One reason that price-taking behavior may occur is simply because other ways of proceeding may be too costly. For example, when you wish to buy shares of stock from a broker, there are several ways you can specify what price you are willing to pay. The most common procedure is to place a “market order,” which states that you are willing to pay the price that prevails when the order arrives. But you can also place other of orders featuring various limits on what you willing to pay. Economists who have looked in detail at these various ways of buying stock generally conclude that it makes little difference what a buyer does.² any gains from using complicated buying strategies are counterbalanced by the extra costs involved in using those strategies.