Try it: go and check how many stars the fridge or AC at home has!
People also judge by a product's reputation: what friends and family say (word of mouth), and, when shopping online, reviews and feedback from other buyers.
It's your money: read the label, look for the mark, and think before you buy!
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