Customer cost refers not only to the price of a product, but it also encompasses the purchase costs, and the . Purchase costs consist of the cost of searching for a product, gathering information about the product and the cost of obtaining that information. Usually, the highest use costs arise for durable goods that have a high demand on resources, such as energy or water, or those with high maintenance costs. costs encompass the costs for collecting, storing and disposing of the product once the item has been discarded.