As we learned in an earlier chapter, a sunk cost is a cost that has already been incurred and cannot be avoided regardless of what a manager decides to do. For example, suppose a used car dealer purchased a five-year-old Toyota Camry for $ 12,000. The amount paid for the Camry is a sunk cost because it has already been incurred an the transaction cannot be undone. Sunk costs are always the same no matter what alternatives are being considered; therefore, they are irrelevant and should be ignored when making decisions. Future costs that do not differ between alternatives should also be ignored when making decisions. Continuing with the example discussed earlier, suppose you intend to order a pizza after you go to the movie theater or you rent a DVD. In that case, if you are going to buy the same pizza regardless of your choice of entertainment, its cost is irrelevant to the choice of whether you go to the movie theater or rent a DVD. Notice, the cost of the pizza is not a sunk cost because it has not yet been incurred. Nonetheless, the cost of the pizza is irrelevant to the entertainment decision because it is a future cost that does not differ between the alternatives.