than the one of conventional products. Elements of total customer cost Purchase costs Purchase costs include the cost of searching for a product, gathering information about it and transporting it, collectively also referred to as transaction costs. The initial purchase of a product has the highest search and information costs. The consumer might also perceive additional risks in comparison to purchasing familiar products: financial risks: fear of the product being financially negative performance risks: fear of the product not performing as anticipated physical risks: fear of the product being harmful to user time risks: fear of the product being time-consuming in its adoption or use social risks: fear of the reaction of their personal social network to the product psychological risks: fear of the negative post-purchase emotions such as disappointment, regret or frustration of the purchase In Information Economics, product qualities are differentiated into three types: Search qualities: which can be fully evaluated before a purchase (e.g. design). Experience qualities: can be evaluated after the purchase (e.g. durability). Credence qualities: which can't be fully evaluated by the consumer (e.g. social conditions of production workers), since they stem from the production or post-use processes. Consumers rely on the information provided by the producer, or by third-party organizations The purchase costs of sustainable products are often higher when compared to the costs of more conventional products. The reason for the higher cost is that the features which differentiate these products are often determined by either personal experience or credence qualities, which have the highest search and information costs. Transportation costs may be dependent on the availability of the product. This might pose another difficulty to new sustainable products entering the market: if the distribution intensity is low, the probable traveling distance for the customer is high, resulting in higher costs for the product purchase. Use costs Long-lasting products, such as cars or houses, require energy and maintenance, resulting in considerable operating costs when in use. These use related costs are often neglected or underestimated when the consumer purchases a product. Use costs also include the costs of switching to a new product. The consumer faces the costs of change if the product requires a different way of use. An extreme example for this would be the new behavioral patterns necessary for switching from owning a car to car-sharing or using public transportation systems. This perceived cost can prevent consumers from switching to