ECO.1:4.2 - Connect the comparison to feasible exchange and use

For an offered exchange, determine what can be obtained at the stated terms and by whom. A quotation for an incompatible specification or unavailable delivery window cannot supply this plan. A supplier’s offer remains an offer until the relevant commitment is made.

For a resource already controlled, identify the alternative use actually displaced. Its historic cost and its current economic consequence may differ. For a novel resource or arrangement, use a comparable offer only after stating the difference that matters; otherwise retain a conditional value or compare physical alternatives and purposes directly.

Keep a model’s weights attached to its objective and constraints. A shadow price can show which constraint is costly within that model. Calling it money does not establish a buyer, a supplier, an exchange or a right to obtain resources at that amount.