Buyer's Option

  

A buyer always has the option to buy, but under an official “buyer’s option,” the price and specs are agreed to for a period of time, but not the exact quantity.

This can be a great deal for the buyer, who now has a set price (assuming the value in the marketplace does not go down), but is under no obligation to take ownership of a particular quantity. The poor seller can’t claim it as a sale on their books or collect revenue until the buyer decides to actually make the purchase. It's also perfectly legal for the buyer to not buy anything at all...i.e. not convert the option.

Maybe start-up companies would agree to such a deal, as options to buy are better than no sale at all?

Related or Semi-related Video

Finance: What Is a Call Option?25 Views

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finance a la shmoop. what is a call option? option? option, where are you? okay

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yeah yeah. not phone options, call options. and a close but no cigar. a call option [man smokes in a tub of cash]

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is the right to call or buy a security. the concept is easy the math is hard.

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you think Coca Cola's poised for a breakout as they go into the new low

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calorie beverage business. their stock is at 50 bucks a share and you can buy a [man stands on a stage as crowd cheers]

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call option for $1. well that call option buys you the right

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to then buy coke stock at 55 bucks a share anytime you want in the next

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hundred and 20 days. so let's say Coke announces its new sugarless drink flavor

00:48

zero it's two weeks later and the stock skyrockets to fifty eight dollars a

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share. you've already paid the dollar for the option now you have to exercise it. [man lifts weights]

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so you buy the stock and you're all in now for fifty five dollars plus one or

01:04

fifty six bucks a share and your total value is now fifty eight bucks. well you

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could turn around today and sell the bundle that moment, and you'll have

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turned your dollar into two dollars of profit really fast. and obviously had the [equation on screen]

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stock not skyrocketed so quickly well you would have lost everything. still you

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lucked out and now you're sitting on some serious cash, courtesy of your call [two men in a tub of cash]

01:27

options. as for Coke flavor zero turned out to be nothing more than canned water.

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