Wikipedia:Prices
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The policy regarding prices is outlined in WP:NOTCATALOG:
An article should not include product pricing or availability information unless there is an independent source and a justified reason for the mention. Encyclopedic significance may be indicated if mainstream media sources (not just product reviews) provide commentary on these details....
Background
[edit]Wikipedia can include what third-party secondary sources report, in accordance with due weight. Most prices come from either self-published sources or from directories or databases, and by Wikipedia policy, that is a reason to not include prices.
Some primary information from databases has always been included in Wikipedia, including the population of cities and various properties of chemicals. The rationale in these cases is that some amount of primary information is necessary for understanding the nature of a thing. If prices of products were included in Wikipedia routinely, then probably someone would have to make a persuasive argument that the price gave fundamental information about the nature of a thing. When including prices, they would need to be matched to reliable sources, which is fairly easy in most cases as prices are given in many textbooks such as the British National Formulary, by government agencies, and by international governmental organization such as the World Health Organization. Cost benefit analysis is a central part of many government run health care systems. They would also need to respect policies on original research and due weight and the guideline for leads of articles.
The central place for discussing policy on prices is Wikipedia:What Wikipedia is not#Wikipedia is not a directory, and redirects including WP:PRICE and WP:PRICES used to point there. The precedent of discussions there should guide whatever is discussed presently, price-related discussions should be announced at Wikipedia talk:What Wikipedia is not.
Medications
[edit]The World Health Organization states "Data on drug costs will always be important in managing policy related to drug supply, pricing and use."[1] They list a few price metrics including cost per treatment day, month or year and cost per defined daily dose (DDD).[1]
Pharmaceutical companies have tried to decrease price transparency.[2] Some editors have argued that WP:NOTCENSORED applies, while others argue that databases with varying levels of accuracy cannot be used to insert drug pricing information while respecting policy on original research and due weight.
Discussions about best practices
[edit]- Drug prices
In medical articles there has been discussion about whether a drug can be understood without knowing its price. There are arguments for both sides.
- WikiProject Medicine archive 19 - 2010 guidance that drug prices are not allowed
- WikiProject Medicine archive 47 - casual mention of price in 2014
- WikiProject Medicine archive 67 - June 2015 proposal to include prices in Template:Infobox drug
- Infobox drug talk page - August 2015 proposal to include prices in Template:Infobox drug Concludes that prices should be included in drug articles.
- d:Wikidata_talk:WikiProject_Medicine#Drug_prices - Successful October 2015 proposal to put prices in Wikidata.
- Wikipedia_talk:Prices#RfC:_why_no_prices_at_all? RfC, Jan 2016: "Consensus is clearly that detailed price information should not be included in most cases"
- WikiProject Medicine archive 78 - "Reliable sources for drug pricing", March 2016
- Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_Medicine/Archive_84#Price_of_medications - RfC, May 2016: "there is no consensus to add the pricing to the articles"
- Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_Pharmacology/Archive_11#Wholesale_drug_costs_-_Why? September 2019 discussion
- Talk:Ivermectin#Price September 2019
- User talk:Doc James##Prices_for_medications September 2019
- Talk:Buprenorphine/naloxone#Prices September 2019
- Wikipedia_talk:What_Wikipedia_is_not/Archive_57#Clarification_requested_for_product_pricing_(Sales_catalogues) October 2019
- Wikipedia_talk:Manual_of_Style/Medicine-related_articles/Archive_11#Product_pricing Lengthy discussion, started October 2019, resulting in the January RfC below
- Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_Medicine/Archive_130#MEDPRICE Started in November 2019. Discussion centralized at WT:MOSMED.
- November 2019 discussion of prices in Featured articles
- Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Medicine-related articles/RFC on pharmaceutical drug prices January 2020 RfC
Editors are generally opposed to inclusion of prices in the lede
While basic calculations are not considered original research, the pricing statements in the examples require interpretation of primary sources that may not be straightforward. This makes the editorial claims difficult to verify, and especially so for drugs whose prices are not widely discussed in published sources.
there are concerns that proper explanation of the situation for the indicated price would give the price undue weight
There is no consensus on whether drug prices should be included in articles at all.
Whether to include prices in the infobox was not widely discussed but is unlikely to find consensus.
- Wikipedia:Arbitration/Requests/Case/Medicine April 2020 ArbCom
- Consumer electronics
- Talk:IPhone_11#RfC_about_including_pricing_information_in_article RfC, November 2019" Consensus is against including a chart that includes pricing information of the iPhone 11 in various countries,
- WikiProject Video games
- Wii Points: to list or to not list?, May 2007
- Related at ANI - Ongoing issue that needs to be resolved, May 2007
- Price guide (again), June 2007
- When are defunct products exempt from NOPRICES?, July 2015
- Motorcycles
- WP:MC-MOS follows WikiProject Automobiles generally. Its project-specific guidance states
if a source explicitly justifies inclusion of the price, such as because a particular price is notable for being very high, or very low, or of historical interest, then both the price along with the explanation of its significance may be included. Auction prices, or prevailing used motorcycle prices, are not mentioned without a source that asserts notability. Warranty coverage, marketing campaigns, and other purchase-related information is also avoided unless exceptional notability is cited.
- Not a sales catalogue or price guide, May 2007
See also
[edit]- Wikipedia:What Wikipedia is not
- Wikipedia:What Wikipedia is
- WP:PRIMARY - prices are primary data, and unless an exception is used, would not be permitted in most articles
- ^ a b "Introduction to Drug Utilization Research: Chapter 2: Types of drug use information: 2.6 Drug costs". apps.who.int. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
- ^ "Federal Judge Strikes Down New Drug Price Transparency Rule". HealthPayerIntelligence. 10 July 2019. Retrieved 27 November 2019.