Goods and services

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Pens are physical goods, while barbering is an intangible service.

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Goods are items that are usually (but not always) tangible, such as pens or apples. Services are activities provided by other people, such as teachers or barbers. Taken together, it is the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services which underpins all economic activity and trade. According to economic theory, consumption of goods and services is assumed to provide utility (satisfaction) to the consumer or end-user, although businesses also consume goods and services in the course of producing their own.